Where to Start In The 3D Fallout Games ( 2022 )

With dates ranging from 2102 - 2287, the Fallout universe and timeline can be confusing, especially at first. However, picking a starting game depends on what you're looking for most in the series. For example, a game like Fallout 3 gives an excellent and lengthy intro to both the ideas of the franchise and your character overall. On the other hand, gamers who want an experience of complete backstory creation will find New Vegas gives the most open feeling. This being said, a proper introduction is hard to find with New Vegas since while you can do just about anything any way you want, you have to have an understanding of the games mechanics.

So, to decide your starting game ( though all are great ), I'm going to split this article into the most open, the most backstory and the best base building.

The Most Open :

Because of the incredible amount of complexity, Fallout New Vegas is one of the most open in the series by way of decisions and actual gravity in the karma system. This being said, both 3 and 4 also have loads of open decisions and areas. As well as this Fallout 4 has no level cap, and Fallout 3's black and white karma allows for a much easier time of playing the "Benevolent God" role.

The Most/ Most Important Backstory :

Despite Fallout 4 covering a decent portion of the backstory and mindset surrounding vaults, Fallout 3 does a much better job of showing the vaults as highly experimental and often based on systems that previously didn't work, such as communism in 101. At the same time, with the vault workshop DLC and some exploration in Fallout 4, you can get to a point where you know a good portion of how the world works and the role(s) Vault-Tec played.

The Best Base Building :

While Fallout 3, New Vegas and 76 have forms of bases and building ( Fallout 76 is much more similar to 4 than 3 and New Vegas ), Fallout 4 has the best building mechanics as every settlement is expandable using a huge selection of items and with a much larger limit than the C.A.M.P. in 76. Fallout 3 has a personal house which is fun to use but customization is limited by a small selection of themes and displays. The same generally goes for the Presidential Suite in New Vegas as themes, displays and snow globes will be there but further customization isn't available.

Which One is Right for You ?

With everything I've said so far, you might get a sense that each game specializes in different ideas, which isn't entirely wrong, but they're all in the same series and so share ideas and concepts, meaning no matter the starting place, after a good bit of experience you'll understand the next game you pick up. This means that any game you start with you'll get a similar, but differently tailored, experience that can at least somewhat translate to the next game.

For me, I started with New Vegas, went onto Fallout 3 and beat that before slowly getting into 4 and now 76. While I wouldn't recommend this path, if you have an understanding of games with dialogue choice, and are ready to spend time exploring and discovering backstory, you can essentially start any of the newer games just with an added learning curve.

This being said despite New Vegas being a good game, if you have no RPG experience you're most likely better off starting with 3 or 4. As for the unmentionable Fallout 76, I've had about 20 hours across two characters all in the last few months and I can generally recommend it to fans when its on a steep sale through Steam; Otherwise, avoid 76 at full price and through non-refundable platforms.