16 Games You Need To Play If You Love The 'Fallout' Franchise

Maybe it’s not that surprising that one of Fallout 4’s most analogous relatives is one of the other Bethesda tent poles. Both showstopping games run on the same engine and seem to mirror each other in just about every important way. They each operate within a grand, dynamic setting with a clockwork structure. They share the ability to pick up every little thing you see, whether you have any claim to owning it or not. And there’s a similar attention to detail within the worlds they flesh out. 

Why it's worth playing: Though they share a lot, The Elder Scrolls offers a different flavor on the base recipe. Instead of popping off some rounds, there’s dueling with swords and casting magic. Rather than battling super mutants, you’re dancing with dragons. For every X, there’s a Y. It often feels like there’s a split between liking technology or liking fantasy; which are in many ways opposites side of the same coin. So if your taste lands “directly on the edge”, neither landing on either side, then you might fancy a traipse through Skyrim.

Bioshock invites one into the enigmatic remains of a fallen utopia. Overrun with its deranged inhabitants, one seeks to uncover what happened in the lead up to these troubling times. Like the Vaults in Fallout, this underwater city was built on good intentions and idealistic notions. It similarly intrigues players with what one can learn about the project’s construction. Through audio files and competed quests, the perplexing jigsaw puzzle becomes clearer and clearer of what atrocities befell this once beacon of prosperity. 

Why it's worth playing: The game has a strange and unique style, infusing ambiance of a 1940’s jazz-club with scientific futurism. It may be one of the few to have an apocalypse that happened 20,000 leagues under the sea. And it only gets stranger as much of the world’s means of offensive evolve from DNA mutations, that come dispensed out of vending machines. Allowing for throwing the mundane fireball, to the curious capability of spraying a swarm of bees out of your hands. 

One of Fallout’s most fascinating features is the network of underground vaults that survivors take refuge in. This idea of building a habitable network under a city is even more fully explored in Metro: Last Light, which takes place in a Russian subway system. It shows pockets of how people get by and keep on living, building out a citadel in the cramped confines of a metal tube. In Metro, though survival may seem first on the docket, it’s interesting to see how much of it deals with class warfare and the human struggle. The 2019 follow-up, Metro Exodus, is also worth seeking out.

Why it's worth playing: Unlike Fallout, you can only be on the surface for so long, as there’s limited time to traverse through the polluted air of the surface world, that now serves as a battleground for nuclear abominations. Scavenging for parts for your breathing apparatuses or customizable compressed-air guns take top priority and must be done with much haste, as getting caught out leads to a quick demise.

In an alternate dimension, Wasteland 2 is the Fallout 3 fans of the original Interplay titles so desperately craved, it just came out 16 years later. Picking up from the familiar throes of the west coast, Wasteland 2 adopts much of what made Fallout, well.. Fallout. In Fallout, you have perks, in Wasteland you have, quirks. Just about every element seems to find an analogous counterweight in the other.

Why it's worth playing: Marking the much-awaited return to the series, Wasteland 2 continues where its predecessor left off. Much of the initial setup is heavily tied to its first chapter, released in 1988, and sees many of its primary characters returning to fill out the world. Many of its idiosyncrasies and difficult learning curve come from a different era, which may initially turn off fans of more recent Fallout endeavors, though it's this sort of throwback style that brought it to the dance in the first place.

Coming from Obsidian Entertainment, the studio responsible for what is by most accounts the best Fallout game in the series: the infamous Fallout New Vegas, comes a second stab at the celebrated formula with The Outer Worlds. While the hallmarks of its progenitor are painstakingly obvious (from faux brand advertisements down to the center framing of every conversation), it nonetheless is an excellent rendition of the blueprint people have come to know and love.

Why it's worth playing: Despite being a Fallout game in everything except legally obtained branding, Outer Wilds brings some much-needed innovative changes to the prolific series. As fun as it is to roam the wastes of Fallout, this game alternates a more condensed journey. Splitting the game up into different planets gives way to more varied scenery, different locales, and smaller, more bite-sized areas to explore. Other slight yet meaningful changes add up to an overall smoother experience, that helps to avoid a cynical feeling that its nothing more than a mere imposter.

Much credit is understandably given to the Mad Max films for largely influencing the concept of apocalypse as it’s known today. Stretches of sky and empty deserts offer an unconquerable beauty. Setting the scene for ragtag teams of misfit vagabonds, rouge marauders, and tricked out cars. It’s atmosphere is a siren’s call, and this game lets the player get lost in this world of apocalyptia.

Why it's worth playing:Rather than setting off on foot, you traverse the dunes in a retrofitted car, the Magnum Opus. To satisfy one’s gearhead tendencies, it can be fully upgradeable, both cosmetic and otherwise, with salvaged parts. It’s not only for travel; its also ready for battle. Freewheeling through the dusty roads brings a sense of unchained jubilation. There’s no speed limit in a world without traffic cops.

Release: 2015
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure, vehicular combat
Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, macOS