Fallout – series. Best RPGs available on GamePass in 2022

The gamepass collection includes all Fallouts released so far – the first and the second part created at the turn of the century by Black Isle, part three, four, and Fallout 76 by Bethesda, as well as New Vegas from Obsidian, and even a little forgotten Fallout Tactics. If you want to refresh these titles, or are just starting your adventure in the post-apocalyptic US of A, Game Pass may be the perfect opportunity for that. Especially considering the price that you'd have to pay for the entire anthology.

The first two parts of the series are one of the last games of the 20th century that are still playable. It's hard to believe, but although Fallout is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, it still is playable, even if you are used to the standards of the third decade of the 21st century. The story of saving a doomed village is still engaging, the iconic verbal skirmishes are amusing, and the Master is invariably terrifying.

Fallout's third and fourth installments are a completely different tale. There are fewer easter eggs here and less of the freedom with which the visionaries from Black Isle created their world. The combat mechanics, however, works perfectly well, and the experience can be largely diversified by numerous fan mods. In turn, most of the advantages of the ideas for the series from both Black Isle and Bethesda, were unified in Fallout: New Vegas, created by Obsidian. This installment successfully balances between parody and a serious story, and really surprises you with some of its plot twists, while maintaining fantastic atmosphere and bringing solid combat mechanics.

1. Fallout series in our encyclopedia

The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep

Original The Bard's Tale was created in 1985! Since then, the series has evolved a lot, slowly distancing from its roots. Employees of inXile Entertainment recently decided to return to them. Brian Fargo himself, the father of the the first entries in this series, as well as the man behind Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, Baldur's Gate, Wasteland and Planescape: Tormenta (sic), was responsible for ensuring that the work was carried out properly. Contrary to the games mentioned above, The Bard's Tale 4 was supposed to offer much more of an old school adventure than any of the hits released at the turn of the century. Was that the case?

Most players view the attempt to return to the roots of the series in a positive way. This dungeon crawler offers an interesting story, classic combat mechanics and a high level of difficulty, while maintaining visually refined character design. Some players may mind the dated character development system and a specific way of showing combat, but you can get used to it relatively quickly.

The interface in The Bard's Tale 4 is intuitive and definitely more modern than old-fashioned. This helps in learning the rules of combat and movement. The greatest advantage of the game, however, turns out to be an incredibly atmospheric, coherent world, which is a fantastic counterpart of the reality known from Celtic mythology. The ballads sung by the bards have even been recorded in Gaelic Scottish. And we must admit that it sounds great.

1. The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep in our encyclopedia