I will be honest with you and tell you that when I first heard about Fallout Shelter I thought it sounded really lame. I am a huge fan of the Fallout series and I kept asking myself why would I want to play this?
Well as it is a free to play game I thought what the heck and I gave it a chance. I played Fallout Shelter on my phone, but you can also play it on console.
I do not know why I was so hesitant to try this out as I love Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Stardew Valley and so on. So the idea of having to build my own Vault and make it as awesome as possible should have been something I got on board with right away. Well despite my slow start, Fallout Shelter is one of the games I tend to play when I have a spare ten minutes or so and I have had a great time doing so.
That is why today if you like this game you are in for a treat as I have some awesome games like on this list.
Westworld
I love the Westworld TV series so finding out there is a game based on it was pretty awesome.
Now, this is a mobile game so you have to expect that there are the usual “things” that you have to deal with. However, I feel that this is easy to get over and even if you just play this as a free to play game there is a lot of fun to be had. As this is based on a TV show I do think that to get the most out of it you will at the very least need to be familiar with the show.
The idea of Westworld is that you are a new recruit at Delos and you will need to learn the ropes of running Westworld. This means that you will need to develop the actual park, work on the AI robots and make sure that people are having a good time.
There is actually a lot of depth to this game and it is one that I really had a lot of fun with. If you like Fallout Shelter and the TV show Westworld, you are going to be really addicted to this just like I am.
This War of Mine
Wow, this game really blew me away. While I have put this on this fallout shelter list, I actually would say that this may be a little better. It is not so much a creation sim style game like Fallout Shelter. It is more of a survival sim. But there are many of the same elements that you like about Fallout Shelter like building and crafting your buildings and areas.
What makes this such a great game is that it is set during a war, but rather than playing as a soldier you play as a regular joe who is just trying to survive and help others survive. During the night you need to watch out for snipers by building your shelters and making sure people are ok. During the day, you need to go savaging for food and supplies.
There is a lot to do here and you always have the feeling that you could be sniped or make the wrong decision.
Sheltered
Out of all the games on this list, Sheltered is the one that has the most in common with it. There has been a global apocalypse and now you are tasked with protecting your family.
The world is a messed up place! Supplies are not all that common and there are messed up people that want you and your family dead. Each time you leave your shelter, you may never come back! However, your families survival depends on you bring back resources so you can eat and develop your shelter.
While the shelter building aspect of Sheltered is really cool. In my opinion, it is the family aspect that made it so addictive for me. Despite having a rather primitive art style, the game does a great job in making you actually care about your family.
This makes you really want to go above and beyond to ensure their survival and you will find that on one hand, you want to take risks to find good stuff, but at the same time, you know that if you do and it goes wrong, your family may die as a result! This game is pretty heavy stuff, but it is one I had a lot of fun with.
Oxygen Not Included
Let me tell you right off the bat one of the things that I love about Oxygen Not Included is the awesome art style. They have gone for an animation style which along with the great sense of humor makes this a game that is like a TV show from Cartoon Network. The idea of the game is that you are in this big space rock and you need to do all that you can to ensure you and the other folk survive.
There are many threats to your colonies survival so you will have to venture out into the space rock and make use of cool technologies that will help you gather resources. There are even aliens that you are going to have to deal with which I thought was pretty cool.
The idea is that you need to help your colony get to the point where they are really thriving and going out on one more run in the hope you will find something useful is always on your mind. I had a lot of fun with this one and I really appreciated its more lighthearted take on this style of game.
Tinker Island
Tinker Island is a mobile game that I first played while in the waiting room at the dentist! What caught my eye about Tinker Island was how the art style reminded me about Stardew Valley which is always a good thing.
Though instead of a farm and rural setting, Tinker Island sees you and other survivors castaway on a tropical island that is every bit as deadly as it is beautiful.
As the leader of this bunch of survivors, you are tasked with building a colony and making sure that everyone has what they need to survive. This includes making sure your base is safe and secure, you have plenty of supplies and crafting, there is a whole load of crafting in this game.
There are also creatures that you have to deal with so there is a bit of combat as well. I played this without spending any money on Microtransactions and have a fun time doing so. If you want a fun mobile game that you can spend 5 or 10 minutes a day on, you will have a good time with Tinker Island.
Rebuild
The game I actually played was called Rebuild 3….. in all honesty, this is a series I had never heard of, but after just ten minutes of gameplay I knew that this was one of the better games on this list. What I like about Rebuild 3 is that it is set during a zombie apocalypse.
Some might say that this has been done to death, but I do not care! Zombies are awesome and trying to live in a world that is full of them is always something I enjoy, well in video games it is I am not sure how I would do in real life.
There is a lot going on in Rebuild. You need to look after yourself and your own people, but this is easier said than done. You will need to get out and look for supplies that will help your fellow survivors. As well as zombies there are other people who want to take what you have and in many cases, the people are harder to deal with than the zombies.
This is far more in depth than you would think and it is a game I had a lot of fun with.
Rimworld
Rimworld is a game I have put a lot of time into. Rimworld has a very heavy sci-fi feel and look to it and it has a kind of Firefly and Dune type style that I think is really cool. You have to do all the things you would expect in a game like this, but Rimworld takes things a step further and is a very deep experience. The idea of the game is that after a crash landing you need to build a new colony so that people can survive.
However, it is the managing of this colony that is very complex. You have to take care of people and make sure that they are happy and have what they need.
There is also a fair bit of combat in this game which is also pretty fun. The world is randomly generated so you never know what the heck the game is going to throw your way. If you like a strong sci-fi setting and a game that has a ton of stuff for you to micromanage, you are going to be hooked by Rimworld.
Fallout Shelter (nexus mods) for PC
Ok, so this seems a weird one to put on here as we are already talking about Fallout Shelter. However, if you like to dabble in mods then you can do this with the Fallout Shelter Mod Pack. This thing is awesome and there are a ton of mods for you to play with. For example, you can make it so things happen a lot faster which is awesome.
You can also remove some of the limitations of the game as well.
Basically, if you like the idea of Fallout Shelter, but you have been turned off by the way it feels like a mobile game and certain things take far too long. Well, you need to check out the Fallout Shelter nexus mods.
These allow you to play the game any way you want and they give you access to all kinds of cool stuff that would take forever to earn in the game or are not even in the game at all!
So there are some fun games alternatives Fallout Shelter that I think you guys would have a lot of fun with. Out of all the games we have looked at today, Sheltered is the game that I would say is the most like Fallout Shelter.
However, I also had a lot of fun with This War Of Mine. This was a really hard hitting game for me and everything I did felt like it mattered. If you want something that is a little bit more fun and lighthearted then I would suggest you check out either Tinker Island or Oxygen Not Included as I had a lot of fun with both of these games.