New Fallout fans are playing the wrong games

The Fallout TV series has created a surge of interest in the video games, but the new fans are playing the worst options available to them.

Video game fans had a long time to wait long for good screen adaptations of their beloved franchises, but we finally have some. The Sonic and Mario movies were huge hits at the box office, as was The Last of Us TV series, proving that you can bring gaming to the screen in a respectful and entertaining way.

The new Fallout series has garnered an incredible response from both fans of the original franchise and those who have never visited a Vault in their life. Naturally, this has prompted interest in the games, either from the new fans who want to see what the fuss is about or people inspired to don the blue & yellow jumpsuit once more.

Steam Chart’s “Most Played” has revealed which Fallout games people are playing. Fallout 4 is currently #15, Fallout 76 is #40, and Fallout: New Vegas is #96. Fallout 3 failed to break the top 100 games. There’s a huge disparity here, most likely brought on by Fallout 4 and 76 being the more recent releases, as it’s the older titles that are the ones worth playing first.

Fallout 4 isn’t a worthy successor to Fallout 3 or New Vegas

Bethesda

Just to get it out of the way —- Fallout 4 is not a bad game. In fact, it’s a decent experience. It’s just not as good as its predecessors.

However, Fallout 4 changed many things for the worse. The Skill system was gutted, the dialogue tree became far more generic and uninteresting, and the quests became bland. This is to say nothing of the story and setting being way too similar to Fallout 3 yet somehow being way less engaging.

Also, the settlement building system was terrible. This was solely due to how poor the UI was, making every single action an unnecessary chore. There was also the fact that so much of the furnishings blended in with the color scheme of the backgrounds, making building not only a pain to complete, but leaving aesthetically unpleasing structures when you were done. 

Preston Garvey and his endless settlement help quest can go eat a Radroach. (Sorry, Preston, love the hat.)

Fallout 4 is not a bad game, but Fallout 3 and New Vegas are superior in every way, save for graphics. The gameplay systems and stories in Fallout 3 and New Vegas are incredible and helped bring many new people to the series during the PS3/Xbox 360 era.

Fallout 76 is its own thing

Bethesda

It’s no secret that Fallout 76 launched in a rough state, one that would have condemned lesser games to oblivion. Bethesda and the other studios that worked on the game managed to pull a No Man’s Sky and turn things around, making Fallout 76 a game that people genuinely enjoy.

Unfortunately, the game is still nowhere near as deep or engaging as its single-player counterparts. It’s essentially an MMO/survival simulation game with Fallout characters and visuals, but it doesn’t reflect the games that inspired its creation.

Fallout 76 has the Starfield problem, where it’s all about the gameplay loop, without giving you a driving reason to play. I gathered allies, gear, and bottle caps in Fallout 3 and New Vegas because they were helping my higher goal of finding my father or saving New Vegas, not because I wanted to see numbers go up.

That being said, if you want to play Fallout with friends, Fallout 76 is your best option. Just don’t expect a deep or fulfilling experience. If you just want to shoot bandits and irradiated animals with your pals, then this is the place to go.

Fallout 3 and New Vegas are the best Fallout experiences

Bethesda

Fallout 3 and New Vegas are vastly superior to their successors. Fallout 3 has a much better story and dialogue system than Fallout 4, with more options for tailoring your character and customizing individual weapons. The sidequests are a lot more entertaining and feel like they had much more time and care put into making them feel special.

The world of Fallout 3 also has a much better atmosphere, helped by the roughness of its graphics. Fallout 4 has nicer visuals but lost something in the update process. The world of Fallout 3 is one of darkness, tinged with a ray of hope that things can be turned around. Its roughness makes it feel more like a post-apocalyptic world, while Fallout 4’s world makes it feel like a video game, as improving the visuals took away the grit and turned it into plastic..

While New Vegas is a notoriously glitchy game (even now), it has hands down the best factions and setting in the series. Obsidian Entertainment did an incredible job enticing you to explore the remains of Las Vegas and making you invested in deciding its fate. Even just talking about it now makes me want to reinstall it and join Caeser’s Legion again.

Unfortunately, this request to play Fallout 3 and New Vegas first only applies to PC and Xbox fans, as they aren’t available on PS4, PS5, or Nintendo systems. There is a streaming option for PlayStation Plus Premium members, but that requires a pricey subscription and a fast Internet connection to run properly.

It might be enticing to play Fallout 4 or 76 first because they’re the later entries and have more visual updates than their predecessors, but if you have the option, please play Fallout 3, New Vegas, or both first. They’re the reason why Fallout has such a huge fanbase that it received a TV show adaptation and why fans are hoping that the inevitable Fallout 5 returns to its roots.