5 Games To Play If You Loved Fallout 4

Fallout 4 leaves a specific kind of hole when it is over. The Commonwealth is huge, full of strange characters, ruined cities, hidden bunkers, mutated wildlife, and secrets that reward players who enjoy wandering without a strict path. Fallout 4 fans tend to love freedom. They enjoy scavenging, upgrading their gear, building small settlements, shaping the world through quests, and stumbling into small environmental stories that appear without warning. Not every open world game can match that feeling. In fact, very few can. But some games capture the same spirit of discovery, atmosphere, and player choice in ways that fill that Fallout shaped gap.

The games below are not meant to be one to one comparisons. They each highlight a different element of what makes Fallout 4 so replayable. Some focus on exploration. Some lean into role playing choices. Some create worlds that feel as broken and lived in as the wasteland itself. If you finished Fallout 4 and want something that carries the same energy, these five games should be next in your backlog.

1. Fallout New Vegas

There is no better recommendation for Fallout 4 fans than Fallout New Vegas. If you came into the series through Fallout 4, New Vegas shows you what Fallout was capable of when player choice was the center of the experience. New Vegas is not just beloved. It is often considered one of the greatest RPGs ever made because almost every quest branches. Every decision matters. Every faction has layers beneath the surface. And the story adapts to who you choose to support, betray, or ignore.

New Vegas has the same core gameplay loop as Fallout 4. You scavenge, you mod weapons, you craft, you repair gear, and you wander through a wasteland packed with secrets. But the role playing depth is on another level. Quests regularly have four or five solutions. Dialogue checks open alternate paths. Factions respond in dramatic ways as your reputation grows or collapses. Even small side quests can end in different outcomes depending on how you approach them.

If what you loved most about Fallout 4 was the world, the exploration, and the freedom to choose where to go next, New Vegas gives you all of that and adds more story depth, more character interactions, and some of the most memorable companions in the series. It is the Fallout game that rewards thinking, planning, and experimenting with your choices. And because it still shares Fallout 4’s DNA, it feels familiar while also surprising you at every turn.

2. The Outer Worlds

For players who want something that mixes Fallout’s humor, atmosphere, and focus on player choice, The Outer Worlds is the closest match you will find outside the Fallout series. Developed by Obsidian, the same team behind New Vegas, it carries a lot of the same design values. Instead of one massive wasteland, you travel across several planets and settlements, each packed with quests, factions, colorful characters, and problems you can solve in different ways.

The Outer Worlds shines in its writing. The satire is sharp without being bitter, and the companions are fully realized characters with their own stories and motivations. Interactions feel layered and meaningful. Every dialogue option nudges the story down a slightly different path, and your choices influence who lives, who dies, and which faction gains power. It has the same sense of humor and charm that many Fallout fans love, but wrapped in a more compact and focused structure.

The combat is light and fast. Weapon types feel distinct, and special abilities add strategy without overwhelming players. Skill checks play a huge role in shaping outcomes, much like traditional role playing games. If you loved the conversational choices in Fallout 4 but wanted them to matter more, The Outer Worlds delivers that experience while keeping the exploration fun and accessible.

3. Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn is not a post nuclear wasteland, but it delivers some of the same strengths that make Fallout 4 so captivating. It gives you a massive, open world filled with ruins, abandoned structures, collapsed cities, overgrown highways, and machine filled wilderness. The sense of discovery is similar. Every region feels unique. Every climb, detour, and path off the beaten road leads to something interesting. And like Fallout, much of the storytelling happens through the environment before the game explains anything directly.

Aloy is a strong protagonist whose journey mixes survival, mystery, and exploration. Her story pulls you into the world through questions you genuinely want answered. The combat is tactical and satisfying. You study enemies, prepare traps, craft ammo on the fly, and use a wide range of weapons that reward creativity. The loop of fighting, scavenging, crafting, and upgrading gear is instantly familiar to Fallout fans and scratches a similar itch.

What connects Horizon to Fallout most is the worldbuilding. Behind the robot dinosaurs and tribal clans is a deep, emotional, science fiction story about a civilization that destroyed itself. Clues are scattered across old bunkers, labs, and facilities tucked beneath the surface. As you uncover them, you get the same thrill Fallout delivers when you discover holotapes, terminals, and environmental stories that piece together the past. If you loved exploring ruined locations for lore, Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the strongest recommendations on this list.

4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly

Fallout 4 can be a tense experience in certain areas, especially when wandering through the Glowing Sea or exploring heavily irradiated ruins. If you want a game that captures that same high tension, unpredictable, survival driven atmosphere, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly is the closest match. It is a free standalone version of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. world that improves performance, adds new features, and creates a giant sandbox filled with factions, mutants, anomalies, and dynamic events.

The Zone in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. feels alive in a way few game worlds do. Weather changes dramatically. Mutants move through areas without warning. Factions fight independently of your presence. Supplies are scarce, weapons degrade, and every trip outside a safe camp feels dangerous. If you liked the feeling of heading into the Commonwealth’s more hostile regions with a risk of losing everything, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. amplifies that experience and makes it the core of the game.

The openness is what Fallout fans appreciate most. You decide where to go, which faction to support, which gear to upgrade, and which missions are worth taking. There is a sense of freedom that mirrors Fallout 4’s structure but in a harsher, more grounded world. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is not as friendly to new players, but once you understand how the systems fit together, the immersion is unmatched. It is a perfect follow up for players who want survival, danger, and stories that emerge naturally from the world.

5. Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus blends exploration, survival, storytelling, and atmospheric worldbuilding in a way that resonates with Fallout players. Instead of one giant world, you travel across different regions by rail, each one acting as a semi open hub filled with hidden areas, abandoned structures, settlements, and environmental stories. The world feels lived in. Every location hints at what happened before you arrived, just like the best locations in Fallout 4.

Metro Exodus leans more into narrative than Fallout does, but the exploration is satisfying because the game gives you real freedom to approach situations your way. You manage resources carefully, craft supplies at workbenches, and upgrade weapons with parts you scavenge from the environment. If you enjoyed the scavenging and modification systems in Fallout 4, Metro turns those ideas into a core gameplay loop that rewards curiosity.

The atmosphere is the real draw. From frozen ruins to humid swamps to sun soaked deserts, Metro Exodus creates a ruined world that feels both dangerous and beautiful. The mood shifts from hopeful to bleak to peaceful in a way that keeps the journey fresh. It scratches the same itch Fallout players feel when wandering into new areas and wondering what happened there. Metro Exodus is not as loose or open ended as Fallout 4, but it is one of the most immersive post apocalyptic experiences available.

Closing Thoughts

Fallout 4 is difficult to replace because it offers a blend of systems, exploration, atmosphere, and story freedom that few other games match. But these five titles capture major pieces of what makes Fallout special. Some go deeper into role playing. Others focus on exploration or survival. All of them offer worlds that feel reactive, lived in, and full of stories waiting to be discovered. If you are looking for something to scratch that specific Fallout 4 itch, each of these games offers its own version of that experience with a different flavor and a new world to get lost in.