Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 325 sampled Steam reviews (270 positive / 55 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
Positive reviews don't converge on specific aspects.
What negative reviews complain about
- Monetization13% mention it
- Bugs & crashes9% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
90%
144 reviews
5-15h
73%
84 reviews
15-40h
74%
39 reviews
40-100h
91%
32 reviews
100h+
81%
26 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 71 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 88% | 82 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 65 | 28 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 78% | 72 | 250 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 714 total reviews in window · weighted 153.2 up / 43.6 down · computed 17m ago · full methodology →
Patch history
- Fallout Shelter’s largest update yet is here!Dec 12, 2025
- Fallout Shelter - Update 1.12May 24, 2017
- Fallout Shelter - Update 1.12May 24, 2017
