All Fallout Games In Order

1. Fallout 76 (2018)

The search for the Overseer leads survivors through a landscape scarred by a terrifying crystalline plague known as the Scorched, which threatens to consume the last vestiges of life. As players uncover logs of the desperate factions that perished before the Vault opened, they realize the region is a ticking time bomb of ecological and biological collapse. New settlers and opportunistic raiders eventually return to the hills, drawn by rumors of hidden wealth and a chance to claim the "Gold Reserve" of the old world. The friction between these returning groups creates a volatile environment where the promise of rebuilding is constantly undermined by old prejudices.

Navigating the political minefield of Appalachia requires a delicate balance of diplomacy and brute force. The survivors must piece together a vaccine for the Scorched plague while securing the launch silos of the region’s nuclear arsenal, a grim irony given the world's history. Relationships with the various faction leaders are forged in the fires of necessity, as everyone seeks to control the resources of the "new" America. With the plague mutating and the silos humming with lethal potential, the question remains: will the residents of Vault 76 save the region, or will they simply finish what the Great War started?

2. Fallout (1997)

The static hum of a dying water purification chip signals a looming death sentence for the inhabitants of Vault 13. Deep beneath the radioactive soil of Southern California, the Vault Overseer casts a lone dweller out into the blinding light of the desert with a single, desperate mission: find a replacement chip within 150 days. The protagonist is thrust into a world of shanty towns and sun-bleached ruins, where the very air is a reminder of the civilization that consumed itself in fire. It is a harrowing pilgrimage through a society that has moved on from the old world's laws.

As the Vault Dweller scavenges through the skeletal remains of Los Angeles and the Hub, a far more insidious threat than dehydration begins to emerge from the shadows. Rumors of a "Master" and an army of hulking, green-skinned Super Mutants spread through the wastes like a viral infection. This forced evolution program seeks to unite humanity by erasing individuality and transforming the weak into biological juggernauts. The search for the water chip becomes secondary to stopping this monocultural crusade that threatens to extinguish the last embers of human diversity.

The tension builds toward a final confrontation within the subterranean depths of a cathedral built on a foundation of lies. Kratos-like resolve is needed as the protagonist navigates the ethical quagmire of a villain who truly believes his atrocities are the only path to peace. Friendships with rugged scavengers and the Brotherhood of Steel are tested by the sheer scale of the Master's biological ambition. As the clock ticks down for both the Vault and the world at large, the protagonist must decide if the humanity worth saving is the one hiding in the dark or the one struggling in the light.

3. Fallout 2 (1998)

Decades have passed since the original Vault Dweller vanished into legend, and their ancestral village of Arroyo is now facing a slow, agonizing death by drought. The village elders choose a descendant, the "Chosen One," to embark on a sacred quest for the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.), a pre-war device capable of terraforming the desert into a lush paradise. The journey takes the protagonist across a New California that is beginning to organize, featuring corrupt gambling hubs and high-tech research centers. Yet, beneath the veneer of progress, the shadows of the past are lengthening once more.

The primary obstacle reveals itself not as a mutant threat, but as the Enclave—the remnants of the United States government hiding on an offshore oil rig. This high-tech, fascist organization views the "mutated" inhabitants of the mainland as sub-human and plans to "cleanse" the planet using a modified strain of the FEV virus. The Chosen One is caught in a cross-continental struggle, witnessing the Enclave's brutal abduction of their fellow villagers. This clash between tribal tradition and scientific tyranny forces the protagonist to seek out the technological relics of their ancestors to have any hope of survival.

The narrative explores the weight of legacy and the danger of resurrecting a failed ideology. Relationships with synthetic companions and cynical mercenaries provide a diverse perspective on the American dream's remains. The friction between the rising New California Republic and the genocidal Enclave reaches a fever pitch as the Chosen One infiltrates the heart of the enemy's power. With the fate of the village and the genetic future of the human race hanging in the balance, can a tribal warrior dismantle a superpower before the final purge begins?

4. Fallout 3 (2008)

Within the claustrophobic safety of Vault 101, life is meant to be permanent and predictable, until a father’s sudden escape shatters the illusion. The protagonist, known as the Lone Wanderer, is forced to flee into the radiant desolation of the Capital Wasteland—the ruins of Washington D.C.—in search of the man who abandoned his duty. The landscape is a jagged nightmare of shattered monuments and subterranean subway tunnels, where the echoes of American democracy have been replaced by the snarls of ghouls and the clatter of raider gunfire.

The search for the father leads to the discovery of "Project Purity," a monumental scientific endeavor designed to bring clean water to the thirsty masses of the Potomac. This vision of salvation is soon contested by the returning Enclave, led by a digital consciousness claiming to be the President of the United States. The struggle for the Jefferson Memorial becomes a microcosm of the larger war between the Brotherhood of Steel and the fascist remnants of the old world. The Lone Wanderer is caught between a father's dream of altruism and a government's plan for absolute, genetic control.

The moral weight of the Capital Wasteland rests on the protagonist's shoulders, with the power to either hydrate the region or poison its future. Relationships with local radio hosts and hardened soldiers offer a glimpses of hope amidst the ash-choked air. The narrative builds to a crescendo of armored combat and orbital strikes as the battle for the water purifier reaches its breaking point. As the protagonist stands before the controls of a machine that could change the world, they must decide if the price of a future is a sacrifice they are truly prepared to make.

5. Fallout: New Vegas (2010)

A Courier is left for dead in a shallow grave in the Mojave Desert, a bullet to the head being the only receipt for a stolen delivery. Rescued by a local robot and a kindly doctor, the protagonist embarks on a hunt for the man in the checkered suit who tried to end their story. This personal vendetta quickly expands into a massive geopolitical struggle for control over the Hoover Dam, the crown jewel of the desert's power supply. The neon oasis of New Vegas stands as a neutral ground, overseen by the enigmatic Mr. House and his army of Securitron guards.

The conflict is a three-way tug-of-war between the overstretched New California Republic, the slave-driving Caesar’s Legion, and the calculating House. Every town along the Long 15 highway is a powder keg of ideology, where the Courier’s choices carry the weight of a nation’s destiny. As the protagonist recovers the "Platinum Chip," they realize it is the key to upgrading the city’s defenses or handing the desert to a tyrant. The atmosphere is one of frontier justice and high-stakes gambling, where loyalty is the rarest currency of all.

Deep within the Lucky 38 casino or the camps of the Legion, the Courier must navigate a web of betrayals and historical grudges. Relationships with companions—from a haunted sniper to a pacifist scientist—shape the moral compass of the journey. The tension between democratic expansion and autocratic order reaches a boiling point at the walls of the Hoover Dam. With the armies massing for a final, decisive battle, the Courier must decide who will wear the crown of the Mojave and what kind of peace is worth the bloodshed.

6. Fallout 4 (2015)

The sirens of 2077 fade into the cryogenic silence of Vault 111, only to be replaced by a parent’s worst nightmare. Awakening centuries later in the hollowed remains of the Commonwealth, the Sole Survivor witnesses their spouse's murder and the abduction of their infant son, Shaun. The search for the child leads through the "Diamond City" built into Fenway Park and across the radioactive marshes of the Glowing Sea. Boston is a land gripped by paranoia, as a secretive organization known as the Institute replaces living people with indistinguishable synthetic "synths."

The struggle for the Commonwealth's soul involves three primary factions: the military-industrial Brotherhood of Steel, the freedom-fighting Railroad, and the idealistic Minutemen. The discovery of the Institute's subterranean utopia complicates the protagonist’s mission, forcing a confrontation with the true nature of their lost son. The presence of synths among the populace creates a "Red Scare" atmosphere where neighbors turn on each other in fear of mechanical infiltration. This friction between biological humanity and technological evolution serves as the narrative's cold, calculating heart.

The thematic focus centers on the definition of life and the ethics of playing god in a ruined world. Relationships with a diverse cast of survivors and synths force the Sole Survivor to question if they are searching for a person or a memory. The tension between the past world and the synthetic future reaches a destructive peak as the factions converge on the Institute’s hidden headquarters. As the protagonist stands over the machinery of a new world, they must choose whether to embrace the cold logic of the Institute or burn it down to save the humans who remain on the surface.