By now, you’ve probably heard the buzz surrounding Amazon’s live-action Fallout show. And as it turns out, it is a faithful and fun adaptation of the hilariously grotesque post-apocalyptic role-playing game series. The live-action show offers a glimpse of the wild world of Fallout and all the bizarre hijinks just waiting to be uncovered, and it’s likely got you wanting for some games to try out that have a similar conceit.
But if you’ve already taken the plunge into the Fallout series or already have them on your list of games to check out, we’ve got some other games to recommend that scratch the same itch as the games from Bethesda Game Studios. Along with similar games centering around choice and agency, our list also includes some games that tackle the post-apocalypse a bit differently. So, with that, here are our recommended games to play if you can’t get enough of Fallout.
Wasteland 3
Before developer Interplay found runaway success with the original Fallout, the foundations of the post-apocalyptic RPG were first set with 1988’s Wasteland. As the first PC RPG set in the American post-apocalypse, Wasteland featured a really weird plot and tons of raiders to battle in tactical engagements. While the original Wasteland and its 2014 sequel are still excellent tactical RPGs, the recent Wasteland 3 is the series’ pinnacle and a great place for newcomers to start.
Wasteland 3 is all about strategic decision-making with your squad of Desert Rangers, offering a complex and emergent-level approach to exploring and surviving the many sticky encounters in the ruins of the American Rocky Mountains. As you build up a reliable crew of rangers, Wasteland 3 throws a whole host of odd encounters with marauders and other weird factions that play up the absurdity of the post-apocalypse. One particular quest that stands out centers around a cult that worships a Ronald Reagan AI housed inside a mechanical statue that fires death lasers. Wasteland 3 offers a solid tactical RPG experience that shows an absurdist side to a dark post-apocalypse.
Metro Exodus
The Metro series from developer 4A Games shines a light on what the post-nuclear apocalypse looks like outside of America and in more unforgiving scenarios. Based on the sci-fi novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky, the Metro video game series focuses on surviving one harrowing encounter after the other in what remains of Russia following nuclear war and how warring factions continue to fight for control. Metro Exodus is the culmination of a trilogy of solid narrative-driven shooters, bringing the series into a more open-world-inspired setting to explore and survive in.
Playing as a young survivor named Artyom, the Metro trilogy shows his growth from a scavenger to a leader of a faction of rangers looking to find safety in the ruins of the old world. While exploring and fighting through the different regions across Russia, the protagonist has to rely heavily on crafting and carefully managing resources to survive encounters with bandits and mutants in the wilds. While the original two entries are solid shooters, Metro Exodus is an excellent jumping-on point for the series for newcomers as it focuses on survival in large-scale environments while giving its cast of characters a satisfying conclusion to their story of survival.
The Outer Worlds
Obsidian Entertainment features a ton of talent that worked on the original Fallout series, and following their work on Fallout: New Vegas, the developers went on to build an entirely new game that keeps up with much of Fallout’s absurdist humor and gory action within a future gone awry. The Outer Worlds is a different type of RPG that brings its dystopian and deeply bizarre setting to a galactic scale. Set in an alternate timeline where American businesses were never regulated in the early 1900s, and space exploration led to a new age of capitalism, you lead a crew of misfits traveling the galaxy and landing headfirst into conflicts with megacorporations that run pretty much everything.
The Outer Worlds is essentially the sci-fi TV series Firefly mashed up with Fallout, leaning heavily into comedy and the absurdity of its hyper-capitalist universe. Much like Fallout, you can build up your protagonist to be a smooth-talking explorer who can talk their way out of trouble or a cunning rogue who solves their problems with a well-placed blaster shot. With a loveable set of companions, including the ever-reliable Parvati, The Outer Worlds really puts its characters and the wild setting at center stage, and it’s an excellent pick for those looking for a more sci-fi spin on an RPG.
Horizon: Forbidden West
What makes Guerrilla Games’ Horizon series such an intriguing take on the post-apocalypse is that it centers its story on the larger mystery of what came before the world’s end -– and it also adds roaming, towering machines into the mix. Horizon sees the remnants of humanity explore a ruined earth following the robot apocalypse, which has left communities scattered and without knowledge of what came before. Forbidden West follows up on the excellent Zero Dawn by showcasing a greater level of detail for its world while giving protagonist Aloy more ways to engage with its different quests and characters. And not to mention, there are way more machines to fight and subdue.
Forbidden West brings the story to the ruins of the American West Coast, showing how the remnants of San Francisco and Las Vegas have evolved in the post-robot apocalypse. What makes the Horizon games so fun to explore is learning how the world has changed following the end of the world, and engaging with some of the more daring battles against the advanced machines that take some careful planning and coordination of skills to take down. The Horizon series really leans into the wonder and weirdness of the post-apocalypse, and the latest mainline entry Forbidden West showcases the series at its best.
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
The STALKER series from GSC Game World makes you feel like an insignificant part of a large and incredibly hostile world – and that offers up some genuinely terrifying and equally thrilling moments. With the upcoming sequel releasing this year, the original STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl is still a fantastic narrative survival experience about contending with the weird phenomena and hostile factions within the mythical Zone, the remnants of the irradiated Chornobyl that somehow become even more dangerous over time.
The throughline of the STALKER series and what makes it unique is that it presents a very unforgiving and atmospheric world that you have to contend with. In addition to managing your precious resources, you’ll also need to make sure the protagonist stays in top form and away from deadly radiation. This is all while you evade rival factions looking to take out anyone in the Zone, including the mutant monsters that lurk about. You’ll often face an unexpected death while in the Zone, but therein lies what makes STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl such a classic game to come to terms with: Surviving the Zone and making do with what you have is simply a gripping experience. With the recent remasters for the game and its expansions, it’s now a great time to give this uncompromising action RPG a look.
Cyberpunk 2077
Since the original 2020 release, CD Projekt Red has slowly rebuilt and expanded upon the foundations of Cyberpunk 2077, and it’s now one of the best modern action RPGs out there. Set within the sprawl of the practically lawless Night City, the sci-fi urban setting is a fantastic change of pace from other dystopian shooters and role-playing games, and it still scratches that post-apocalyptic itch for how bleak, weird, and unforgiving a future mega city turned out to be.
Along with an amazing cast of characters – played by A-list stars like Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba – Cyberpunk 2077 shines for its approach to role-playing and fast-paced combat, all leaning on how you want to build your futuristic mercenary. Where Cyberpunk 2077 truly hits is in how it puts you right in the middle of a hostile yet still enthralling city filled with different encounters and quests to take on, all showing a level of agency that hits at RPG classics like Fallout and Deus Ex. The vibes of Night City are electric, and getting immersed within the sprawl and its outer wastelands is a thrill. If you haven’t tried Cyberpunk 2077 yet and want something that offers a satisfying and rich role-playing experience, then you can’t go wrong with CD Projekt RED’s modern classic.
Alessandro Fillari is a freelance writer for IGN.
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