Survival Mode is really something. Particularly when you get to Concord.
Like, I played a little bit of hardcore in New Vegas, and it just felt like more busy work, dealing with food, water, and sleep. But here, man is it different simply due to the lack of saving.
My first walk to Concord out of the vault, I died to the bandits assaulting the Museum. Head crippling is a bitch. I woke back at my bed, like some sort of bad dream, then headed back out again.
The second time, I was slower and more careful than last time, walking around and flanking instead of hiding in buildings and peeking out of cover. Made it inside, and then snuck around. Impressive I did so at all, considering I only have 1 Agility. I got a few lucky shots off with my double barreled shotgun, but one raider rushed me with a tire iron. Both of us were on the brink of death, the next hit mattered. No time to reload the shotgun, so I did the one thing I've never done in fallout 4: I cracked him over the head with my shotgun.
The raider dropped lifeless, and I had to catch my breath. Particularly knowing what was still to come. Not that Mama Murphy let me forget as I left to don the power armor. Opting to avoid fighting the raiders directly, I walked directly to where the deathclaw's den was, and then turned tail and ran. It hurt my power core to do so, but with one angry lizard on my tail and the threat of having to do it all again, I had to.
The deathclaw turned on the raiders, and turned most of them into paste. Then it noticed me tickling it with the minigun. I was picked up and slammed into the asphalt beneath me, my hud telling that I lost about 40% of my health from the slam. Backpedal, reload the minigun. C'mon
faster, deathclaw's charging again. New drum loaded, squeeze the trigger like you've never done before. It's health bar was dropping. Ammo count getting lower. Brass all around. Still getting closer.
Finally the big bastard dropped. And I started the walk back to Sanctuary with the Minutemen, ready for a well earned rest back home.
