‘Skyrim’ or ‘Fallout 4’: Which Game Should You Play?

Bethesda created some amazing games over the years – either cooperating with other gaming studios like Obsidian or creating their own gaming projects. The biggest franchises of the notable Bethesda Game Studios are The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Since the first installments of the game, both games received loyal and world-widespread support from the fans, who couldn’t help to compare these two franchises. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4 had similar issues and praise during their releases, and for that, we decided to compare them and decide which game you should play.

Graphics

One of the biggest factors gamers really rate with new triple-A releases is graphics. For a good reason, triple-A games suggest that games invest a high budget and are distributed by well-known gaming publishers.

Of course, fans will have to spend a lot of money for those games, and unfortunately for Bethesda, Fallout 4 had a rough release in 2015. Fallout 4 was a highly expected game that game studio lead Todd Howard praised before the game’s release. The release brought a lot of issues to the players’ gaming experience, and one of them was graphics. Fallout 4 looked subpar for a triple-A title released in 2015, and fans instantly disliked the game.

Even with good mods, Fallout 4 still looks outdated, which didn’t happen with the Elder Scrolls release. In 2011, Skyrim showed massive graphics and game environment progression over its predecessor, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Skyrim’s game environment and beautiful scenery transfer players to Tamriel and make them feel like they are part of Skyrim’s story.

The graphic mods made Skyrim look like a brand-new game, and because of those reasons, Skyrim gets the point in this section.

Skyrim (1) : 0 Fallout 4

Combat

Both Elder Scrolls and Fallout games have unique combat sequences. Let’s start with Fallout 4. We all know about the post-apocalyptic world in Fallout 4 and its plethora of great futuristic weapons that are used for killing evolved, radioactive creatures, ghouls, and people of other factions. Fallout also has different builds that you can use for certain situations, like a stealthy lockpicking female character or a buff melee character who uses special weapons to go through Virginia Wasteland. There is a V.A.T.S. system of combat that has been part of the Fallout franchise since Fallout 3, but in Fallout 4, the combat system is even better.

In Skyrim, the combat is interesting but gets stale after some time. The spamming of the same keys and sometimes repetitive combat gameplay makes Fallout 4 combat more enjoyable. Of course, some would say that Fallout 4 is a newer game that needs to look better than four years older Skyrim, but that doesn’t take away from the more interesting combat gameplay of Fallout 4.

This section goes to Fallout 4.

Skyrim 1 : (1) Fallout 4

Story and lore

This section is interesting for both games since they were at the center of discussion with the fans. Let’s start with Fallout 4. We know critics and fans blasted the game for its buggy gameplay, but hardcore Fallout fans disliked how Bethesda set the Fallout 4 storyline because it didn’t make any sense within the Fallout lore. Fallout 3 was set ten years before the happenings of Fallout 4, and the Wasteland looked like the world was healed from destruction and radiation from nuclear bombs.

Another criticism of Fallout 4 lies in the game’s main story – it was simply underwhelming. Trying to find the main protagonist’s son and the ending reveal that seemed scripted and confusing are something that Fallout fans never appreciated. Most prefer side quests over the main story, which can be quite concerning.

Skyrim is in a better situation but has the same problem – boring main story and amazing side quests. New players thought that Skyrim had an immaculate story, while “older fans” preferred the story of older Elder Scrolls games. Moreover, Skyrim has amazing DLCs and side quests that made it so good in the end. However, for the sake of the article and the similar problems these games share, we will split the points.

Skyrim (2) : (2) Fallout 4

Gameplay

Gameplay is generally the player’s overall feel when playing the game, including game mechanics, story, graphics, content, quests, and others. Fallout 4 was praised by critics for player freedom, amount of content, crafting, and the addition of settlements. However, despite some faults the fifth Elder Scrolls game had, overall, the gameplay is really satisfying and immersive. The worldbuilding combined with the game environment of Tamriel and Skyrim is top-notch and should always be praised. Content is something Skyrim does not lack at all and is far from stale in comparison to Fallout 4.

Fallout 4 pure gameplay isn’t bad, but it is definitely inferior to Skyrim, and for that, we need to give points to Skyrim.

Skyrim (3) : 2 Fallout 4

Mods and DLCs

Who doesn’t like good DLCs and updates? Well, we can for sure say that Bethesda loves its additional content and updates that fix its games after lackluster releases. However, modders and DLCs improved the games massively and made them more enjoyable to play experience. Fallout 4 is one of the most modded games on the Internet. From texture and bug-fixing mods to additional groundbreaking content that changes the Fallout experience, it is something worth mentioning. DLCs are also prominent in Fallout games, and the fourth installment of the franchise has six DLCs.

Skyrim has three DLCs, and two are massive. Dawnguard and Dragonborn add-ons offer players new lore, fresh stories, and great content that only enriches the story of Elder Scrolls. When it comes to mods, Skyrim is currently the most modded game on the Internet and has the most modders dedicated to the game. The modding community recognized the potential of Skyrim’s content, and now fans can barely play the vanilla version of the game.

The same goes for Fallout 4, but Skyrim modders and mods just make the journey through Tamriel so much more immersive. Because of these great additions, we got to give match points to Skyrim – the potential and possibilities multiplied the gaming experience and enjoyment of the game.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim takes over this comparison battle.

Skyrim (4) : 2 Fallout 4

Which game should you play – Skyrim or Fallout 4?

After thoroughly explaining and analyzing both games, we concluded that Skyrim is a better game overall, and you should definitely check out Skyrim before Fallout 4. During their first releases, both games received massive criticism and backlash from the fans (Fallout 4 more than Skyrim), which isn’t necessarily odd for Bethesda’s games. In 2011, Skyrim struggled with bugs and FPS drops during gameplay, but both Bethesda and the modders of the Elder Scrolls community started working on the game to improve it since it had great potential. The same went for Fallout 4, but in that case, the game lacked the fundamental factors that the Fallout franchise made so great – the fun and unpredictable storyline and immersive lore, among other technical aspects like graphics.

Fallout 4 had many more problems than its competitor, making the game much less loved than Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. Skyrim improved its franchise by adding mechanical aspects that made sense, enriched the lore, and made The Elder Scrolls game much more fun. Graphics are subpar in Fallout 4, especially for a game that was released in 2015. However, it still holds some good aspects, like combat features, companions, and side quests that improve the gaming experience massively.

Skyrim has a much bigger legacy than Fallout 4, and that factor alone makes the fifth installment of The Elder Scrolls a better game than Fallout 4.

In the end, we will conclude this topic with an ending note. Skyrim is superior to Fallout 4 and should be on every gamer’s “to-play” list. However, that doesn’t mean Fallout 4 should be shelved and forgotten – the game received much better feedback from the fans (especially newer ones) in recent years, and the modders made sure to make Fallout 4 enjoyable for anyone. If you want to build settlements and roam around New England’s Wasteland, just go for it. You won’t regret it.

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