Which RPG won 2015, Fallout 4 or Witcher 3?

IM PLAYIN discuss the merits of both Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3, to decide which game was the better RPG.

"I'm a massive RPG fan. Give me the opportunity to develop a character, to experience an enriching story and travel across a vast map, and I'm yours. I've played both Fallout 4 and Witcher 3, and though I've sunk considerably more hours into Fallout, I feel that I'm in a good position to make a decision over which game I enjoyed best. It wasn't an easy decision to come to, but I do feel that one game was slightly more enthralling than the other."

[DarkOcelet]

The Witcher 3, nuff said!

[Griever]

Agreed. Fallout 4 was pretty disappointing after all that hype. The poor grpahics, the dumbed down gameplay, bad story, and meaningless choices were really disappointing. Besides the game is more of a sandbox open world game than an RPG.

The defining features of an RPG are memorable characters, engrossing story and meaningful choices that impact the story. Fallout 4 is lacking in all of those severely and Witcher 3 has them in spades.

[LAWSON72]

It is definitely a RPG otherwise me and my friends would not spend hrs debating and choosing what sort of character builds to make. An open world sandbox game is FC and JC, Fallout 4 is nothing like them.

Just my opinion, as far as being a sequel goes it is a damn good one. It however like every other next gen game I have played feels like a game that could have ran on 360/PS3 minus the HD.

The gameplay is far from dumbed down (in regards to its predecessor), however you could certainly say its existing RPG elements were. The game is not top tier, howver not many FPS games offer nearly as much gameplay variety at such an acceptable level. The graphics are fine and soon enough on PC it will be one of the best looking games. Now the fact that the engine is not exactly a technical marvel could be pointed out. The story was presented and told well enough, something a lot of RPGs do a piss poor job at.

All this being said I think Witcher 3 is probably the only next gen game I have played this gen. I think its achievements really shine some light on what Fallout 4 should have been.

[Bansai]

Well I don't know which one... one has over 220 GOTY awards while the other didn't even hit 50 iirc.

I wonder...

As for me personally? Witcher 3 stomps on Fallout 4, Bethesda disappointed me with their newest title, weak endings, bland quests, too cluttered copy/paste "dungeons", loads of techincal problems, horrendous textures on some npcs, wooden animations, long loadings [jeez, those loadings...] and of course let's not forget about bad story and companions [with 2 exceptions].

After great New Vegas I really expected something better than this...

I just hope they will redeem themselves with next TES game

[ShinMaster]

Combat = Bloodborne

Everything else = Witcher 3

[ShinMaster]

^fix

Combat = Bloodborne

Everything else = Witcher 3

Fallout 4 = Overhype

[Anthotis]

Fallout 4 doesn't deserve to win anything, let alone best RPG.

[T1ttyMunch3r]

Bloodborne nuff said

[MONOLITHICIDE]

Yep bloodbourbe and fallout 4 for me. Witcher 3 just didnt pull me in. Granted i didnt play it very long. I will be getting it at some point down the line anyways. Fallout is just more what i like in a game i guess. Loved witcher 2.

[Shiken]

As an RPG, Witcher 3. As an open world sandbox, Fallout 4. Both games are great, and Fallout gets more flak than it deserves. Just because it wasn't the upgrade we were hoping for doesn't change the fact that it is a Fantastic game.

For me, it is a draw with Bloodborne coming in at a very close second.

[DarkOcelet]

Fallout 4 is a fantastic game indeed but a few changes i didn't like at all.

Like the dialogue system, who the hell thought that was a good idea?

[Shiken]

I can agree with that. I was able to get over it fairly easy, but damn the older dialgue options were so much better.

[kraenk12]

Gladly there's a mod for that on PC. Btw weren't consoles supposed to get mods too?!

[Shiken]

I believe they are coming, but I figured they would not be rushed out. Not entirely sure how they are handling it.

[Irishguy95]

Been saying this since fallout 3 was released. Skyrim included. Bethesda don't know the meaning of quality.

[Utalkin2me]

Sole reason i will not purchase a Bethesda game.

[Takwin]

This isn't that close. I played both at release and over 100 hours. The Witcher 3 has significantly better story, graphics, dialogue, choices, and enemies.

[UnHoly_One]

Witcher isn't even an RPG. It's a bad action game.

The skill tree and character progression is awful, there is almost no variation.

Meanwhile, in Fallout 4 you can actually have different character builds that COMPLETELY change the gameplay. That's an RPG.

Witcher 3 is the most overrated game since TLOU. It's terrible.

[Utalkin2me]

Lol, someones a little salty.

[UnHoly_One]

I'm not even sure what "salty" means.

I just think Witcher 3 was a trash game. One of the worst and most overrated games I've ever played.

Just my opinion of course.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Xenoblade chronicles x

[ShinMaster]

I'm having a hard time getting back into it because it's like the game doesn't want you to progress. It takes forever before you can move on to the next main story quest.

[-Foxtrot]

Both

They each had things the other lacked in my opinion.

[Dark_Crow]

You could say that about any rpg.

[-Foxtrot]

Yeah but the article is comparing these two

[AnotherProGamer]

Except Dues Ex 1

[sullynathan]

There are other rpgs, better rpgs, than both Fallout 4 and TW3 that released in 2015.

Always weird how two "action rpg's" are the main contenders for rpg of the year when lots of other rpgs came out that year.

[nowitzki2004]

If the GOTY was an RPG, would that RPG not have won that year for rpgs as well?

[Aenea]

No, no, no, that makes way too much sense! :)

[Indigon]

The Witcher 3. Fallout 4 is so dumbed down it doesn't count anymore as a RPG to me.

[MCTJim]

The Witcher 3 hands down. I liked it better than Fallout.

[ShadowKnight]

I agree Witcher 3 was amazing

[theboss6]

Fallout all the way ....but you said fallout is less RPG? When you actually create alot more in fallout. .. i mean you customize guns armor and actually create you own character which is the big thing in an RPG and you build an entire town which takes a long azz time lol

[xxchicago33xx]

Divinity Original Sin: Enhanced Edition...if we're talking about console games. Sure it launched a year ago on PC, but better than both of these games by a mile in terms of pure RPG

[Old_Boss_]

The Witcher 3.

[Snappy]

For me the witcher hands down. Fallout 4 was such a step backwards for me.

[Italiano1234567]

I think witcher 3 is more of a RPG but I prefer fallout 4

[cfc83]

Check sales. They both did.

[creeping judas]

For me its the immersion, I found that the Witcher had more story to it then Fallout did, so if I had to choose then Witcher 3 was the better rpg. That being said, I am still in love with Neverwinter!

[Chug]

The only RPG I see listed is Witcher 3. So I guess the answer is Witcher 3.

Seriously though, I finished Fallout 4 and it wasn't all that enjoyable IMO, it just felt soulless to me where I haven't finished Witcher 3 yet, it's much more enjoyable.

[FrostXVenom]

Agree....First i played for 15 hours and didnt touch it for a month.Now I am 60 hours into the game just because of some cool mods...
Crazy things happen in Fallout 4.I was roaming around commonwealth with Piper and suddenly for no reason piper shot me to death in a fight.WTF

[averagejoe26]

I enjoyed the Witcher a lot. Great fun. But it is extremely overrated. It's shocking to see the obsession over it.

I've been playing rpg's for the past 20+ years. Maybe the younger generations just have nothing to compare it to? I'm not sure. I don't believe that any seasoned rpg veterans are going crazy over the Witcher 3 (of course I could be very wrong here).

I'm playing Fallout 4 now and I must say it is a much more unique experience. The Witcher was rather generic in my opinion and the battle system was too subpar to make it memorable.

I'm sure I'll be disagreed with to hell but it's just my honest 2 cents.

[theboss6]

Lol i agree my friend said its because witcher has more titts

[Allsystemgamer]

What's so unique about fallout 4? It's a shooter with some rpg elements thrown in...I never understood the hype around it. Your choices don't matter either so having that system in place is utterly pointless. It doesn't look or run very good. Most of the characters are pretty bland and the story wasn't very engaging. It has less RPG elements than skyrim and fallout 3. The gunplay was just bad. The only thing I can give it is the VATS system but that was in fallout 3 but with minor changes. All fallout missions are go here and get this and look at this poorly textured world. It's also much shorter than the previous games. My cousin beat it in under 40 hours which is sad for Bethesda games.

The reason witcher 3 is so good is the characters all have their own personalities, the side missions often have unique stories, the main story is engaging, the combat is difficult and requires you to pay attention, your decisions change the outcome of the game, there's treasure hunting which encourages exploration, the world is massive with something to do everywhere with its own contained elements. That and it looks really damn good. It brings a world of myth to life (if you know of Scandinavian myths) and handles the ancient lore with respect. Each location is different than the next one and the amount of games within the game is incredible. Monster hunting isn't just go find it and attack it. It requires proper preparation and reading the bestiary to know what its strengths and weaknesses are. Many of the characters have backgrounds you can learn about in game.

[Dyldog69]

TW3 doesn't belong among the top RPGS of all time but it does establish a new story telling standard. If the gameplay matched the dialogue it would but it doesn't so it ain't. Ya dig? Skyrim for me trumps it as well as several Zelda's and mass effect 2. Phantasy star 2 is still my all-time fave

[sullynathan]

I'm not going crazy over the Witcher 3 either. Literally, most of the people that are, are people that barely played rpg's or people that play these action games that call themselves rpg's.

[Nivekki]

I've played rpgs since the 80's sully, I've probably played more rpgs than you've had hot dinners. When were you born just out of interest?

[Eiyuuou]

Bloodborne! \o/

[Phunkydiabetic1]

Pfff hahahaha in what universe is Bloodborne an rpg?

[Eiyuuou]

Every universe except yours it seems. Is it a puzzle game in yours?

[Forum_Pirate]

Pillars of Eternity

[Relientk77]

Witcher 3, duh

[caffman]

witcher 3 without a doubt

[Ferrethat22]

Bethesda was thoroughly outclassed by CD Projekt Red in 2015.

[user6666047]

Undertale crapped on them both haha.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

Xenoblade X. That's my opinion, but if you sit down and look at the facts they also agree.

Deeper gameplay.
More unique world.
Larger world.
more to do in the world from a gameplay/exploration level.
Quests that have actual viable gameplay related rewards.
Some sort of actual animation during cutscenes.
more endgame content than the base game itself.
Quests that are both good from a story and gameplay standpoint.
more enemy variety.
RPG mechanics that actually matter(looking at you "dodge,swing,dodge,swing, dodge,swing withcer).

Those are facts, If your opinion is that you don't like these things about the game and instead prefer for example fallout/witcher's simpler gameplay. Then it is your opinion that you prefer simpler gameplay.

On that note, i haven't played bloodborne yet, but from what ive seen and the past souls games ive played, i doubt either witcher or fallout can sand up to it.

[GamePeace]

Sadly I couldn't play Xenoblade X, because I don't own a Wii U ...

I've played The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 and Bloodborne, guess who's best? Not very difficult ...

You definately should play Bloodborne, because compared to the others the hype is real !

[nitus10]

I have played Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Bloodborne as well as the earlier king's Field series.

Playing The Witcher 3 on the harder difficulty settings such as "Blood and broken bones" and "Death March" forces you to think allot more strategically and in many way the fighting is similar and just as hectic as the Souls series and Bloodborne.

Playing TW3 on easier difficulty settings is effectively as waste of time since you can never appreciate the use of magic and crafting which are essential when playing the harder difficulties.

A health recovery example:

In Bloodborne you take a blood vial and the effect is pretty much instantaneous with a good deal of life recovered.

In TW3 you have to ingest "food" however your recovery is fairy slow unless you take a portion (eg. Swallow) which will speed up the process although it is not instantaneous. Taking too many potions can poison you and you will loose health.

Which recovery method do you think requires more strategic thinking?

I am not saying that I think TW3 is better than Bloodborne or the other way around since I do think that both games are excellent and IMHO fighting is both similar and different.

[kraenk12]

Finally..at least someone who gets it. Sick of people calling TW3 combat subpar.

[sdplisken]

Bloodborne is GOTY

[GamePeace]

Bloodborne (Ps4) and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) for me ...

[PaleMoonDeath]

"Which RPG won 2015, Fallout 4 or Witcher 3?"

More like MGSV or BloodBorne.

[windblowsagain]

Witcher 3 for me.

First RPG I've ever completed.

I also completed Bloodborne which was also a first for me as well. Both fantastic games.

[samchez77]

The Witcher 3 hands down. I've logged nearly 300hrs on that game and STILL loving it. Waiting for DLC.

As for Fallout 4, look, its a good game. Acceptable graphics, appropriate environments.........but boring. Fetch quests galore and the crafting system is a head ache. Like having to carry a type writer taking up 5 points for 2 screws. I like it, addictive but it's just missing something. having said that, I've only logged about 100hrs and level 30. Maybe it will get better. It's Skyrim for those who don't like swords, with less atmosphere.

[nitus10]

I have logged hundred of hours in Skyrim although when you get the best armour and weapons all of them with a double enchantment you pretty much have the game beat. It is at this stage it is definitely worth increasing your difficulty level.

With TW3 you really don't appreciate the game until you play on the the higher difficulty settings although reducing your difficulty is a bit of a cop-out. Still those who do this are just cheating themselves. Personally if I see an enemy with a red skull over their health bar I just run since I am not willing to reduce the difficulty setting and you can always come back later.

For some reason I have never been keen on post apocalyptic themed games preferring sword and sorcery instead. So I have never been that keen on playing the Fallout series which I have always likened to Skyrim with guns. Go figure!

I personally found that travel on horseback in Skyrim was annoying and preferred walking. On the other hand travel on horseback in TW3 was great fun and in many cases essential. You could even fight on horseback although it was a bit quirky however you could get instant kills if timed properly. In TW3 you could sail a boat, swim and fight under-water as well as just swim. You can't do those things in Skyrim although you could fly on a dragon if you have the Dragonborn expansion.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

100 hours and only level 30? I took me 15 or 20 hours to get level 30. I finished everything with the platinum trophy in 80 hours and I was level 57. This was at the beginning of December (a few weeks after the game launched).

[nitus10]

I do have to ask what difficulty level were you playing on and did you at certain times reduce the difficulty for some tougher enemies?

The difficulty levels are:

Just the Story! - Very easy
Story and Sword! - Normal (actually easy)
Blood and Broken Bones! - Hard (sort of normal)
Death March! - Harder Still

Playing on "normal" is really fairly easy and you do level up faster so it would not be that difficult to finish the game in 80 hours.

Playing on the harder difficulties gives you smarter enemy AI and "Death March" really forces you to think much more strategically especially with your Signs as well as learning to craft weapons, armour, bombs and potions. Even your choice of a crossbow is important for underwater fighting.

On the harder difficulties you level up slower so you really do have to complete allot more quests to keep your edge.

Even wolves and dogs can be a problem when they attack in waves and they do go for your back. Small monsters can do the same as wolves and some like werewolves and ghouls can recover life some slow some quite fast.

With the "Death March" difficulty even the suggested level for some quests is a guideline and on one occasion I did a level 10 quest at level 10 and met some enemies that had red skulls above their heads. I decided that it was better to run and come back later.

I do find the conversation choices in this game do have consequences, some immediately and others down the time-track.

[samchez77]

@solidgear3

I stuff around a lot and NEVER fast travel. I really take my time with these kinds of RPG's. Sniffing and poking at every corner. It is my first fallout and took a bit of getting used to aswell.

@nitus10 I play on "Story & Sword". It's a bit easier now (lvl37) but the first DLC gave a renewed challenge. I LOVE the combat in TW3. You have to actually PLAY it and think about your tactics. Not just hack 'n' slash.

[mochachino]

Fallout is not even in the same league.

[nogoodusernamesleft]

both good game in their own right but i think witcher 3 is slightly better. it really depends on the kind of rpg you want to play because they both offer very different experience. in the end they are solid games

[Trekster_Gamer]

Fallout 4 was a let down...
Boring story..
Could have been more polished..

To me anyways...

[MasterCornholio]

Between the two I believe The Witcher 3 is better.

The Witcher 3 appears more carefully crafted than FallOut 4 in my opinion.

I haven't played either yet but I'm just stating my opinion based off the gameplay videos that I've seen.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Fallout 4.. duh

[philm87]

Doesn't matter, both awesome.

[josephayal]

Fallout 4 hands down

[Fusion_Ninja]

The thing that bothers me about this constant comparison is how hypocritical it tends to be, based strictly off the perception that CDprojektRed is an 'indie' (read: underdog) developer and Beth Game Studios is a "lazy" AAA dev.

-First of all, let's clear this right up: CDPR's core development team is more than TWICE THE SIZE of Beth Game Studios; that's not counting the 1,000+ folks OUTSIDE the studio that also assisted in development of TW3. Fallout 4 was made with about 110 people. TW3 was made with between twice as many to 10 times as many people, depending on how you want to quantify/qualify it. Link: http://gamingtrend.com/2015...

-Quests (spoilers): I find it peculiar that folks keep saying TW3's content is so meaningful, and 'every side quest matters', while FO4's story is 'crappy' with fetch quests left and right. While it's true that TW3's got some great side quests, there are a TON of fetch quests littered throughout the game. Ever checked a job board in one of the towns? LoL Furthermore, there are plenty of scenarios in TW3 where you're 'clearing mobs' much like the radiant Minutemen quests in FO4. I thought Curie's questline alone in FO4 was far more compelling and unique than much of the content in TW3. In terms of main story, TW3 has you chasing your adopted daughter...and chasing her...and searching for her...and chasing her. It's the epitome of tedium and cliche. In FO4, meeting your son as an adult, twice your age- head of this secretive underground scientific organization; it's a huge, unexpected shocker! Furthermore, factions in FO4 are working for conflicting, cross-purposes unlike in Oblivion or Skyrim, where you can be master thief, master warrior helper, master spell-caster and master assassin without anyone blinking an eye.

[Fusion_Ninja]

-Role-playing (spoilers): I simply do not get this argument. TW3 has one of the most 'pre-set, pre-defined' characters/backstories in any WRPG! Certainly you can modify his combat abilities and priorities and make some important decisions that will affect the outcome of the story arc/characters. However, the core role-playing experience is no deeper than in FO4, and in some ways, shallower. In FO4, you create your character's appearance from scratch; while your personal back-story is pre-defined, you are frozen for 200+ years and wake up to discover your family gone and the world as you knew it, gone. This allows for an ideal 'role-playing' scenario because everything as you knew it has changed, and you've got nothing to lose now! Really, the ONLY scenario you can't act out in FO4 is the "ultra-psychopathic evil" character that murders everyone in every faction. Fine, ya got me there...

Graphics: Obviously TW3 wins ON PC. However, on consoles we've got an entirely different story. The fidelity of both games on console look very comparable. Furthermore, TW3's much-lauded engine can't hold a candle to Bethesda's in terms of dynamic movement/manipulation of individual objects; hence the fact that FO4's robust settlement-building feature is almost an entire game unto itself; whereas, you can't even touch or lift any physical object in real time in TW3. I realize this is about priorities- do we want to wait for interior load screens? If your answer is no, TW3's got it nailed and I applaud them for that. Conversely, do we want to be able to interact with virtually any world object, lift it, toss it, consume or craft with it? Then FO4 wins hands-down.

At the end of the day, both games are excellent. However, the key difference here goes back to my opening point: everyone wanted TW3 to succeed from the get-go (easily overlooking its many flaws/shortcomings), while everyone wanted FO4 to fail, because it's the popular AAA game to hate on right now; therefore every flaw is analyzed and scrutinized to death.

IMHO, FO4 was the superior game, and my personal GOTY for 2015.

[MonkeyOne]

Witcher 3 bored me to tears for some reason. The game is joyless and stodgy.

Whereas I had a blast playing Fallout 4.