Every Fallout Game Ever Released, Ranked

Fallout has changed so much over the years that it's almost no longer recognizable. What started as a clunky CRPG is now a first-person shooter with microtransactions. Fallout fans were brought up expecting deep political stories—examinations of the human condition. Now, most modern fans expect slightly irreverent post-apocalyptic romps. Is one necessarily better than the other? Yes. The deep stories are better.

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We aren't saying people who play and enjoy modern Fallout games are bad people, not at all. In terms of gameplay, modern Fallout games are all solid. However, the stories of the Bethesda Fallout games just don't stand up to those written by Interplay (now Obsidian). This ranking is focused on the Fallout games with the best, most impactful stories, though gameplay is also taken into account.

There will be some spoilers ahead!

Updated October 10, 2022 by James Austin: Game development never changes.Twenty-five years ago, on October 10, 1997, Interplay released Fallout 1. Despite the popularity of the franchise, Interplay went under less than a decade later, in 2004. From the ashes of Interplay rose Obsidian, who went on to develop a slew of great games. From the ashes of Fallout 1 & 2 rose Fallout 3 & 4, now developed in-house by Bethesda. Were it not for Bethesda, we likely wouldn't be discussing Fallout today. Yet still, we find ourselves drawn to those classic Interplay titles. To help readers sort out this tangled web of publishers and developers behind the Fallout franchise, we've updated this article with new information.

9 Fallout: Brotherhood Of Steel

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is a game many readers may not have even heard of. It's the obvious black sheep of the Fallout franchise. It's actually not even an RPG — it's a beat 'em up. BoS was notably the final Fallout game developed by Interplay, and it's widely regarded as... well, pretty bad. It's at the bottom of this list because, yes, it is pretty bad.

BoS was apparently aiming to bring Fallout to home consoles with a streamlined action experience. The gameplay is stunningly simple, the story is linear, and scantily-clad women are everywhere for some reason. It almost feels like an insult to console gamers that this is what Interplay thought they would want. It's not all bad, though. The Vault Dweller from Fallout 1 is in the game, which is cool. Harold, the beloved ghoul NPC, makes a return. Actually, one of the playable characters is a ghoul, making BoS the only Fallout video game with a playable ghoul!

8 Fallout 76

The controversial Fallout 76 was met with a firestorm of criticism on its release. There's not much to say about the game that hasn't already been said. It does not feel like a Fallout game. It feels like a cash grab.

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Maybe if Bethesda had given 76 more development time, it wouldn't have been saddled with its awful reputation. There are some things to like here. Say what you will about Bethesda, but they excel at designing environments. The Appalachian wasteland is gorgeous, and the Fallout 4 gameplay engine is solid. Sadly, good graphics and gameplay can't save a game from a swarm of bugs, nor can they support 76's boring story or its forced online-only gameplay.

7 Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter was released at a clever time. At the Bethesda E3 Showcase in 2015, alongside the announcement of the new game Fallout 4, Todd Howard announced that this cute little mobile game would be releasing not soon, but right now. Many excited fans checked the game out, and some of them stuck around.

The only reason Fallout Shelter isn't ranked higher is that it's not really a Fallout game. It has the Fallout trappings, but it's not an RPG — it's a base-building game. Actually, it's a pretty good base-building game. As a free-to-play game it does have microtransactions, but they don't feel too forced. Players can have hours of fun without spending a dime. That alone should confirm that this is a mobile game worth playing.

6 Fallout 4

When Todd Howard famously said "all of this just works," he was referring to settlement building in Fallout 4. He then had to clarify, to a giggling crowd, "I am not kidding."

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Maybe some fans were clamoring for base-building, but most of us just wanted a great story. Fallout 4 tosses the player into this heavy, emotional story about loss, but it never really gives them a reason to care about the people they lost. Furthermore, player freedom is completely undermined since the player has such an ironclad goal: find your son. That could be forgiven if the story was fascinating or if it had great characters. It's interesting at times. It has some good characters. The gameplay is good, but it doesn't save this from being a mediocre Fallout experience.

5 Fallout Tactics

In 2001, the financially struggling Interplay was acquired by a company called Titus Interactive. Titus was primarily known for tie-in games, including the infamous Superman 64. In 2004, Titus filed for bankruptcy, effectively dissolving Interplay. However, just before this, Interplay oversaw the development Fallout Tactics, which was developed by Micro Forté and published by a little company called Bethesda.

The development of Tactics was rushed thanks to the somewhat dire situation at Interplay. It does show a bit. The gameplay is good, and the game itself is definitely still worth playing for Fallout fans. The story, though it's been declared "partially non-canon" by Bethesda, is excellent. It reeks of classic Interplay writing. Still, we can't help but wonder how much better the gameplay could've been with a bit more time in the oven.

4 Fallout 3

Fallout 3 was revolutionary when it came out. "Oblivion with guns," reviewers were calling it. Interplay made Brotherhood of Steel, but Bethesda made the first console game that actually felt like Fallout. Despite that, it's not without its share of storytelling issues.

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A great example of the awkwardness of Fallout 3's story: in the final level, the player needs to go into a highly irradiated area. Not long before this, they can recruit a super mutant named Fawkes. Super mutants are immune to radiation. So of course, logically, the player asks Fawkes to go in and do it instead. Their response? A cold, resounding "no." The whole dialogue option was an afterthought because Bethesda didn't plan out its story properly. There are plenty of other examples of weird storytelling in the game, like the entire return of the Enclave, but the story as a whole feels a bit more appropriate and entertaining than it does in Fallout 4.

3 Fallout 1

In Fallout 1, a hero known as "The Vault Dweller" saves his vault from a growing super mutant threat (as well as a water shortage). The content of the game is gripping and impressive, but its relatively short length and lack of meaningful side content may leave players wanting more.

Here's a prime example of the greatness of Fallout's storytelling: the super mutants. They were established in Fallout 1 as genetically superior versions of humans. Because the mutants were so smart, after taking over the world they would stop fighting, and Earth would be free from the destruction of war. They're evil, it's an interesting, believable evil. By contrast, in Fallout 3, the mutants just feel like bumbling idiots. Again, that's just one example of how the world of Fallout 1 is deep and fascinating, more so than in modern Fallout games.

2 Fallout 2

Fallout 2 follows up and capitalizes on the successes of Fallout 1. Players take on the role of "The Chosen One," a tribal hero searching for a tool that might save their home — the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.). Like its predecessor, it's an isometric RPG inspired by tabletop gaming mechanics. It can also feel clunky and unintuitive for modern gamers to pick up. However, its expanded story and memorable characters place it squarely above Fallout 1 in terms of quality.

Fallout 2 is notable for being the game that introduced The Enclave, a group that was later reused multiple times by Bethesda. In this game, they're a stronghold of the American government that's taken on some worrying undertones. Their goal is to wipe out "mutants" (basically, everyone except for them) so they can rebuild America from the ground up. It's a great story that feels almost a bit too real at times.

1 Fallout: New Vegas

In New Vegas, a courier gets caught up in a messy web of political intrigue. It plays like Fallout 3, but was written and developed by Obsidian. Obsidian formed from the ashes of Interplay, meaning several members of the original Fallout production team were at the reins again. New Vegas doesn't have Fallout 4's gorgeous graphics. Technically speaking, it may be somewhat of a mess. But it's a beautiful, original mess. Where Fallout 3 carelessly reused tropes, New Vegas added new ideas to the series while still staying true to its roots.

It should be no surprise to fans that New Vegas is the best Fallout game. Not only are the characters fascinating and believable, nearly every quest is interesting, the dialogue is surprisingly nuanced, and the Fallout 3 gameplay engine is fun, if extremely buggy. Anyone who hasn't already done so should play New Vegas now; it's just an amazing RPG.

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