There is something particularly poignant about empty cities, silent wastelands and the few people who are still trying to make sense of it all. That's why Fall-out the series is loved by so many, but only a few post apocalyptic games does a fantastic job of capturing the same sense of danger, mystery and the little sparks of hope that keep Survivor going.
These games place players in wild, devastated places like a nuclear war zone, where radiation has twisted both the land and its people. Then there are those games that focus on humanity's greed and the chaos that follows when society finally falls apart. In each of these post-apocalyptic games, players must fight to survive, collect supplies and try to build what they can.
Metro Exodus
A desperate search for freedom in a ravaged Russia
Metro Exodus is what happens when a series known for tight, dark corridors finally steps into the sunlight and somehow retains all the tension it became known for. This third item in Metro the saga throws players into a journey through post-nuclear Russia. Instead of crawling through the abandoned tunnels of Moscow, players board the Aurora, a rumbling steam train packed with survivors and a mass of taped-up gear.
Every stop on that train line is a new chapter, and every region feels different. One area may be crawling with mutants, while another is filled with desperate bandits or an eerie silence. The game does a good job of mixing slow, nerve-wracking stealth with bursts of brutal combat. Those who love post-apocalyptic horror games with a lot of shooting will have a great time playing Metro Exodus.
Wastelands 3
Lead a Ranger Squad through the frozen remains of Colorado
Wasteland 3 is one of the coldest, most brutal apunkalyptic open world games. It is part of the series that originally inspired Fall-outbut here, instead of dusty deserts and sunburned ruins, players struggle to survive in the icy chaos of post-nuclear Colorado. They command a team of Desert Rangers, lawmen trying to bring order to a country where “order” means whoever has the most bullets. After their base in Arizona is destroyed, they head north and answer a cry for help from a man known only as “The Patriarch”. He vows to rebuild the Rangers' force, but there's a catch: his family has gone rogue and he wants them under control, dead or alive.
The writing in Wastelands 3 is razor-sharp, packed with dark jokes and tough moral choices that will remind players of Fallout: New Vegas. That connection makes sense considering Brian Fargo produced the original Wasteland and led Interplay, the studio that later created Fall-out.
Mad Max
Build crazy vehicles and fight warlords across a desert
Mad Max
7/10
- Released
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September 1, 2015
Mad Max is not a retelling of the films, but a new story set in the same crazy universe. Players step into the boots of Max Rockatansky, a lonely road warrior haunted by his past and chased by every assailant with a rusty car. For those who like Fallout's sense of isolation but prefers roaring engines to radiation meters, Mad Max delivers. It is dirty, fast, loud and beautiful in its own way.
The world itself is extremely cool. It's a vast, open desert filled with twisted wreckage, sun-bleached bones, and strongholds ruled by warlords. Players liberate territories, hunt convoys and search for food, fuel and water. The combat is quite fast and explosive, as metal crashes, sand flies and explosions paint the horizon.
STALKER 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
Encounter deadly mutants in the Chornobyl Anomalous Zone
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl pulls players back into the cursed heart of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, staying true to what made the first one STALKER legendary: freedom, danger and unpredictability. Players wander through a radiation-soaked desert full of mutants, bandits, and uncanny things that defy physics.
For Fall-out players who long for danger, mystery and a world that feels like it's looking back at them, STALKER 2 is the real deal. It's darker, meaner, and far less forgiving, but that's exactly what makes surviving the Zone so much fun.
ATOM RPG
Explore a Soviet wasteland after a nuclear war
When ATOM RPG first appeared, no one expected much from a small indie team from Eastern Europe. But what they quietly built won the hearts of old RPG fans everywhere. It's not flashy, it's not fast, but it's the kind of slow, text-heavy adventure that made many people fall in love with Fallout 1 and 2.
Set in an alternate timeline where the Soviet Union and the West destroyed each other in nuclear war, ATOM RPG places players in the ruins of post-apocalyptic Russia. Civilization has collapsed into pockets of survivors, warlords and strange cults. The player is an agent of ATOM, a secret organization trying to rebuild what is left of the old world. From there, it's up to the player: explore villages, raid bunkers, talk your way out of danger, or blow everything to pieces.
Rage
Rising against oppression in a world destroyed by an asteroid
For those who want a post-apocalyptic open-world game with less talk and more action, one that's part shooter, part car combat, and part mayhem, Rage is a good choice. It's not perfect, but it's fast, loud and unforgettable.
Rage keeps its plot simple: survive, fight and drive. It begins when the asteroid Apophis slams into Earth and wipes civilization off the map. Decades later, the player, a survivor of an underground ark, awakens to find the planet crawling with bandits, mutants, and a ruthless government known as the Authority.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Fight the infected and decide who controls the last city
This sequel replaces the slums of the original with a crumbling European metropolis called Villedor. The virus that destroyed the world is still active, and so are the infected, hiding in the dark just waiting for the sun to set. As players try to remain human in a world that wants to transform them into something else, they must make difficult choices such as how long they stay in sunlight, who they help and who they betray.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human does a good job of mixing fluid parkour with first person melee combat. Aiden runs across rooftops, jumps between towers and uses hand-crafted weapons to smash through zombies and attackers alike. The day-night cycle transforms the game: daylight means scavenging and planning; The night is pure horror, when the infected flood the streets and only the rooftops are safe.
