I played every mainline Fallout game and ranked them

With the Fallout Amazon Prime series launching the franchise into a whole new level of popularity, many people are flocking to the games to check out what inspired the hit series before the show’s second season. And there’s a lot of greatness to be found. Of the mainline Fallout games, there isn’t really a bad one in the bunch. Your preferences will vary by what exactly you seek out of a game, but it is nonetheless fun to rank the various games in the series.

While there are many great games, there are some you can’t really rank alongside the others due to their nature as spin-offs or as dubiously canon to the franchise. So, while games like Fallout Shelter and Fallout Tactics are great fun, and Fallout Brotherhood of Steel also happens to exist, none of these games will be considered for ranking on this list.

1 Fallout: New Vegas

The best of both worlds

Although it’s become something of an in-joke among fans of the series to say that Fallout: New Vegas is the best one, it’s deserving of that status. Having been developed by a team at Obsidian that was largely comprised of devs behind Fallout 1 and 2, Fallout: New Vegas presents a great synthesis. Where Bethesda’s Fallout games present modernized gameplay with slightly simpler storylines, Fallout: New Vegas plays the exact same as Fallout 3 with story beats much more in line with the classics.

Fallout: New Vegas also presents a series first for Fallout, that being the game has no humanity threatening stakes. Yes, the Legion is a very bad faction of very bad people, but they aren’t aiming for the total obliteration of humanity. This allows for a much more interesting, nuanced story about the society that has arisen in the aftermath of the post-apocalypse.

The game also reintroduces the New California Republic to the series, a faction which was introduced in the first two games, and introduces the elusive Mr. House. Aside from the primary plot of the game, Fallout: New Vegas is filled to the brim with compelling side content.

Perhaps the greatest strength, Fallout: New Vegas has over other first-person entries is its incredible add-ons that stretch an already impressive game even further. For a fantastic Fallout story with more modern gameplay, Fallout: New Vegas is the definitive choice. It is hands down the best entry in the series, and flatly one of the best RPGs of all time.

2 Fallout 4

Not the best, but still an absolute blast.

Fallout 4 just received a next-gen patch to help modernize it for the current generation of consoles. This entry to the series came out in 2015 and has been met with mixed praise since. While the gameplay is undeniably the sharpest it has ever been since the series made the jump from isometric to first-person, the Fallout 4 experience still leaves a little more to be desired.

For starters, the game made a large departure from the rest of the series by giving the player character a voice. This arguably made the game a much weaker experience as far as role-playing goes. The voiced player character, in addition to the simplified dialogue system, made Fallout 4 undeniably the weakest series as far as dialogue goes.

Fallout 4’s story also can feel a little half-baked at times. Between dubiously absent motivations for the game’s primary antagonist, the Institute, and nonexistent characterization for other factions, like the Minutemen, the game’s story leaves much to be desired. This is, however, made up for in one of the game’s add-ons, Far Harbor.

All of that said, there is still a lot to praise about Fallout 4. Aside from the incredible gameplay, the game also introduced settlement building. Although your mileage on the subject will vary based on your own liking for building things in the wasteland. The game’s setting of post-apocalyptic Boston is also incredibly realized, even if it’s not the best map Bethesda has ever made.

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3 Fallout 3

A bold new beginning.

Fallout 3 marked the first mainline entry into the Fallout franchise since 1998’s Fallout 2. Between those two games, Fallout Tactics and Fallout Brotherhood of Steel were both released, but more importantly, Bethesda Game Studios acquired the rights to the franchise. Just two years after the release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda released Fallout 3 in 2008.

Bethesda’s first entry into the Fallout series remains the favorite of many, and for good reason. Above any other first-person Fallout, Fallout 3 captures the post-apocalyptic feeling like no other. The entire game feels extremely dreary and hopeless, in the exact way the United States’ Capital ought to feel after atomic annihilation.

The game transitions the franchise out of the isometric world of Fallout 1 and 2 seamlessly, and although the gameplay is clunky by today’s standards, it remains a fun romp. Though the story isn’t the best the series has ever offered, the world of Fallout 3 is more than enough to make up for it. More than any other Fallout game, Fallout 3’s world is absurdly easy to get sucked into exploring. Bethesda has made some fantastic world maps, but none have quite topped the map of Fallout 3.

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4 Fallout 76

Better than you think.

Fallout 76 is not a bad game. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s the best Fallout game made by Bethesda. Yes, its launch was rough. Yes, it would be nice if you could play offline on your own map of Appalachia. But, for what it is, Fallout 76 is a great experience.

In a large departure from the rest of the series, 2018’s Fallout 76 sees you take control of one of many player characters roaming the world. Every character is a resident of Vault 76. Your mission is to discover and rebuild the ruins of West Virginia just 25 years after the Great War. Since the game’s release, many changes have been made to that core objective. In the game’s initial release, there were no human NPCs. This was received poorly by most, but the environmental storytelling on display in the at-the-time, otherwise desolate Appalachia was superb.

In 2020, the first of many large story updates was released for Fallout 76. The Wastelanders update introduced human NPCs to the world that had come back in the wake of player actions in the initial storyline to make Appalachia habitable again. Since then, many other story updates have added more to expand the main storyline of Fallout 76. Some updates have even seen you go beyond Appalachia to the Pitt, the ruins of Pittsburgh first seen in an add-on for Fallout 3, and post-apocalyptic Atlantic City.

What makes Fallout 76 the best of Bethesda’s entries into the franchise is its fantastic world, sharp gameplay, and incredible community. A factor in the quality of any online game is its community, and Fallout 76 has truly one of the kindest online communities in existence. If you are a new player to the game, chances are you will have an insanely high-level player gift you a ton of equipment within an hour of stepping out of Vault 76.

If you haven’t played Fallout 76, or tried it during its admittedly awful launch, it is very much worth giving a chance. With a stellar environment and the same addictive gameplay loop of Fallout 4, Fallout 76 can be a truly fantastic experience.

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5 Fallout 2

A nearly perfect sequel.

Fallout 2 is often hailed as the best in the series, and for good reason. It is an absolutely hilarious, but all-the-same serious RPG that almost perfectly follows up the original. The game takes place 80 years after the events of the first game, and seeks to show a different world.

Taking place 164 years after the Great War in Northern California, the world of Fallout 2 is coming back to civilization. Several large cities exist within the game’s world, all with varying visions of what post-apocalyptic civilization actually looks like. While the main quest of the game sees the player character, the Chosen One, seeking to save their village from drought and famine, the player also influences the wasteland’s future.

The endgame of Fallout 2 sees you revisiting a handful of locations from the original game, and also introduces the Enclave as a major antagonist. Aside from the Enclave, It also introduced a lot more of what is now considered basic features of the Fallout world. For example, it was something of a twist within Fallout 2 that the Vaults were actually experiments run by Vault-Tec.

The incredible setting, story, and characters of Fallout 2 go a long ways towards making this one of the best in the series. That’s without even getting into the fantastic soundtrack by Mark Morgan. While the game has its flaws, they pale in comparison to its merits.

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6 Fallout

There’s a reason the franchise still exists.

While Fallout 2 is nearly a perfect sequel, it still doesn’t manage to beat its predecessor. Fallout 1 offers a fantastic first glance into a now very fleshed-out world. So much of what is now known as Fallout is only barely being built in Fallout 1.

At the same time, Fallout 1 tells the most desperate tale in the franchise. Taking place less than 100 years after the world was destroyed, Fallout 1 presents a harsh look into post-apocalyptic Southern California. You play as a Vault Dweller sent out into the wasteland to find a replacement water chip for the one currently powering your vault’s water systems. Your adventure soon expands to have the fate of humanity at stake.

While the CRPG gameplay may be a bit jarring through a modern lens, the stories told in Fallout 1 are the most compelling the franchise has ever told. While the game’s main conflict seems as simple as “good guys vs. bad guys,” there’s a lot more lurking under the surface. Featuring perhaps the most fleshed-out (pun intended) villain in the series, Fallout 1 gives the player a lot to think about with regard to the desolated world they find themselves in.

If you can find it in yourself to sit-down and get used to playing a CRPG, Fallout 1 will offer you a fantastic experience that is very easily replayable time and time again.

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FAQ

Q: What was the methodology for ranking?

The methodology for this ranking was primarily based around my personal experience with these games with regard to story, gameplay, themes, and, most importantly, fun.

Q: Which Fallout game is the best one to start with?

For fans coming straight from the show, Fallout: New Vegas is a great starting point as it takes place near the action of the show’s first season. It will also provide viewers of the show with more insight into the NCR and characters like Mr. House. All of this comes with the bonus of learning more about New Vegas before the show’s second season.

Q: Which ones can I play on a PlayStation 5 or a Xbox Series X?

Both consoles will be able to play Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. A PlayStation 5 can stream Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, but an Xbox can run either game via backwards compatibility. Additionally, every console Fallout game is available on Xbox Game Pass.

Q: Can I skip Fallout 1 and Fallout 2?

Yes, although both are fantastic games. You should give both an honest shot, but you can completely dive into any of Bethesda’s Fallout titles without playing the original two games. Fallout: New Vegas heavily carries on from the classic two, but still doesn’t require you to have played them.