Shack Chat: What's your favorite Fallout game?

The Fallout television series of Amazon Prime has been a critical success, drawing praise from critics and fans alike. It’s had a similar effect as the Super Mario Bros. Movie, with players once again flocking to their favorite Fallout title to experience the wasteland once more. We want to immerse ourselves in the franchise even more, so let’s dive into our favorite Fallout games.

Shack Chat: What's your favorite Fallout game?

Fallout 1 - TJ Denzer, Senior Galaxy News Radio Correspondent

I’m not the kind of person that holds so much reverence for an original that I would scoff at its later entries. However, a few years ago, before it was on GOG and had so many mods that made it easy to play, I figured out how to play Fallout 1 with what was available. I’m glad I did, because it makes so much of the rest of the series matter all the more. There is so much in Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 that began here. The New California Republic, Super Mutants, and the FEV originated here. Harold from Fallout 3 got his start here. Even little factions like the Khans were first explored in Fallout 1.

Also, I still think it has the most compelling and dangerous villain the series has ever seen. The Master is terrifying, and not just because he’s a grotesque mess of flesh and machine. He also has the psionic ability to destroy a character’s mind before they ever get close to him. Add to that an agenda of which he is wholly and fully convinced he is in the right (he wants Super Mutants to be the new dominant race of the destroyed world), and he’s a mastermind with all of the strategies and machinations of the worst person you can imagine. The echoes of his command and the absence of it after his death is a plot point that affects Super Mutants throughout the rest of the series in very important ways.

I think Fallout is rough to play nowadays, and very, very difficult to drag oneself through compared to the refined later games (even including Fallout 2, which is still an isometric RPG), but there are so many iconic elements of the series established in Fallout 1 that I think every fan of later games should be thanking it for existing.

Fallout New Vegas - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO

While I may have more hours played in other titles, I still have a special place in my heart for Fallout New Vegas. The gameplay tweaks made by Obsidian improved the experience from Fallout 3, and I really enjoyed the setting in New Vegas.

Fallout 4 - Bill Lavoy, Diamond City Resident

I’m well aware of the consensus that the earlier Fallout games, especially Fallout 3 and New Vegas, are the best in the series, but Fallout 4 has been one of my favorite games since the day it launched. I still bang out an annual playthrough. At this point I’m sitting at 866 hours on Steam, and my first playthrough was on PS4.

Fallout 4, even nine years after its release, is still one of the best open worlds you can explore. The environmental storytelling is second to none, the pacing and spacing of encounters is perfect, and it’s one of the few worlds that genuinely feels alive and lived in even when you’re not directly interacting with it.

Walk anywhere in Fallout 4 and you’ll hear factions fighting, explosions in the distance, or see any number of creatures and people living out their lives. Mix this with the base building, weapon crafting, and loot economy, and you have one of the best open world games ever made.

Fallout 3 - Sam Chandler, Vault dweller

More often than not, when it comes to my first foray into a franchise, that game cements itself as my favorite, and the same holds true for Fallout 3. It might not have the same bells and whistles as Fallout 4, the narrative chops of New Vegas, or the co-op component of Fallout 76, but it reminds me of a pivotal moment in the franchise’s history.

It was the first time Bethesda was able to develop a Fallout game and it fundamentally changed what players had come to expect from the series. It was now a third- or first-person shooter, included a neat automatic targeting system in the form of VATS, and was on consoles!

The Fallout TV series has made me, and no doubt every single other gamer, dive back into my library in a bid to install Fallout once more and explore this bleak, yet hopeful, universe.

Fallout 4 - Donovan Erskine, Would survive a nuclear apocalypse

As an Elder Scrolls kid, I was a latecomer to the Fallout games. Played very little of 3, but dove deep into Fallout 4 when it dropped. I’ve got fond memories of slowly roaming the wasteland, discovering bizarre points of interest and collecting powerful weapons. The base building consumed a lot of my time in high school, and I’ll never forget being absolutely blindsided by the twist at the end of that story.

Fallout 4 - Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo show host, The Wanderer

What is my favorite Fallout game in the series? I think I have to go with Fallout 4 for my favorite Fallout game. I have a different reason for Fallout 4 being my favorite game other than just enjoying the game.

I remember seeing Fallout 4 at E3 all those years ago. I believe it was one of the first times I had been invited as media to attend the Bethesda presentation. Moments like that always stick with me because it shows people respect and like what you do. Fallout 4 was also one of the first games I received an early copy for review purposes when I worked at a different website. Fallout 4 using “The Wanderer” in ads and videos always stuck with me too. The gameplay doesn’t have to be the only reason why you like a video game. Fallout 4 is my answer for my favorite Fallout game.

All of the Fallout games are such stellar experiences and really showcase how great Bethesda is at creating vibrant and living worlds we love to explore. But we want to hear from you: What’s your favorite Fallout game? Let us know in the Chatty thread below!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.