It’s server-based so you need to be online to play. However you can pretty much play it solo without interacting with other players (which is how I generally play it, save the occasional events and challenges).

They’ve added significant amount of content post-launch which includes new locations, NPCs, missions etc so it’s not too bad, although I would say NPCs aren’t as well put together as other Fallout games.

Friends don’t let friends buy ASUS unless the purchasing friend enjoys months of customer support or RMA nightmare.

I’m in the same boat but having a blast with FO76. I’m glad I waited since the rocky launch back in 2018 - while the game is still far from perfect, it’s a lot of fun to play and Bethesda did a good job fixing up the game.

My personal observation is that people have been fed up for quite a while, not so much by the Instagram app itself but by Meta’s brand, their untrustworthiness and the general vapid and scammy nature of the hordes of Influencers and “hustlers”. It’s just regular folks aren’t aware of decent alternatives or the alternatives aren’t quite there yet.