Video games and series meet once again. The Fallout series on Prime Video premieres on April 12, 2024 and we all hope it repeats the success of others like Cyberpunk: Edgerrunners and Arcane on Netflix and The Last of Us on HBO. You don’t have to be a fan of video games to be excited, its apocalyptic setting is enough of a siren song to attract anyone.
Even so, video game veterans will have an infinitely richer (not necessarily satisfying) experience than all the inhabitants who will come to the universe with the series. If you are in the latter group, don’t worry. We have all been new at some point. And precisely the Fallout franchise is about explorers who discover a world devastated by radiation.
We have a lot of information about the series, from its synopsis to some of the topics that will be covered. One of the most important will be what society was like before the bombs fell. It is a branch explored in video games, but one that can be delved into much further. Additionally, the series features the participation of Todd Howarddirector of the Fallout franchise at Bethesda, and we know that It will be consistent with what is seen in video games.
That said, my mission in this post is to establish an overview so that you know where this new Prime Video story comes from. The idea is that you start watching the series knowing the basic concepts and that you understand events that may not appear in the chapters, or are treated superficially.
Welcome to the Fallout Universe
Let’s start with the boring theory about Fallout. Its universe has six main and canonical installments: Fallout (1997), Fallout 2 (1998), Fallout 3 (2008), Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Fallout 4 (2015) and Fallout 76 (2018). It features spin-off stories such as Fallout Tactics (2001), Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004), and Fallout Shelter (2018). Additionally, the community has created outstanding experiences such as Fallout: London y Fallout: Miami. Almost three decades of lore.
The key to understanding the Fallout Universe is that it shares much of our ancient history, but at a certain point (approx. 1961) it breaks away from real events and creates its own universe. It’s an alternative universe. Unlike our reality, Fallout remains anchored to the 1950s american lifestyle and adopts nuclear energy as one of the basic energy sources, from car engines to portable nuclear bombs.
The canonical Fallout event that you should burn into your mind is the so-called Big war. It takes place during what we know as a Cold War between different world powers. The main contenders are the United States and China, and the rest are distributed among their allies. He conflict is complex and includes everything from armed confrontations to the space race. It is a very dense topic and studied by fans.
The tensions between the powers end up exploiting the October 23, 2077 (Fallout calendar) and the conflict is so terrifying because it happens just as we imagine a Third World War: all countries exchange nuclear missiles and the war barely lasts two hours. The world is devastated by bombs and condemned to be a radiation prison for hundreds of years.
Where is the Fallout series set?
The Fallout video games are set years after the Great War and show how humanity tries to survive the nuclear disaster… with everything that entails: radiation, diseases, mutated animals and humans, monsters, gangs, sects… The most recent adventure to the bombs is Fallout 76, which takes place 25 years later in Appalachia (West Virginia), before any other Fallout.
To be more precise, the prologue of Fallout 4 takes place before, although what we experience takes place 210 years after the bombs in Boston (Massachusetts). Fallout 3 takes place 200 years later in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia; and New Vegas They take place 204 years later in Nevada, California and Arizona. And where does Amazon Video’s Fallout series fit into this chronology?
Amazon Video’s Fallout series is set 200 years after the bombs fell on Los Angeles (California), with Vault 33 as its protagonist. And now is when many of the new residents are wondering: what the hell is he talking about the shelters and why hasn’t he mentioned them before?
Vault Tech and nuclear shelters
Life before the Great War is just one of the many themes of the Fallout franchise. The shelter issue has a company name: Vault-Tec Corporation. It is a corporation that was hired by the United States government to design and build a complex system of bunkers throughout the country. A total of 112 canon shelters are known, not listed successively and including some special test, prototype and secret shelters. All numbered ones (except Vault 13) were ready before the bombs fell.
Revealing the plot of the vaults is spoiling a good slice of Fallout history, so I won’t go into too much detail in case the series has them to give a touch of mystery to the episodes. It is enough for you to know that the protagonists of Fallout are usually residents (created by us) of different shelters (111, 101, 76…) that are thrown into the radioactive post-apocalyptic wasteland under different premises.
In the case of the series, we follow Lucy (Ella Purnell), a resident of Vault 33. She shares the spotlight with Walton Goggins as Cooper Howard, a human affected by radiation and bounty hunter gunman, and Aaron Moten as Maximus, a soldier from the Brotherhood of Steel (faction) And what the hell are factions in Fallout?
Factions, karma and other dramas
The Fallout saga has a slogan that says “War. War Never Changes” and it is for good reason: humanity has learned absolutely nothing from the Great War. One of the central points of all games, including multiplayer Fallout 76, is the power struggle between the different factions that have survived in the dangerous world. Players are often responsible for tipping the scales through a karma system.
There are factions of all types and sizes: Reavers, Rippers, Thieves Guild, Khans, Night Axis Police, Regulators, Desert Rangers… Although the most well-known, prosperous and powerful is the Brotherhood of Steel. It is a military organization created by members of the army. Their goal to this day is the collection and preservation of ancient knowledge and technology… although they have a special predilection for any weapon that presents a danger. They’re good on paper, but they tend to be a bit… imperialistic and fascist when they disagree with someone.
As for the world of Fallout, you should not expect anything different from what was seen in Mad Max: Fury Road, The Walking Dead, The Book of Eli and Snowpiercer, among other films and series. In terms of video games, STALKER and Metro are the most similar things we can find today. Surviving the elements, including radiation, is the least of your problems in a world governed by the law of the greatest… or most powerful weapon.
Now you have an overview of the Fallout universe. It is more than enough knowledge to tackle the series. If you want to delve a little deeper before the premiere, at the risk of annoying surprises, I recommend accessing the links that I have linked throughout the publication. Personally, I recommend using Fallout 76 y/0 Fallout 4. Bethesda is preparing an update for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S for the latter.
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