Platforms PC, PS4, XBO
Developer Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher Bethesda Softworks
Release Date November 10, 2015

Here’s the big secret about Fallout 4 – it didn’t live up to the hype. What game could have lived up to the monumental, unstoppable hype train that began on June 14 at E3? Nothing could. Fallout 4 was not a game changing, life altering video game by any stretch of the imagination. What it was instead was a really great video game built on the solid foundations that Bethesda have been perfecting for years.

I loved Fallout 4. It had its fair share of problems, for sure. But it was a special game. It took what worked in Fallout 3 and iterated extremely well, improving a lot on what needed improving. It’s probably the most solid combat seen yet in a Bethesda game, with much improved shooting and melee combat over its predecessor for a start.

It was also one of the few examples of a video game that streamlined a lot of its RPG elements without actually dumbing them down, or making them worse. I really liked the new perk chart, for example. It was simple but effective, and allowed me to build a character based on what I wanted to do without the need to jump through a million hoops just to make minor improvements to my stats.

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Like I said, it gets a few things wrong, the new dialogue system, romance options and crafting systems are pretty disappointing. Fallout 4, however, is one of those rare games that is greater than the sum of its parts. Its greatest strength is in crafting a highly immerse world that is incredibly easy to lose yourself in.

I sunk around 60-70 hours into Fallout 4 in a very short space of time, without even thinking too much of it. It sucked me in completely, and I found it way too easy to pick up the controller and jump into The Commonwealth, whether I had a few minutes spare or a few hours. Even now I feel the occasional pull to dive back in and keep plugging away at its huge amount of content, which is one of the highest recommendations I can give a video game.

Check out the Words About Games review for Fallout 4.

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10) Fallout 4
11) Mushroom 11
12) Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide
13) Tales of Zestiria
14) Super Mario Maker
15) Invisible, Inc.
16) Halo 5: Guardians
17) Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
18) Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
19) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
20) Dying Light