For many Fallout fans, ranking these games might be a bit difficult. Sure, they can instantly answer which one is the best and worst among them, but ranking all of them can be quite a challenge, especially if they haven’t played all the games. As someone who has tried all the Fallout games, we have compiled a full list and ranked them from the best to the worst. If you are someone who is trying to get into the Fallout universe but have no idea where to start, this might be helpful to you.
Best Fallout Games Ranked
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is set in a different timeline than the rest of the Fallout games, but it doesn’t fail to retain the thrills and immersive gameplay of Fallout. It is not only the best one among the Fallout games; it is one of the best RPGs in the world. I don’t know what’s more amazing; the fact that the developers managed to develop this game in just 18 months, or they made an almost perfect Fallout game in such a short period of time. On the surface, Fallout: New Vegas is just another Fallout game where you explore the vast open world of New Vegas, but man, it gets better and better with each act. The plot that started as the revenge story for the main character quickly turns into a full-scale war where different factions within the city are fighting for control. And you’ll find yourself tangled in all sorts of dangerous situations where you’ll have to choose whether you want to involve yourself. The game offers so much in terms of choices that you can create your own story based on how you want to play the game.
Fallout 3
While many Fallout fanatics think the developers put too much emphasis on action rather than story or narrative, you can’t deny the fact that Fallout 3 was one of the best games in the series. The introduction of 3D graphics truly paved the way for the open-world RPG genre that the developers had hoped for the game. Fallout 3 lets you explore the vast wastelands of Washington DC in a first-person perspective while also giving you the experience of some brutal action. You may feel bored with its slow start, especially if you like fast-paced games but trust me, it sets the stage for the entire game. From creating your unique character to setting up attributes for them, it is all done within the introduction phase. Once you get out of the vault, though, you’ll see a big open world, ready to be explored. The wasteland is full of debris, rundown buildings, and lots of characters that will shape the story. You’ll meet lots of odd characters, both good and bad guys, have conversations with them and find information about the current situation. In addition to the already good combat system, it also features a new element called VATS which makes killing enemies even more entertaining and easier.
Fallout 2
Fallout 2 is a classic 2D RPG game that truly defines what Fallout is all about. Being a sequel of the highly praised game, people had lots of expectations when the game came out, and well, it didn’t take long to meet those expectations. Fallout 2 is an improved version of Fallout, which got rid of all unnecessary things from the game but also kept all the necessary things by making them better. One thing I don’t like about this game, though, is that it tries a little bit too hard to reference pop cultures into it. Seriously, you can see these references everywhere you go. Other than that, the game is pretty solid. It has an immersive storyline that keeps you from straying too far from the actual mission. It also gives you the freedom to handle things your way and shape your story the way you like. New weapons, new enemies, and new things to discover; it fulfills all your expectations if you’ve played Fallout.
Fallout 4
You escape from a vault as the sole survivor after witnessing your wife being killed and your son being kidnapped. And the first thing you see after spending so much of your time locked up in a cryogenic stasis is how much the world has changed after the nuclear devastation. The latest game in the Fallout series features new elements and graphics. Set around the promises of Boston, you explore vast wastelands, scavenging resources and searching for your son. Unlike in other Fallout games, a crafting system is available in this one, and you’ll be able to craft quite a number of equipment with the resources you’ve collected. Like all the other games, there are plenty of actions and quests in this one as well. You explore different places, interact with people and give your opinions, kill mutated animals and creatures, and level up your character. However, the downside of this game is that it focuses too much on a linear storyline where the ultimate goal is to find your kidnapped son. Despite being an open-world game, you are constantly reminded of it, which takes away all the fun out of it. But, overall, it has an interesting story which makes up for that.
Fallout
Fallout is one of the classic video games that defined the franchise of the game. Every Fallout game started from this point, and it set up the pace for all of them. Considering it came out in the 90s when people thought RPGs were basically dead, it shined like a diamond and paved the way for a lot of games that came after it. You basically start out as a vault dweller and set out on a quest to fix the water problems in your vault. It allows you to create your own character as well as pick one from the list of pre-made characters if you’re not feeling like creating one. From the classic SPECIAL systems to the Karma system that we still see in modern Fallout games, it all started with this game. For a game that was released more than two decades ago, it had a fairly large map where you could interact with characters and complete their quest. There are more than one ways to complete quests, and each quest may play out differently based on your character. However, the graphics of the game are really outdated at this point, so you might need to bear with it if you want to play this game.
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout Tactics set a new storyline for the Fallout series by not continuing the story of both Fallout 1 and 2. It is more like an RTS game where you have to manage your squad and make strategies while playing. You start with a single character and recruit capable members along the way. Although you cannot interact much with characters in this game, you can perform plenty of trades with them. It still features lots of action elements, exploration, and mutated creatures, but it is much more linear than Fallout 1 and 2. But the conversation is very limited or, in some cases, non-existent. There are some choices you can make but only towards the end of the game, where your decision will determine how the game will end. And again, the gameplay is very linear, where you’re completing missions and moving along with much interaction with the environment. There aren’t cutscenes that explain the situation either. But other than that, the story is interesting enough to not lose your focus and get bored mid-way into the game.
Fallout 76
Fallout 76 was made for the sole purpose of providing an online Fallout experience to the players. However, the developers forgot to put one feature that made the game interesting; the NPCs. Without them, the game feels literally empty, with no one to be seen for miles. In later updates, they added NPCs to the game, but it was already too late. You can occasionally meet other players if you’re lucky, but that’s about it. It is an average game from every perspective. The quests, characters, missions, and updates; are all generic, and nothing is appealing in this game. Sure, you can play missions and quests, build your own base and explore the largest map ever, but it’s all average compared to the rest of the Fallout games. And the environment itself doesn’t give any Fallout vibes. Fallout games are known for their barren land, devoid of life where everything is destroyed due to nuclear war, but Fallout 76 doesn’t have that vibe. Sure, you can still see the effects of the devastation, but there are still buildings, trees, and vast forests, which take away all the fun of playing a Fallout game. And on top of that, the price of cosmetics in the game is ridiculously expensive for a game that isn’t even an MMORPG.
Fallout Shelter
When comparing it to other Fallout games, I don’t know if I should call it a Fallout game. It is just a simulation game where you manage resources and people in your vault. It lacks any thrills and joy the Fallout games provide, and most of the time, you’re just watching your vault dwellers doing their job and complaining how awful overseer you are. You can occasionally send your dwellers to explore the outside world and complete quests, but it is not as exciting as you think. And if your character dies while on the quest, you have to face another problem. You can expand the rooms of the vault and build rooms with different purposes, but it becomes a headache once you have more rooms. And on top of everything, you have to always make sure that your citizens are happy and they are doing the jobs they enjoy. You can’t also control them directly and can only give limited instruction, which is the most boring thing about this game. And most of the time, the game is just plain boring with nothing much to do.
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel feels extremely plain and simple, to the point that you can’t even call it a Fallout game. Sure, it depicts the story of a post-apocalyptic world where the world is suffering due to a nuclear war, but it pays very little attention to the story of the Fallout games that came before it. The gameplay feels bland as well, where you’ll be exploring for hours, fighting and killing the same enemies the entire time. Everything about this game is basic; from the storyline to the combat system, it feels like you’re doing the same thing again and again.
