The best Fallout games to play right now

What is the best Fallout game? Choosing the best Fallout games to play can be a tricky business, especially if you’ve been bingeing the Fallout TV show but have never set foot in any of the series’ virtual wastelands. Fallout games are generally demanding of your time, and although they share similar themes and mechanics, they differ in small but significant ways that can mean you might love one while bouncing off another.

When it comes to picking the best Fallout game for you, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that there are no bad Fallout games. Every mainline RPG in the series offers a sprawling adventure filled with weird and exciting tangents, while the various spin-offs explore their chosen genre in interesting ways. The bad news is the depth of each Fallout RPG is inversely proportional to its accessibility. If you want to play Fallout with the least amount of fuss, you may not see the full extent of what the series can do. On the other hand, if you want the richest RPG experience, you’ll have to put up with more idiosyncrasies. In short, the best Fallout game may not be the best one , per se.

We’ve approached this ranking as a best Fallout games of all-time list, so please bear that in mind when reading this list. Without further ado, then, here’s our list of the best Fallout games from worst to best.

11 Fallout 4 Hidden Quests For Veterans and Newcomers Watch on YouTube8. Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter is perfectly playable, but it’s not a standout example of either Fallout games or colony sims. | Image credit: Bethesda Softworks

Fallout Shelter isn’t so much the worst Fallout game as it is the least essential. A free-to-play colony sim, Fallout Shelter lets you build and manage your very own Vault, placing rooms, assigning dwellers to jobs based on their skillsets, and trying to maximise productivity without setting the entire Vault on fire.