Fallout Ranked
Year: 1997-Present
Developer: Interplay Entertainment (1997-2004), Obsidian Entertainment (2010), Bethesda Game Studios (2008-Present)
Publisher: Interplay Entertainment (1997-2004), Bethesda (2008-Present)
Main Entries: 4
Spin Off's: 5
Fallout is a series that has seen three decades, three developers, and multiple significant revisions over the years. The newer Fallout titles barely resemble the original game at all, and could be said to be sequels in name only due to their drastic departure from what established the series in the first place. But all Fallout games are stories of post-nuclear war survival from different points of view, in different areas of a destroyed United States of America. Some are terrible, and some are incredible.
For this list every entry of the Fallout franchise has been considered, that means all main games and all spin off's. The quality of the DLC (for more recent entries) has also been taken into account considering that some of these additions made radical changes to the games.
#9 Fallout 76 (2018)
For this list every entry of the Fallout franchise has been considered, that means all main games and all spin off's. The quality of the DLC (for more recent entries) has also been taken into account considering that some of these additions made radical changes to the games.
#9 Fallout 76 (2018)
The most recent entry on this list is also by far the weakest entry in the entire series. Fallout 76 had grand ambitions of finally being the long sought after Fallout MMO fans had been losing their minds over for well over a decade come 2018. What was delivered however was a game that barely resembled a Fallout title, and was barely even playable thanks to dozens of game breaking bugs and server connection issues. You are a resident of Vault 76 who is finally given the chance to leave the Vault along with all your other residents and rebuild the wasteland. Canonically first in the Fallout timeline, 76 should have been a great prologue for all the lore we get to experience in the other Fallout games. But instead it just became a laughing stock because of how awful it was to play, how there was nothing to really do in the game, and other than the art style almost everything that people loved about the Fallout games was removed in favour of essentially making it an open world online-only shooter. Bethesda have gone to great lengths to try and improve the stability of the game over time, but alongside this they've also added in new features like Battle Royale modes to make the property even less like Fallout games of old.
#8 Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004)
#8 Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004)
The final Fallout game developed by original developer Interplay, also the first Fallout to appear on consoles. Not to be confused with Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel; Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is a stark contrast to the previous Fallout games, not a strategy/RPG but instead an action RPG similar to the likes of X-Men Legends. It featured music vastly different to the series trademark style and also a vastly different style of storyline. Following a Brotherhood of Steel initiate sent on a mission to find lost Brotherhood Paladins, it's a pretty mundane experience. It's not bad, but just doesn't feel like Fallout and it doesn't give non-Fallout fans much of a reason to play it.
#7 Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
#7 Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
Fallout Tactics is actually a really good game and it's just unfortunate that it landed itself this far down on the list. The first Fallout to move out of turn based combat and into real time with a heavy emphasis on being tactical (see what I did there) rather than trial and error. The biggest problem in Tactics stems from its less than exciting story. Following a group of Vault inhabitants that leave the Vault life behind to form the series staple faction, the Brotherhood of Steel, and the early plights they had in the Chicago area of the wasteland. It's not exactly a terrible story, but it's certainly not one of Fallout's finer narratives.
#6 Fallout Shelter (2015)
#6 Fallout Shelter (2015)
Another off-shoot of the Fallout series, this time a game designed for mobile devices; though it did make its way to consoles some time later. What was initially a way to spin hype for Fallout 4 actually ended up being a really enjoyable and addictive god game where you are put in the position of overseerer at your very own Vault. You Recruit new citizens, send them scavenging in the wastes, and upgrade anything and everything you can in order to create a happy and productive Vault just like Vault-Tec always promised with their pre-war marketing schemes.
No story, all gameplay, and it's damn fine gameplay at that...even if the micro-transactions are a much much more viable way to do anything in this game than actually playing properly. It also looks great, sporting the retro-cartoon style of the Vault-Boy infomercials you'll see around the Fallout universe.
#5 Fallout 2 (1998)
No story, all gameplay, and it's damn fine gameplay at that...even if the micro-transactions are a much much more viable way to do anything in this game than actually playing properly. It also looks great, sporting the retro-cartoon style of the Vault-Boy infomercials you'll see around the Fallout universe.
#5 Fallout 2 (1998)
Fallout 2 is often a subject of debate among hardcore Fallout fans. Whilst it's significantly superior to the original Fallout in terms of gameplay. Many argue that it's story is inferior as well as the OTT sense of humour being a negative aspect of the game. I happen to fall into the latter camp which is why it's landed here.
Fallout has always been a series that can poke fun at itself and various areas of pop-culture, however Fallout 2 did seem to take this a little further than most other entries in the series. Following the 'Chosen One', a descendant of your character in the original Fallout, you must save your town from famine and drought, as well as the villainous Enclave (what's left of the U.S government). Whatever your opinion on Fallout 2, it's certainly one of the finer entries in the series.
#4 Fallout 4 (2015)
Fallout has always been a series that can poke fun at itself and various areas of pop-culture, however Fallout 2 did seem to take this a little further than most other entries in the series. Following the 'Chosen One', a descendant of your character in the original Fallout, you must save your town from famine and drought, as well as the villainous Enclave (what's left of the U.S government). Whatever your opinion on Fallout 2, it's certainly one of the finer entries in the series.
#4 Fallout 4 (2015)
Fallout 4 was a long time coming and had an awful lot of hype surrounding it come release. Following the sole survivor of Vault 111 as they awaken from cryo-sleep and set out on an adventure to rescue their son from an organisation known as The Institute. A lot of gameplay changes were made from the previous two Fallout titles in an attempt to make some of the clunky mechanics of Fallout 3 & New Vegas more player friendly. Ultimately what ended up happening through is the game started to feel more like a shooter and less like an RPG, and the dialogue options were minimised in the worst ways possible. Whilst still a great game with a lot to enjoy in it, it was a sign of things to come from Bethesda that they wanted to make the series more action oriented and less of an RPG.
#3 Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
#3 Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
Fallout: New Vegas is perhaps the best from a narrative standpoint. You play as 'The Courier', in the opening to the game you are shot in the head, robbed of your package, and buried. However you are quickly uncovered by a robot and taken to a nearby town to be patched up. After helping out the residents to thank them for their help in bringing you back to life, you set out for the New Vegas strip in search of the man who attempted to kill you. As you arrive and the bright lights of Vegas tempt you, you become a major player in the war over controlling New Vegas that is brewing between the casino owners and various other factions scattered around the Mojave desert. The New Vegas story provided in the base game is fantastic, the story provided in the DLC packs is also similarly brilliant. Stories that aren't completely separate from the main game (like Fallout 3's were) and help provide a much clearer picture of what's going on in and around New Vegas from the people we didn't hear so much from.
After all that, why is Fallout: New Vegas not higher on this list? The gameplay is a bit wobbly to say the least. Much of the Mojave Desert is relatively empty, and there are simply too many game-breaking glitches to count. That's not even mentioning all the new gameplay additions that simply don't work how they were intended such as campfires, ammo crafting, and ironsights on weapons. Though New Vegas is a marvel of RPG storytelling, its gameplay lets it down. But it is still one of the best Fallout experiences you can have.
#2 Fallout (1997)
After all that, why is Fallout: New Vegas not higher on this list? The gameplay is a bit wobbly to say the least. Much of the Mojave Desert is relatively empty, and there are simply too many game-breaking glitches to count. That's not even mentioning all the new gameplay additions that simply don't work how they were intended such as campfires, ammo crafting, and ironsights on weapons. Though New Vegas is a marvel of RPG storytelling, its gameplay lets it down. But it is still one of the best Fallout experiences you can have.
#2 Fallout (1997)
The original and in some regards the best Fallout. You play as a character simply known as the 'Vault Dweller' who is tasked with venturing out into the wasteland to find a water treatment chip to replace the faulty one in their home, Vault 13. Fallout is an isometric turn based RPG that is known for its unforgiving nature, trial & error gameplay, and dark humour towards pretty bleak subjects. It's one of PC gaming's most iconic games, one that is frequently featured in best PC game lists, and also regularly highlighted as one of the most influential games of the 1990's by gamers everywhere. Fallout is a true classic of PC gaming.
#1 Fallout 3 (2008)
#1 Fallout 3 (2008)
Fallout 3 is regularly cited as one of the best games of the seventh console generation, one of the best RPG's ever created, and one of the most important games of all time. Designed to bring the Fallout brand back with a bang after a string of cancelled games (as well as a change in developer), Bethesda certainly achieved their goal and then some with what is arguably their finest game. Playing similarly to Bethesda's previous game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3 is an action RPG that can be played in either 3rd or 1st person view. The extensive character creation system allows you to create a truly unique character, this combined with the series staple S.P.E.C.I.A.L upgrade system, and the newly added V.A.T.S targeting system created a bridge to the previous Fallout titles, allowing returning fans to be able to jump in with relatively little hassle to adapt to the vastly different gameplay, as well as bring in the newcomers by the thousands with its FPS style combat.
Following the 'Lone Wanderer', a resident of Vault 101 until he or she is exiled after their father escapes. Alone in a vast, dangerous world unfamiliar to them, they begin a search for their missing father that will take them all around the Capitol Wasteland in an adventure to purify the water supply to the entire D.C region. The DLC is a mixed bag. Though the narrative to some of these expansions is excellent, the gameplay is never anything different from what you have been doing in the base game. The best of the bunch comes in the form of 'Broken Steel' however, which allows you to play on after the ending to the base game and sees you participate in a war between the Brotherhood of Steel & the Enclave. Though the story is not the strongest in the franchise (in fact it's very nearly Fallout 1's story all over again), the revolutionary gameplay as well as the near perfection of every aspect of the game provides one of the most definitive gaming experiences of all time and is not to be missed by any gamer.
Following the 'Lone Wanderer', a resident of Vault 101 until he or she is exiled after their father escapes. Alone in a vast, dangerous world unfamiliar to them, they begin a search for their missing father that will take them all around the Capitol Wasteland in an adventure to purify the water supply to the entire D.C region. The DLC is a mixed bag. Though the narrative to some of these expansions is excellent, the gameplay is never anything different from what you have been doing in the base game. The best of the bunch comes in the form of 'Broken Steel' however, which allows you to play on after the ending to the base game and sees you participate in a war between the Brotherhood of Steel & the Enclave. Though the story is not the strongest in the franchise (in fact it's very nearly Fallout 1's story all over again), the revolutionary gameplay as well as the near perfection of every aspect of the game provides one of the most definitive gaming experiences of all time and is not to be missed by any gamer.