WhenFallout 76was announced back in 2018 theFalloutfan community was immediately divided. While the game promised to render theFalloutworld’s version of West Virginia and explore Vault-dwellers emerging only a few years after The Great War of 2077, it also took a single-player series and attempted to create a multiplayer RPG experience that many found underwhelming.
Fallout 76left many fans of the franchise disappointed, a lukewarm reception even acknowledged by Todd Howard, who said that the game “let a lot of people down.” However, many ofFallout 76’s core concepts from its style of setting to its enemies, survival mechanics, and post-apocalyptic storyline can be found across an array of fantastic indie games that fans can enjoy while waiting for Bethesda’s next RPG.
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Inside
At first 2016’sInsidemight not resemble aFalloutgame, but fans who were drawn toFalloutby an enjoyment of dystopian fiction are sure to find something to love in Playdead’s excellentLimbofollow-up. In this side-scrolling puzzle platformer players explore a dark world inspired by the haunting police states in famous works of fiction like1984, a book also referenced inFallout 3’s Vault 101and many of the secret Vault experiments across theFalloutseries. In fact, one of the most interesting moments inFallout 76’s story comes when the player finds out that their own Vault Overseer has grim ulterior motives in mind.
Avoiding attack dogs, mind-controlling creatures, and experiments so disturbing they’d put any Vault-Tec Overseer to shame,Inside’s protagonist explores a world that moves between dystopia and pure horror. The game’s shocking ending will have players scratching their heads for days, withInside’s artistic ambition stretching well beyond its excellent visuals.
Braid
2008’sBraidis another puzzle-platformer, this time following a boy named Tim as he attempts to do what all good platformer protagonists do: save a princess. This turns out to be far more complicated than Tim or most players ever anticipated. Not only does every level come with different time mechanic for Tim to manipulate, but as the game goes on players are encouraged to question their role as the hero entirely.
Braid’sshocking twistending has been interpreted by many fans as being about the creation of the nuclear bomb, though that is far from the only theory. Read that way, however,Braid’s reflection on mankind’s potential for mass destruction ends up being far deeper than mostFalloutgame’s, despite never explicitly addressing the issue.Fallout’s Great War of 2077 may be a recent memory inFallout 76, butBraidasks questions that may lead many players to wonder what might lead to nuclear annihilation to begin with.
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The Forest
WhenFallout 76announced its Appalachian setting many fans were hopeful that some of the region’s famous cryptids and creepy forests would be making an appearance. WhileFallout 76certainly has its fair share of horrifying monsters from the Mothman toSheepsquatches, fans hoping for a truly terrifying trek through mutant-infested forests need look no further thanThe Forestfrom Endnight games.
InThe Forestplayers take on the role of Eric LeBlanc. After a plane-crash and the intervention of a mysterious man separates Eric from his son Timmy, the player has to fight their way through a forest of mutant cannibals to rescue their son. These enemies will remind anyFalloutfan of the Ghouls, raiders, and Fiends found throughout the series.
Inspired by movies likeCannibal HolocaustandThe Descent, the game also has an upcoming sequel titledSons of the Forestoriginally slated for release later this year.Falloutfans spooked by the average Ghoul should steer clear, but adventurous types who want to dive head-first into a terrifying survival horror will findThe Forestright up their street.
World Of Horror
World of Horroris a roguelite horror retro RPG which sees players investigate the strange goings on in a town which turns out to be packed full of more cosmic horror than aLovecraft novel. While the game is still in early access it’s already an impressive feat. Forgoing shock value for quiet existential dread,World of Horroris bursting with weird mysteries and an impressively detailed black-and-white artstyle that draws on the works of manga artist Jinji Ito.
Fans who felt thatFallout 76left the series' RPG roots too far behind in its multiplayer experience will struggle to find a game that strips the RPG experience down to its bare essentials more thanWorld of Horror. In many ways the game is reminiscent of the early isometric Fallout games, especially when talking to some of the town’s truly terrifying inhabitants. As withThe Forest,World of Horroris not for the faint of heart, but may scratch the itch of manyFalloutfans.
7 Days To Die
A commoncriticism ofFallout 76is that it simply bit off more than it could chew. Between new monsters, the story of Vault 76, multiplayer, and the return ofFallout 4’s settlement-building mechanics many fans felt that the lastFalloutlacked the focus of earlier games. There is, however, a game that seamlessly combines open-world first-person shooter mechanics with survival, role-playing, and even tower defense.
7 Days to Dieis set in a post-apocalyptic open world developed by a small group of developers known as The Fun Pimps. After the Third World War leaves the planet ravaged, the player must emerge into the county of Navezgane, Arizona and hunt for food, water, and shelter while avoiding the zombies suggested to be a result of the nuclear radiation and reminiscent ofFallout’s Ghouls.
7 Days to Dieis voxel-based, allowing players to build and destroy parts of the environment. It also has a day and night cycle which affects how dangerous the nuclear zombies are. When night falls, they become far faster, and as time goes on new variants begin to appear. The title refers to the seventh in-game day, where the zombies and animals of the region form a horde and attack the player.
Fallout 76is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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