The long-running, fan-favorite post-apocalyptic RPG franchise Fallout is now one year shy of its 30th anniversary, and it’s gone through a lot of change and growth throughout its nearly three-decade long history. From humble beginnings at Interplay Entertainment and the 1997 release of the very first game to the blockbuster success of Fallout 4 and the Fallout TV show, the series has become an absolute megahit.
Alongside spinoffs like Fallout Tactics and Fallout Shelter, we’ve gotten six mainline Fallout RPGs over the years, including Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. Developer Bethesda is working on Fallout 5, too, though it’s a long way off, as the studio’s next game will be The Elder Scrolls 6.
In online discussions about the Fallout games, New Vegas is very often listed as a favorite due to its impressive RPG depth, complete with multiple major and minor factions, countless potential quest outcomes, advanced speech and dialogue systems, and a high degree of reactivity to the player’s actions. The overall story and setting are top-notch, too, and allows you to do do pretty much anything you want without putting roadblocks in your way.
Thus, I was hardly surprised to see it take the win by a large margin here. I was surprised to see Fallout 3 so close to Fallout 4’s position, though. Fallout 4 is the latest single player entry in the series with the smoothest, most modern gameplay and combat mechanics. On top of that, it’s the most stable game for modding, and has gotten a ton of mod content — both free and sold as curated DLC in the Creations store — since its 2015 release.
But Fallout 4 is also often criticized for lacking the RPG “crunch” Interplay’s original games and New Vegas had, while Bethesda retained much of it with Fallout 3. So even though Fallout 4 is easier to get into, more polished, and serves as a better foundation for user-generated content, Fallout 3 features a direction that players prefer more overall.
Another unexpected result was Fallout 76 coming in below even Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, both of which are old-school CRPGs from the ’90s with rather archaic control schemes that make them difficult to smoothly engage with. The takeaway here seems to be that multiplayer is rarely anyone’s favorite way to experience Fallout, even though Fallout 76 still has a healthy player base even eight years post-launch.
No matter which Fallout game is your favorite, it’s a great time to be a Fallout fan — especially since every game in the series is available to play on Xbox and/or PC through Xbox Game Pass. Even Fallout 1, 2, and Tactics are on PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
What’s your favorite Fallout game? Do you agree with everyone that thinks Fallout: New Vegas is the best, or do you feel differently? Share your thoughts in the comments, and make sure to vote in the poll yourself below.
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