The Best ‘Fallout’ Games, Ranked

Now that Amazon’s Fallout series has made its debut, many new fans are turning to the gaming series that inspired the show. Whether you’re just blowing into the franchise like an actual nuclear fallout or you’ve been with the games since their launch (also like an actual nuclear fallout), now is a great time to revisit all the Vaults, wastelands, and worlds of the gaming series. As in matters of wasteland survival, some choices are better than others. These are the best Fallout games ranked from worst to best. If you’re interested in the chronology of the games, you can check that out here.

Fallout Shelter

Have you ever wondered what life inside a Vault-Tec Vault is like? Now you don’t have to! Fallout Shelter is a management sim where you play as the overseer of your Vault. Your job is to ensure that your Vaulties have food, water, and all their limbs intact! This entry is perfect for new Fallout converts from the TV series, as you can get it as a mobile or PC game. Shelter features all the Fallout fun without the console commitment. You’ll get there. Like the rebuilding of society, these things take time. Fallout Shelter is an aperitif, not a main course. It’s the cherry on top of the radioactive pile of nuclear waste.

Fallout 76

Fallout 76 is an unfortunate radiation sore on an otherwise unblemished franchise. Set in Appalachia, your character’s job is to track down the origin of a mysterious disease that killed off everyone in the region! The problem? There’s not a lot of people in the region left. The Fallout series is made great by its complex political and sociological ecosystem that sees many different groups vying for power and resources. Fallout 76, by unfortunate design, is pretty barren of characters. And the few that appear aren’t all that interesting. As a result, a world that could be brimming with life feels desolate and lonely, and that’s saying a lot for a game set in the apocalypse. Pair that with often buggy gameplay, and not even the in-game appearance of Mothman can save this one. He is pretty cool though.

Fallout

The original. The granddaddy of the Fallout series. Fallout (1997) deserves props for being the blueprint, turning nothing into a post-apocalyptic something. In the O.G. game, you’re a survivor of Vault 13. Your mission? Journey into the wasteland to gather resources, fight off raiders, and save your fellow Vault-dwellers from extinction. As the first game in the series, Fallout still had lots of kinks to work out (and not the sexy kind). As a game from 1997, of course, the original Fallout feels dated. It lacks the sophisticated combat system and lush worldbuilding of its successors. Still, it’s super solid for a first try.

Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel

Taking a page out of Final Fantasy‘s book, Fallout Tactics is a turn-based strategy game that puts you in the shoes of a brand new Brotherhood of Steel recruit. It’s a bold change of pace for a series that favors shoot-em-in-the-face action and is duly rewarded for the risk. If you love the world of Fallout but want its horrible monsters to wait their turn before attacking you, this game is your answer. If you’re not a fan, no sweat, Fallout Tactics is technically not a canon entry. It’s your own little strategy fan-fic! Worried that the cerebral game is gonna be short on character substance? Worry not. Fallout Tactics has some of the best voice acting in the franchise, featuring some drill sergeant insult comedy gold from Paladin Ryczek, a.k.a.”Sarge” to you.

Fallout 2

Fallout walked so Fallout 2 (1998) could fly. The sequel to the original does its job: make a good game better. Better combat. Better story. Better vibe. It better be, considering you play as a descendant of the protagonist of the first game. If humanity didn’t improve itself over the generations, what hope is left for the end of the world? Fallout 2 is a testament to learning from past mistakes to make a better future. Long-time fans of the series cite Fallout 2 as where the franchise’s greatness really began. What’s the story? The Chosen One (that’s you) is sent out to retrieve a terraforming piece of technology called the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. Unsurprisingly, this fetch quest goes off the rails.

Fallout 4

The most recent iteration of the franchise (until Bethesda drops a little bomb called Fallout 5), Fallout 4 (2015) is easily one of the best. The action takes place in the remains of New England, which has gone through a post-apocalyptic Revolutionary War rebrand and taken to calling itself The Commonwealth. Your mission? Find your long-lost son, a refreshing departure from the “where’s my dad?” energy of past games. Now the dad finds YOU. Your playable dad (or mom) has a lot of options in this vast and lush game, with a Skyrim amount of choices to make, sidequests to complete, and factions to align yourself with. Happy son hunting!

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 (2008) jumped the radioactive shark and stuck the landing. The game marks the franchise’s transition from 2D to 3D graphics, and what a glorious transition it is. Set in the Wasteland Formerly Known As Washington D.C., you take control of The Wanderer, a survivor searching for their Liam Neeson-voiced dad. The gameplay is vastly improved with the introduction of the VATS targeting system, which gives some tactical spice to a run-and-gun entree of a game. And believe me, this game is a full meal. So much to do. So many people to kill. It proves that the decade between Fallout 2 and 3 was worth the wait.

Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout 3: New Vegas (2010) is the quintessential Fallout game, served in no small part by the location—the irradiated Mojave Desert. The blasted desert landscape just feels right (even before the bombs dropped) and, like in Breath of the Wild, the environment is the star of the show. That’s not to say the game skimps on plot. No, sir. After being left to die in the desert by a raider gang, your plucky protagonist stumbles across a whole heaping helping of oatmeal thick plot due in no small part to the mysterious package you were sent to deliver. Just a delight from start to finish.

(featured image: Bethesda Game Studios)