According to prophecy, each Nintendo Switch can get one new port of a chunky Bethesda RPG. I don’t make the rules. The Nintendo Switch had an enjoyable version of Skyrim to dig into several months after launch, and now the Switch 2 gets a port of Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition several months after its launch. As with Skyrim on Switch, Fallout 4 on Switch 2 has arrived with more than a few quirks that will hopefully get somewhat ironed out with future updates. Just like before, however, I imagine this release will go over well with owners of the console all the same.
The original Fallout 4 released on Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One back in 2015. It was the third full-scale Fallout release from Bethesda, following on from the enormously successful series reboot Fallout 3 and the less successful but no less excellent Fallout New Vegas. By this point, Bethesda’s take on the concept was quite familiar to most, which I think resulted in a marginally more muted response to the game than Fallout 3. Very marginally, mind you. The game still reviewed well, sold a ton of copies, and was generally well-received by players.
Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition did not receive such a sunny response when it launched in October of 2025 on other platforms. Most of that has to do with mod-related issues that Switch 2 owners aren’t ever going to have to worry about anyway. Mod support? No, we don’t do that here. There might be a Creation Club, but we’re not invited. What we do get on the Nintendo Switch 2 is the base game, all of the official add-on content, and the 2025 Creations Bundle that contains some of the fruits from that Creation Club on certain other platforms. It’s plenty, even if the lack of mod support means I would probably nudge people with options for other platforms that include it to explore them.
If all you have is a Switch 2 or just like the idea of playing portably, though, I think you’ll find the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition to do the job nicely. It has its fair share of bugs, of course. It’s still a Bethesda game. There are some features you would think would be here that aren’t, such as mouse support or gyro compatibility. Some things are promised for future updates, like DLSS graphical options for handheld play, but there’s no firm timeline for that. But taking this version as it is, it’s a good time. You can even choose between different options for performance or quality. Trust me: choose the 40 fps mode. Sometimes the middle is actually the best.
As to the game itself, it’s a very cool RPG even with a decade-plus under its belt. You play as the sole survivor of a vault, waking up after being on ice for a couple hundred years following a nuclear attack on America. You witnessed your spouse being murdered and your baby being kidnapped, and are now on a mission to recover your child. Maybe some revenge? A whole lot of other side business, too. Indeed, in typical Bethesda RPG fashion, you’re likely to almost immediately find yourself wandering off the path of the main quest and getting into all kinds of unrelated trouble. It’s good trouble, usually. There’s a lot to see and do here, enough to keep you busy for dozens upon dozens of hours.
Fallout 4 is also a game where you can make lots of bad choices, and it will make you live with them. Kill whoever you want, but that has consequences. Make friends, but know that some friends will make you some new enemies. There are tons of places to explore that are in no way necessary for accomplishing your goals, but I suppose that’s not as rare a quality in games as it once was. Still, it’s done well here. It’s a cool world to dig around in, and if nothing else, the whole post-apocalyptic vibe is a less common one than the fantasy or modern settings open-world games typically use.
How you approach this world is also up to you. If you want to deal with things by force, you’re more than welcome to. Your options are plenty. If you feel like being more sneaky about things, that’s totally your choice. You can also just dump a bunch of points into charm and rely on your silver tongue to get you out of messes. Sure, there are easier ways to go about things. The game doesn’t perfectly balance all of those options it gives you, but it certainly allows them. Ultimately, what it adds up to is that everyone’s Fallout 4 story is exceptionally likely to be their very own. That’s the real magic of these Bethesda RPGs, and it’s what keeps people coming back to them again and again.
There’s still some work to be done on Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition for the Nintendo Switch 2, which isn’t really that surprising. I’m sure the updates will come, and the game will only get better from here. Even in its current state, it’s fine enough to get stuck into. You might run into some real weirdness, so make saves often in separate files in case you hit something really bad. Otherwise, I think I feel comfortable in recommending this to anyone who has been interested in checking the game out or those who would like a portable option.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by Bethesda Softworks
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