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.

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

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.

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.

Though there are zombie-like oppositions in Fallout in the form of ghouls, Dying Light consists of a city of zombies. Zombie apocalypses are anything but new, but Dying Light makes it feel fresher than has in the past. It has an incredibly ornate setting to explore, spread across an architecturally diverse island. This expansive feeling is matched by the range of melee weapons available, many of which can be crafted, resulting in close to over 1000 combinations. You could find yourself wielding a machete that conducts electricity and quickly switching to a medieval broadsword when it breaks. Why it's worth playing: Running, jumping and soaring across rooftops and improvised structures, Dying Light takes on an extremely mobile and fluid style. One can scale buildings in a matter of mere seconds, with impressive parkour abilities. Chaining together leaps and bounds and sliding dives makes evading the zombie hordes somehow manageable. Throw a grappling hook into the mix and your movement options become exponential. But being able to run from one area to another is only good if what you’re running to is worthwhile. Many of the side quests that fill out this world are surprisingly well crafted, making it not so much what you’re running from, but what you’re running to.

The apocalypse doesn’t have to be all grays and browns. Instead, it can have a lot more psycho-tropical lunacy. Fallout and Borderlands 3 mix in an approach of tongue firmly in cheek, though the latter is brighter, louder and exponentially more in your face. Both titles throw you into the midst of a hazardous world fighting off a cavalcade of slayers and lowlifes while trying to have a little fun along the way. Why it's worth playing: Borderland’s own marketing material would have you believe there are an unrealistic amount of weaponry for the taking, and it’s not exactly false advertising. It’s really all about teaming up with some friends, leveling up, and getting bountiful firearms with combinations of zany effects.

Like Fallout, this Bethesda epic lets you play the game your own way, whether that be hacking computer terminals or focusing on perfecting your firearm mastery. Prey allows you ratchet it up to a ludicrous degree of granularity. Using a glue gun to climb up walls and make your own platforms or transmogrifying into a coffee mug to slip through a bank teller slot are the building blocks of problem solving in Prey. Why it's worth playing: In a change from the open-world planes of Fallout, Prey takes place across the docks of an interconnected US-Soviet art deco nightmare. With a more contained setting, unusual and creative solutions are both encouraged and necessary to unravel the mind boggling conspiracy at play.

For those who wonder about what mysteries lie within the Mariana’s Trench, Subnautica may make realizing that dream a pseudo reality. It centers on exploring the depths of a vast ocean, with all sorts of outlandish sea creatures and unseen sights. Much like Fallout 76, which incorporates survival, this also has many survival elements and trappings. Collecting resources and balancing oxygen tanks, are just a few of the things the player does, on top of building out bases. Why it's worth playing: By taking place completely underwater, it presents additional considerations for wading through this foreign terrain. For instance, even unassisted movement itself is harder, seeing you need to construct apparatuses that make you move faster. It’s as wondrous as it is dangerous, with secrets hiding just beneath the blue meridian veil.

It might be a bit light to say that Fallout 76 has had some speed bumps through its turbulent tenure. Yet that hasn’t stopped people from finding enjoyment in some of its core tenants. No Man’s Sky shares a lot of what Fallout 76 has to offer: setting off into the unknown, crafting, base building, and exploration. You can build stuff with your friends, and make your space base a space home. And similarly to the multiplayer of 76, when you see a ship in the distance, or that star in the sky, it’s nice to know it could be piloted by another player. Why it's worth playing: With an entire galaxy at your fingertips, the possibilities seem endless! Flying from planet to planet sees you visiting an ever-changing spectrum of unique biomes, spectacular views, and alien brethren. The freedom of being able to blast off on a whim gives the weightless cathartic feeling that comes with the territory of not being tethered to a planet, let alone a solar system. Release: 2016 Genres (Video game): Action-adventure, survival Platform: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One

While both games are set in a post-apocytlpic world, Horizon Zero Dawn seems to take a step back in time while the Fallout games are more futuristic. Taking control of Aloy, your decisions help influence the story. Like the Fallout series, gamers are granted tons of different weapons to choose from and abilities to hone, Horizon is one of the best-looking open-world games yet, and is a surprisingly refreshing take on apocalyptic theme. Why it's worth playing: This one-time PS4 exclusive just oozes beauty, with detailed landscapes and an engrossing plot that only begins to unravel once you've logged a few dozen hours into the game. The game is slow to progress at first, but once the story starts kicking in, you'll be hooked.

Though it may sound like it, Frostpunk is not the name of a new industrial music festival held in Reykjavik. Instead, it's the story of global cooling wiping out much of Earth's population and its efforts to erect a shoestring city around a massive abandoned heat rod. Why it's worth playing: The gameplay shares a lot of similarites with Fallout Shelter, seeing the player take on a leadership position to protect and build their homestead. Making the tough decisions for the greater good weighs surprisingly heavy on ones shoulders. While Fallout Shelter brings out the look and humor of the Fallout boy so synonymous with its aesthetic, a run through Frostpunk ends up being a lot more of a distressing and self-serious romp.

Every Far Cry is epic in their own way, but Far Cry: New Dawn takes the whole idea of 'open world adventure' to a new level. This game is massive, with tons of opportunities to explore and baddies to cap. Like most Fallout entries, Far Cry games are filled to the brim with fun side quests and little Easter eggs to explore. You can even recruit partners and soldiers in much the same way as Fallout 4. While it may not be as epic as Fallout, it's still a great game in its own right. Why it's worth playing: The mechanics are fluid, the plot is solid, and the style is eerily familiar. With a surprisingly fun multiplayer mode, Far Cry offers a ton of replay value, with an engaging plot to boot. As an official spin-off of the series, New Dawn is more like a sequel to Far Cry 5 than a standalone game. In that respect, newcomers may want to start with an earlier title.

A wickedly good pastiche of the post-apolcalptic genre, Mutant Year Zero brings together all its best elements, while adding in its own twisted flavors of texture, for an overall fantastic time well spent! It pairs up real-time stealth and exploration of its mystifying world, with waves of extremely slick turn-based incursions that it switches between whenever you’re in an encounter, not unlike the combat extension of the VATS of later Fallout games. Why it's worth playing: Its world is strikingly stylish, with much of the remaining structures overgrown with nature. Covering your 6 o'clock is a boar named Bormin, and a duck named Dux. With mechanics that may feel like comfort food to fans of the strategic action genre, Mutant Year Zero delivers on a tried and true experience, with a spirit that's all its own. Release: 2018 Genres (Video game): Turn-based tactics, tactical role-playing Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

If the gamut of Fallout isn't challenging enough, you can always slip into Survival mode, which incorporates more constraints to immerse you into the experience. If that still leaves you wanting, perhaps Pathologic 2 can put a few more fingers on the scale. In this troubling tale, an unknown plague is blighting a city, with only 12 days to figure out the antidote before it takes out the entire city and you with it. Along with a health bar to contend with, there’s also exhaustion, hunger, and immunity to the novel disease. Why it's worth playing: It’s atmospheric, it’s moody, and it’s bizarre. It builds up a dense, horror-laden fog that permeates every crevice and street corner. With each passing day important NPCs and townspeople can succumb to the growing sickness. While Fallout had important characters that could also be axed, here integral character threads can slip through your fingers like sand in an hourglass, completely out of your control. The creepy and unnerving mise-en-scène invades your mind even while between play sessions. Release: 2019 Genres (Video game): Action-adventure, survival Platform(s): Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 3