Fallout Games Tier List

Highlights

• Fallout 3 marked a turning point with Bethesda at the helm, providing a near-perfect balance of combat, exploration, and plot fans adore.
• Despite initial criticism, Fallout 76 evolved into a fantastic multiplayer experience with shelters, supplies, and assaults on settlements.
• Fallout: New Vegas, under Obsidian, stands out with immersive gameplay, political wars, and boundless replayability for fans to enjoy.

The Fallout franchise is one of Bethesda’s longest-running and most popular series, rivaling the Elder Scrolls. With the emergence of the popular Amazon live-action show, many fans, old and new, are flocking to the backlog of games for their next Fallout fix while waiting for whatever may come next from the franchise.

These games, old and more recent, have garnered acclaim from gamers and critics alike, thanks to their gameplay, story, and other elements. Even the older titles that arguably show their age with no remakes to modernize them are still heralded as fantastic RPGs that all fans should try for themselves. But how do they hold up against modern titles?

9 Fallout: Brotherhood Of Steel

Metacritic Score: 66

One of the strengths of the Fallout series is the fact that it offers open-world experiences, giving players the freedom to explore, discover new locations, and pursue some fun side quests. The spin-off title, Brother of Steel, changes this, however, by offering players a more linear experience. Gamers will travel from predestined location to predestined location with no option to return or break away for exploration, and rather than building their own character, they will choose a premade one.

Railroading players in a game isn’t bad in itself, as some titles benefit from a more streamlined linear experience, but this goes against what Fallout games normally consist of, and as such, might come as an unwelcome surprise to fans of the series. There is also the small issue of the gameplay becoming stale after a few hours, making Brotherhood of Steel less fun to play than other entries in this series.

8 Fallout Shelter

Metacritic Score: 71

Fallout Shelter differs completely from the rest of the entries in the franchise thanks to the unique gameplay it offers. Rather than players traveling across a war-torn world ravaged by a nuclear fallout infested with as many people as there are dangerous monsters, players will remain inside of the vault for the entirety of the game.

Players assume the role of an Overseer in a Fallout-themed resource management survival game, keeping the Vault Dwellers fed, watered, safe, and happy. For those who enjoy these types of games, Fallout Shelter is the ideal title for them, but those searching for an authentic Fallout experience won’t find what they are looking for here. With it costing exactly $0, however, it might be worth trying just for its Fallout themes.

7 Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood Of Steel

Metacritic Score: 82

The Brotherhood of Steel is one of the major reoccurring factions in Fallout, and they are the stars of the show in Fallout Tactics. As its name suggests, the title is a more tactical strategy game than an open-world shooter RPG, revolving around a squadron of the BoS embroiled in war.

Rather than engaging in action-packed gun gameplay with the aim to kill the enemy before they kill the player, Fallout Tactics has a more unique and complex turn-based game system. While this allows for players to customize gameplay to a certain extent, it may not appeal to all gamers who are looking for a more simple and fun title to jump right into, and the absence of the RPG elements will be a turn-off for fans of those mechanics.

6 Fallout 76

Metacritic Score: 52

Fallout is predominantly a single-player series, focusing on stories and gameplay, even as the gaming industry shifts towards focusing on multiplayer games. That said, it eventually caught up with the trend, resulting in the release of Fallout 76.

Its initial release was plagued with criticism due to the instability of servers and the prices of certain cosmetics, but Bethesda has given Fallout 76 plenty of care and updates since its initial release, which has culminated in a fantastic and fun multiplayer experience. Players can build shelters, forage supplies, and launch assaults on other gamers’ settlements. For those who favor the expected gameplay mechanics of the Fallout universe, this might just be the perfect title for them.

5 Fallout: New Vegas

Metacritic Score: 84

For New Vegas, the IP once again changed hands to Obsidian, resulting in what is arguably one of the best Fallout games. Set in a futuristic and apocalyptic version of Las Vegas and the surrounding Mojave, it had a more interesting setting than previous installments that the game makes great use of. Even in the desert, players will find great places to explore and interesting NPCs to meet.

With political wars brimming and plenty of choices for the player to make, including who to side with, New Vegas offers an incredibly immersive game with plenty of content to enjoy and boundless replayability. And the performance of Matthew Perry as the main antagonist Benny is nothing short of perfect. Whichever angle gamers look at New Vegas from, they will find something to praise.

4 Fallout 2

Metacritic Score: 86

Fallout 2 had some pretty big shoes to fill after the first game, the one that kicked off a video game series that would endure for decades. The player takes on the role of the grandchild of the first game’s protagonist, known as The Chosen One, who is beseeched by the village elder of their hometown to retrieve a device that can end the drought.

The premise isn’t too dissimilar to the first game, but if something is not broken, why fix it? It serves as a good enough starting point that will propel the player through the hazardous nuclear wasteland, meeting NPCs and experiencing engaging gameplay along the way. The gameplay is fun enough, as is the game as a whole, but it doesn’t quite measure up to its predecessor. That being said, Fallout 2 is still a must-play for fans who have yet to experience it.

3 Fallout 4

Metacritic Score: 87

After the success of Fallout 3, fans were comfortable and confident in Bethesda’s handling of the series, and many rightfully anticipated the release of Fallout 4. As the sole survivor of Vault 111, the player is thrust into a post-apocalyptic world that, even degraded and destroyed, has moments of beauty and instances of gut-wrenching horror and excitement. Seeing a Deathclaw in new shiny graphics is a moment that will stick in fans’ minds for years to come.

Once the main plot is done, players will still have countless things to do and discover, providing them with hours upon hours of fun content. Maybe Fallout 4 isn’t the best game in the series’ history, but it is one that should be beloved and appreciated by all its players.

2 Fallout

Metacritic Score: 89

The original Fallout kicked off gamers’ love for post-apocalyptic worlds, which were largely unexplored in the realm of gaming until Interplay came along with their IP.

In this title, players choose or make their Vault Dweller, who is tasked with retrieving a Water Chip to repair their water purification system in Vault 13. They meet various NPCs, factions, and foes along the way, using their custom-statted characters to deal with any obstacles that hinder them. At its time of release, Fallout was a one-of-a-kind game thanks to its approach to character creation and its setting, and it has stood the test of time, remaining as one of the best games in the series.

1 Fallout 3

Metacritic Score: 93

Fallout 3 was a turning point for the series. New and better hardware allowed for a more modernized game that still holds up today, and it was the first Fallout game that Bethesda was at the helm for, as development had previously been handled by Black Isle Studios, Interplay Entertainment, and The Omni Group. Fans were concerned about this transition, but when the game was released, their fears were allayed.

Fallout 3 provided an excellent experience, finding a near-perfect balance between combat, open-world exploration, and plot, which is the formula many Fallout fans have come to know and adore. This game might be overshadowed by nostalgic favorites or more recent titles with improved gameplay and graphics, but it does remain as a strong entry that only showed a glimpse of what could come from the new developers.