10 Best Ways Fallout Season 1 Brings The Video Games To Life

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Fallout season 1.

Fallout season 1 brings the games to life in many ways, but 10 that stand out reference actual gameplay elements of the franchise. Perhaps the most overt way Prime Video’s TV show links to the franchise is by adapting the world of Fallout with a lot of fidelity. From the characters, creatures, weapons, locations, and the tone of the story, it is clear by Fallout season 1’s ending that the creators know the world of the games well and have adapted it with relative ease.

These methods of bringing the Fallout games to life are what to be expected by modern video game adaptations. Other shows like The Last of Us and Arcane, two of the best-ranked video game TV adaptations, used similar techniques. However, what sets Fallout apart is the way Prime Video’s show brings the games to life by referencing direct gameplay elements of the various Fallout installments. Shows like The Last of Us and Arcane did this to an extent, though Fallout season 1’s gameplay references seemed more prevalent across the show’s eight episodes.

10

Lucy’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats In Fallout Episode 1

Lucy’s episode 1 introduction references an iconic basis of Fallout game characters.

In Fallout season 1, Lucy MacLean is first introduced via a montage. In this montage, Lucy – played by Ella Purnell in the Fallout show’s ensemble cast – is outlining her skills, hobbies, and interests to a council in Vault 33 in the hopes that she is permitted to marry a resident of Vault 32. While the montage works as an introduction to Lucy’s character, the vibe of the Vaults, and the beginning of Fallout season 1’s story, it also links to the games as the player usually begins Fallout games in the same way by picking their S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats.

Through Lucy’s montage, Fallout season 1 outlines her own S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. Lucy mentions that she often fixes the mechanical aspects of the Vault, tying loosely to the Strength statistic of the games. She also mentions that she likes science and relishes her speech skills, linking to Intelligence and Charisma respectively. Lucy’s gymnastics can be applied to Fallout‘s Agility and Endurance, while her fencing and “phys-ed” skills can apply to Strength, Agility, and Endurance Finally, Lucy demonstrates that she is proficient in Riflery, linking to Fallout‘s Perception skill.

9

Squire’s Carrying Knight’s Equipment In Fallout Season 1

The squires’ service of the Brotherhood of Steel’s knights emulates a core Fallout gameplay mechanic.

One of the more comedic aspects of Fallout season 1 where the Brotherhood of Steel is concerned is the cartoonishly large bags of equipment carried by squires. Maximus is shown carrying one of these comically huge bags for knight Titus before Thaddeus subsequently does the same for Maximus. These bags hold vital equipment such as weapons, ammo, food, and medicine so that the knights of the Brotherhood can survive in the Wasteland.

While these bags make sense, the hilariously large proportions of them poke fun at companions in Fallout games. In more recent Fallout installments, players have been known to dump consumables, weapons, armor, and other vital items on their companions to save carry weight for more things found throughout the Wasteland. The huge bags in Fallout season 1 were likely a reference to this, with the knights’ companions carrying their vital equipment as companions do for players in the games.

8

Thaddeus Missing His Gunshots In Fallout Episode 7

Thaddeus’ poor aim emulates a low Perception build from later Fallout games.

In Fallout episode 7, Thaddeus is confronted by Lucy and Maximus. In a bid to defend Wilzig’s head so that he can take it back to the Brotherhood of Steel, Thaddeus unloads his gun in Lucy and Maximus’ direction in what is seemingly a shocking twist for the show. However, it is revealed that Thaddeus misses every single shot, despite being relatively close to the two targets.

This is similar to Lucy’s introduction in Fallout episode 1 as a method of bringing the game to life. Thaddeus missing every single shot could link to his character having low Perception stats from Fallout‘s S.P.E.C.I.A.L. scale. Low perception, at least in later games like Fallout 4, causes low accuracy with ranged weapons when aiming at specific areas of an enemy. This could be what Thaddeus’ poor aim is in reference to, bringing a low Perception build to life.

7

Maximus’ Vault Food Improving His Mood & Health

Vault 4’s consumables give Maximus the feel of a Fallout character.

For much of Fallout episode 6, Maximus’ story surrounds him experiencing the safety of one of Fallout‘s many protective Vaults. From the wonders of TV and showers to the food provided by Vault-Tec, Maximus experiences true luxury for the first time in his life. Fallout episode 6 shows Maximus experiencing these elements, portraying him as being almost in a trance with an improved mood and health.

This emulates the Fallout games, specifically through the use of food. In Fallout games, food is used as a primary source of regaining hit points, with player characters often using Vault-Tec food items repetitively. This improves the health of the player character, almost as the food in Vault 4 does with Maximus in Fallout episode 6. Maximus’ improved health and mood are likened to the use of food in Fallout games, bringing the interactive ways of the franchise to life in a new medium.

6

The Ownership Of Fallout’s Power Armor

Fallout’s season 1’s power armor has similar ownership rules to the game series.

In Fallout season 1, several people own Maximus’ power armor at different times. Initially, knight Titus is in possession of the armor. It eventually is passed to Maximus, though a group of raiders tries to steal it outside Filly. Later, Thaddeus takes control of the power armor before it is returned to Maximus and then given back to an anointed knight in the Brotherhood of Steel for the final battle at the Griffith Observatory.

This links to the way power armor is often found in Fallout games. For the most part, especially in Fallout 4, suits of power armor can simply be found throughout the Wasteland. This essentially underlines the ownership of power armor as finder’s keepers, something that translates to Fallout season 1 too. Rather than the armor belonging to a single person throughout the show, it is regularly passed around as it is in the games,

5

The Ghoul’s Fallout Quote In Episode 3

The Ghoul sums up Fallout games perfectly in season 1.

Fallout episode 3 pits Lucy and The Ghoul together for the first time, with the two fighting over Wilzig’s head. Lucy needs the head to bargain with Moldaver over her father, while The Ghoul’s motivations are left unclear. Regardless, the two engage in a lot of verbal sparring throughout the episode, resulting in a quote from Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul that perfectly sums up the Fallout franchise.

Lucy tries to win The Ghoul over with her golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.” However, The Ghoul shows little patience for this, and tells Lucy that “the Wasteland’s got its own golden rule: thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit every goddamn time.” This quote perfectly sums up the Fallout games. Many players will agree that Fallout‘s many open-world maps present a lot of diversity in what to tackle, from quests and side quests to hideouts, caves, and cities. This makes distractions common in Fallout, something The Ghoul’s words bring to life.

4

Fallout’s Characters Using RadAway

Lucy’s usage of RadAway brings a common Fallout game element to TV.

In Fallout games, areas of the map are often irradiated. Similarly, some creatures deal radiation damage, and some food can do the same. This contributes to the player character’s radiation levels in Fallout games, which need to be regulated in order to ensure the player survives. The primary way in which this is regulated is via the use of RadAway, an item that can be consumed to reduce the radiation levels of the player characters.

In Fallout season 1, Lucy drinks irradiated water when traversing the Wasteland with The Ghoul. This is later shown to affect her when she meets Maximus, with the latter using RadAway to restore Lucy’s strength. This dynamic is something that will be familiar to Fallout game fans, as it mimics the use of RadAway in the game series.

3

Fallout 4’s Main Theme Is Used

The main musical theme of Fallout 4 transports viewers into the world of the games.

More so than most other aspects of filmmaking, musical scores can transport viewers to other worlds. The music of the Fallout show, composed by Ramin Djawadi, is majoritively successful in this way. The music emulates a post-apocalyptic wasteland, though many would agree that Fallout‘s musical strength more often than not lies within its soundtrack as opposed to its musical score.

That said, Fallout episode 6 utilizes its musical score to perfection. When Lucy is investigating Vault 4, she finds a flag of the New California Republic. As she does so, Djawadi uses the main theme for Fallout 4 to instantly transport familiar viewers back to the world of the games. The theme blares as the flag of the NCR is shown as it is one of the core factions from the Fallout games, providing yet another way for Fallout season 1 to bring the world of the game franchise to live-action.

2

Finding Dogmeat In A Red Rocket Gas Station

A classic Fallout 4 meeting is repeated in Fallout season 1 via Dogmeat.

In Fallout episode 7, the character of Dogmeat is passed from Thaddeus to The Ghoul. Dogmeat is placed in a small container by Thaddeus so that the latter can return to the Brotherhood of Steel without the former following him. This small container is located at a Red Rocket gas station, where The Ghoul later tracks Thaddeus. The Ghoul frees Dogmeat, allowing the canine to become his companion for the remainder of the season.

This is a direct reference to Fallout 4‘s Dogmeat, bringing the games to life with an on-the-nose reference for fans of the fourth installment. The Fallout show’s Dogmeat being found in a Red Rocket gas station is almost identical to how the player character meets Dogmeat in Fallout 4. The canine can be found fighting off monsters at a Red Rocket gas station near the beginning of Fallout 4‘s story, proving Fallout season 1 to have a direct connection with one of its game counterparts.

1

Fallout Season 1 References War Never Changes

War Never Changes is a common Fallout phrase.

Undoubtedly the biggest video game Easter egg in the Fallout show comes in the final episode of season 1. In flashbacks, Barb is shown explaining Vault-Tec’s plans to create a true monopoly using their values, as “war never changes,” meaning eradicating Earth of people not controlled by Vault-Tec will stop unchanging wars from occurring. The Ghoul later utters the same words when talking to Hank and Lucy in Fallout season 1’s finale, linking to an iconic video game element.

The words “war never changes” have been used in the prologue of every Fallout game, and serve as a core theme of the franchise. Fallout season 1’s usage of this phrase brings the games to life in arguably the biggest way, as it typifies the messages and themes of the franchise in TV format. Through this one quote, the world of Fallout is translated perfectly, atop the many other ways the franchise’s various game elements are brought to life in Fallout season 1.