Nobody really asked for it when it was first announced, but Fallout Shelter ended up being a really fun mobile game to waste your time on when you had nothing better to do. Here are six games like Fallout Shelter if you’re looking for something similar.
Games Like Fallout Shelter
Westworld (Mobile)
If you are addicted to Fallout Shelter and need more community management games in your life, or if you’re someone who likes everything about Fallout Shelter except the Fallout theme, then Westworld is the game for you.
Quite literally, this game is Fallout Shelter with a Westworld theme. That’s because the same code that was created to make Fallout Shelter is allegedly the coding used to create Westworld.
In fact, Westworld is so similar to Fallout Shelter that Bethesda sued Warner Bros. Entertainment (the publisher behind the Westworld mobile game). After that story broke, we learned a little more about the extent of this copied code.
According to Bethesda, Westworld has the same exact bugs that Fallout Shelter launched with, which makes sense because the team that developed Fallout Shelter also developed Westworld. We’re not sure exactly how this lawsuit played out, though, because the two companies recently settled.
All of this is to say that Westworld is the most Fallout Shelter-like game because it is, at its core, probably the same game. Like Fallout Shelter, it’s free for your mobile device (with microtransactions, of course) and available to download today.
Games Like Fallout Shelter
Rimworld (PC)
Rimworld is a sci-fi colony management game that is significantly more premium than Fallout Shelter. Not only is it $35 —Fallout Shelter is free— but it features an excellently written story, an awesome cast of characters, a rich sci-fi world ripe for exploration and many, many systems to keep even the most veteran of management sim players satisfied.
Just read this description of the game from Rimworld’s website:
“RimWorld follows three survivors from a crashed space liner as they build a colony on a frontier world at the rim of known space. Inspired by the space western vibe of Firefly, the deep simulation of Dwarf Fortress, and the epic scale of Dune and Warhammer 40,000.”
Now, this was likely written by the developers of the game so it’s something you have to take with a grain of salt, but with a 10/10 rating on Steam after over 27,000 reviews, it’s clear this game is a must-play.
And to be frank, the description is quite accurate. The main three characters you’ll spend your time with give off some major Firefly vibes, the world is very Dune-like (although any crazy sci-fi world could fit this mold) and the combat looks and feels like the combat of the world of Warhammer.
If you’re looking for a game like Fallout Shelter and are willing to spend some money up front, then Rimworld is a great pick. It’s also easy to mod and has quite a few great ones. Here are some of our favorites.
Games Like Fallout Shelter
Sheltered (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
Look at that picture. Just look at it. What does it look like? If you guessed Fallout Shelter, you are correct.
Simply put, Sheltered is the Fallout Shelter copy that was destined to happen. Sure, it changes some things in premise but in no time, the game becomes Fallout Shelter.
At the start, you might be hooked with the story premise that tasks you with protecting your family after an apocalyptic event, but guess how you protect them? By taking them to a shelter that you must manage.
When your family makes it to the shelter, the game becomes straight-up Fallout Shelter. Visually, it’s missing that Fallout sci-fi 50s theme but beyond that, it’s the same. The combat works the same way, too.
One stark difference, though, is that where Fallout Shelter allows you to download it for free and then decide how you want to spend money via microtransactions, Sheltered asks for $15 up front to make its money.
So, if you’re looking for a microtransactions-less way to play a game like Fallout Shelter, Sheltered is the game for you.
Games Like Fallout Shelter
Project Highrise (Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
If you play Fallout Shelter day in and day out while wishing that instead of managing a nuclear shelter, you were managing a high-rise building, then head on over to your favorite digital marketplace and pick Project Highrise up.
Coming in at $20, Project Highrise aims to fill the SimTower void that’s been in your life since the 90s. That’s because it is basically SimTower.
In this game, you’re tasked with developing a high-rise building, filling it with people, keeping them happy by installing restaurants and more, all while constantly securing the funding you need to continue forward in your skyscraper venture.
Just like in Fallout Shelter, you must keep your dwellers comfortable, fed and happy. While the two games do this in different ways —after all, Project Highrise doesn’t take place in a post-apocalypse wasteland— you’ll feel right at home in Project Highrise if you’ve played Fallout Shelter.
While Project Highrise lacks combat, there are enough systems in place to keep you satisfied and busy with something to do. Don’t sleep on this game if managing a shelter, I mean building, is what you need in your life right now.
Games Like Fallout Shelter
This War of Mine
Unlike the happy-go-lucky feel of Project Highrise, This War of Mine is a game designed to make you feel terrible. Now, it’s not like the developers hate their players or anything. They just set out with a goal and that goal is to make you understand the terrors of war.
Doesn’t sound too novel, though, does it? We’ve all played countless war games throughout generations of consoles.
In those, though, we play as the heroic soldier, destined to save the day. In This War of Mine, on the other hand, you play as someone who lives in a war-torn area simply trying to survive.
You must scavenge for food, medical supplies, water and other necessities, and you must do this under the constant threat of sniper fire and enemy scavengers. Designed to ensure you never feel truly safe, and that at any moment, everything you’ve fought for could end in a second, This War of Mine is a management sim like Fallout Shelter that’s not for the faint of heart.
It is, however, a great set of lens to view what war means for those who aren’t the heroic soldier destined to save the day.
Games Like Fallout Shelter
Assassin’s Creed Rebellion (Mobile)
Similar to Westworld, if you’re looking to play Fallout Shelter themed differently, Assassin’s Creed Rebellion is a great place to start. Bonus points if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed and the Spanish Inquisition period of history.
In Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, instead of a managing a nuclear shelter, you must manage the headquarters of the Assassin Brotherhood. There are multiple rooms to take care of, an armory to create new weapons in, a training room to strengthen your assassins and so much more.
It has also fully engrossed itself with Assassin’s Creed so if you’re someone who can’t get enough of that franchise, you’ll find plenty of nods and assassins here to keep you playing day after day.
While the monetization is quite gross in this game, it has a lot going for it. Not only does it follow Fallout Shelter’s management tracks, but, like Fallout Shelter, it features combat as well.
On top of that, it features pseudo-platforming sections that do a great job at capturing the feel of an assassin like Ezio parkouring around rooftops to gather supplies and loot.
Assassin’s Creed Rebellion is free for mobile devices and available to download. The microtransactions present in the game are very present and very annoying, but there’s enough in the game elsewhere to give you the same satisfaction Fallout Shelter does.
And those are our picks for the best games like Fallout Shelter if you’re looking for something similar. Any of these catch your eye? Let us know in the comments.
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