The huge success of the Fallout series on Amazon and the next-gen upgrade have brought plenty of players back to Fallout 4. However, it’s not the end of the line if you’re looking for games with a similar feel. Once you’re done exploring the Commonwealth again or for the first time, here’s a list of games you should try next.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is a cult classic that features a world, gameplay, and skill set that Fallout 4 fans would feel right at home with, packed with a bloodsucking twist. This 2004 RPG allows players to select from one of several vampire clans, each specializing in unique perks. Depending on where players invest their hard-earned ability and attribute points, Bloodlines can be played aggressively or passively.
Choosing Social and Knowledge-based skills will open up unique dialogue and story-based options in the game. Murder and mayhem are also a viable means by which to accomplish your goals. It’s an obvious addition to any discussion about games like Fallout 4.
Metro (Series)
Anyone who has ever played Fallout 4’s survival mode knows just how terrifying the game can be. Resource management, tougher enemies, and a lack of fast travel can make even the smallest encounter a real nightmare. Those fans would love Metro, which is another worthy post-apocalyptic survival game.
This series focuses far more on the survival horror aspect of a nuclear fallout. The gameplay hinges on the ability to manage the scarcity of items such as flashlights, gas masks, and ammo. All of these things factor into your survival as you traverse spooky metro tunnels and journey up to the surface.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
Alongside fighting bandits, monsters, and a handful of other strange creatures that inhabit The Northern Realms, Geralt of Riva has been known to take any bounty that pays well enough or one that helps a friend. Unlike most games, these side quests aren’t merely fetch quests either. Experience the next evolution in Geralt’s story, where he’ll have to meet back up with old friends as a new threat looms on the horizon.
The Witcher 3 isn’t all about the huge story moments, either. Plenty of small stories act as character-building moments that help add to the overall theme and narrative. You’ll come to fall in love with friends and villains alike, as even the most dastardly of adversaries are filled with personality thanks to clever writing.
Mad Max
Video game movie tie-ins are rarely ever successful. That is likely why most haven’t played Avalanche Studios’ 2015 Mad Max, writing it off as just another terrible game made to promote a film – in this case, Mad Max: Fury Road. Instead, the Mad Max video game is surprisingly good in its own right.
While Mad Max lacks the narrative focus of Fallout 4, its open world and interesting gameplay should be enough to interest fans. This post-apocalyptic world is perfect for anyone looking to simply survive and kill anything they come across, which is definitely in the spirit of Fallout.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Ever wanted to fight a dragon in Fallout? Then Skyrim is just for you. Swap out the big guns for magic and head off into a huge open world. A world that doesn’t force the player down a linear path or make them follow just one story. Instead, they create their own. The game’s branching narratives are so intricate that you don’t even have to go to the first town in order to experience the stories of the land.
Skyrim is essentially Fallout 4 based in medieval times. Couple that with the fact that they are made by the same developer, and it is easy to see why the transition for fans would be seamless. The biggest difference between the two (outside of the setting) is that the Elder Scrolls games have always felt a bit more like strict RPGs.
STALKER (Series)
Few games are able to match the post-apocalyptic ambiance that STALKER: Call of Pripyat is able to exhibit. This title takes place in Pripyat, Ukraine, dealing with the fictional and horrific repercussions of the Chernobyl disaster. In this world, the creatures from the area adapted to the harsh terrain caused by the explosion, turning into powerful monsters as a result. These include enemies like the Burer, a dwarf-like mutant with telekinetic powers.
Players must also pay attention and adapt to the world around them, similar to the monsters they face. One example occurs each day at a random time with an event known as “emissions.” This psychic event forces you to find shelter before the coming blowout, displaying that the fallout is never truly over. Upgrades, side missions, and NPC interactions also greatly affect how the game is played, and certain choices even offer multiple endings.
The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds is one the greatest examples of a game like Fallout, as it was created by the developers of Fallout: New Vegas. Those same developers clearly carried some of their ideas forward, and it shares many of the same hallmarks of the post-apocalyptic series.
However, instead of a world ravaged by nuclear bombs, The Other Worlds takes place in space. You get quite a few planets to explore, each with its own wildlife and different threats. If you like how you get new perks in Fallout games, this has an excellent evolution of that mechanic. When making your character, you even get to choose a background that affects some of your stat spread and future dialogue choices.
Chernobylite
Just like the STALKER games, Chernobylite takes place in the area affected by the Chernobyl disaster. However, it’s a bit more of a contained game. Rather than being given free rein, you explore selected mission areas, which feels much more restrictive than it sounds. There’s always something to find, as there is a base-building mechanic to help you augment your gear.
All weapons are customizable, but not always in conventional ways. For instance, I had a belt-fed revolver, which made no sense other than being funny. The other cool thing the game does is that while it is very choice-based for how the story progresses, you can change your choices if/when you happen to die. Chernobylite feels like the perfect mix of Fallout and Metro, and fans of those will surely enjoy it.
Terminator: Resistance
The biggest difference between Terminator: Resistance and Fallout 4 is mainly with game length. Sadly, Terminator: Resistance can’t live up to the massive playtime that goes into a Fallout game. However, everything else is definitely in order for Fallout fans to enjoy the video game adaptation of one of the greatest sci-fi franchises. The exploration and focus on hacking/lockpicking will feel very familiar to Fallout players, and the exploration is excellent.
Where it takes place in the films’ timeline is a bit up in the air, but it takes place after Judgment Day, directly in the resistance’s fight against Skynet. You play as Jacob Rivers, a member of the resistance who comes face with the first Infiltrator unit and must get that information to someone in charge. Most of the game has you exploring parts of a destroyed California and fighting the franchise’s iconic robots.
Far Cry: New Dawn
New Dawn continues the Far Cry spin-off trend by using the previous game’s map in a new wacky adventure. The story carries forward from an ending in Far Cry 5 that saw nuclear bombs going off in Hope County, Montana. The mutated animals and plant life give the whole area a post-apocalyptic feel. It also introduced a few more RPG elements into the series, like all enemies having health bars.
In terms of gameplay, it’s very much Far Cry, but if you enjoy your Fallout for the setting, this is a perfect alternative. As was the same with Far Cry 5, the character you play as is entirely silent, though the game has far fewer dialogue options. New Dawn is perfect if you’re looking for a more action-heavy change of pace.
