The Fallout series has been an iconic feature of the gaming world since the publication of the first entry in 1997. The franchise, like "Wasteland" and the "Mad Max" series, is one of the first to come to mind when you think of post-apocalyptic, a genre it has helped to define for the current period.

Despite setbacks, including a change in publishers, "Fallout" continues to deliver unforgettable gameplay experiences. With an intricate history, a slew of well-developed factions, and a cast of engaging characters, the series immerses you in humanity's struggle for existence.

The Great War

The Fallout storyline is set in an alternative history timeline after World War II. The characters’ lifestyle and the décor of homes and buildings appear consistent with the 1950s, but we notice that inhabitants have robots helping them around the house and computers ranging from simple terminals to artificial intelligence. However, televisions and radios remain suited for ’50s. This is because the technology that allowed us to improve these tech gadgets were never invented.

With each Fallout comes a new storyline, but all the games are connected through a complicated history of wars, various groups looking to control the world, and hard choices to make for the greater good (or yourself, should you please in a selfish manner).

A hundred years later, the fossil fuels used to power the electronics are almost gone, creating tension between China, Russia, and the United States. This scarcity start the Resource Wars in 2052, leading up to the Great War in 2077 between the three major powers. The conflicts result in China invading Alaska and the U.S. annexing Canada.

In 2054, the US government initiated Project: Safehouse, partnering with Vault-Tec to build fallout shelters (called vaults) across the country. Though officially advertised as a way to protect US citizens from nuclear holocaust, they built only 122 vaults of the estimated 400,000 needed to protect the full population.

Before the Great War, the U.S. government retreats to an offshore safe zone on an oil rig. The government becomes known as the Enclave, and it would represent the antagonists throughout the games as it tries to take over the world. In the anarchical world, nations are free to use their nuclear powers. The Great War lasts two hours, as nuclear bombs hit the planet. In its wake is a devastated and irradiated Earth.

In each vault is an Overseer, who is in charge of making all major decisions for the population inside the bunker. In the Fallout games, the main character’s purpose is often to save his vault or retrieve a stolen or missing item. The story gets more complex as the player encounters villains and monsters and has to decide whether to save himself or the world.

Rather than serving their advertised function, the US government used these vaults to conduct social experiments on pre-selected portions of the population. Additional private vaults were commissioned, though this number remained a carefully guarded secret.

Of the 122 public vaults constructed, only 17 served the promised function. These 17 served as a control group against which the government could measure the success of the unique vaults. Despite supposed good intentions, such as ending disease, the government used unethical methods for achieving results. They exposed the unwitting vault dwellers to many dangers, most of which proved fatal.

Vault-Tec conducted a variety of experiments. Vault 11 tested human nature, requiring the residents to sacrifice one person each year. They designed Vault 12's door not to close properly, leading to the formation of a large ghoul settlement called the Necropolis. 999 women and one man inhabited Vault 69, while Vault 77 housed one man and a crate full of puppets.

In every Fallout, the player can also receive help from the Brotherhood of Steel, a group of ex-U.S. Army officers who control the mutant population. They collect pre-War technology, which they use to create energy weapons and powerful and resistant armors. The Brotherhood was formed to save society after they discovered that the Enclave was experimenting with the Forced Evolutionary Virus, a powerful radiation disease that transforms people into supermutants.

The games all share a common history, but the players will get to touch upon several themes in the Fallout series.

Fallout 76

Fallout 76 is set in 2101, 25 years after the Great War. As of November 2018, it was the latest entry into the series, though the earliest in the timeline, making it a prequel to the original games. The game takes place in Appalachia, an area in West Virginia that remained mostly intact after the earth-shattering events of 2077. You play as the Resident as they emerge from Vault 76, one of the 17 control vaults in the vault experiment.

The story follows the celebration of Reclamation Day, leading to the vault's scheduled opening. The plot focuses on tracking down the Vault 76 overseer, whose voice recordings and resources you discover throughout your journey. As the quest unfolds, you discover that most of the inhabitants of the area survived, only to be wiped out by the Scorched Plague. This plague created a new strain of semi-intelligent ghouls, bereft of individual consciousness yet linked by hostility and a feral hive-mind. Despite their condition, the Scorched maintain fine motor skills and the ability to use weapons.

The Scorched comprise the main threat of Fallout 76, though Appalachia is rife with dangers, including other Vault 76 inhabitants. As you continue to chase after the overseer, it eventually becomes clear you will have to nuke part of Appalachia to wipe out the Scorched threat. Only then can you and the former vault dwellers recolonize the area.

The Original Fallout: 150 days to save your Vault

The first Fallout game starts in Vault 13 in 2161 in Southern California. The main storyline begins when the Overseer sends the main character, the Vault Dweller, in the Wasteland to find a new Water Chip, which is responsible for water recycling and pumping machinery in the vault. The bunker has just 150 days left before the water runs dry.

The Vault Dweller travels to Vault 15, the closest known vault, which might be able to provide a chip. The player quickly finds out the vault has been destroyed and the remaining survivors formed a town called Shady Sands. Upon his arrival, the main character may defend the settlement from a group of raiders. Through the Vault Dweller’s travels, the players will be able to complete quests that will help Vault 13 while still looking for the chip, giving more time for the player to complete the quest before the drought. Once the player has found the chip and returns to Vault 13, the Overseer says the amount of supermutants seen in the world is abnormal and sends the main character on a new quest to figure out why.

With the help of the Brotherhood of Steel, you discover a prototype vault with a character named the Master, who was administering the Forced Evolutionary Virus, or FEV, to humans so they would transform into supermutants. After completing the quest, the Vault Dweller returns to Vault 13 only to find out the Overseer does not want him to come back inside because he wants people to stay in the vault and preserve its isolation.

Fallout 2: The Garden of Eden

Taking place in 2241, Fallout 2 focuses on the Chosen One, a descendant of the Vault Dweller in the previous Fallout. This time, the player is in charge of saving his village, Arroyo, from drought and has to retrieve a Garden of Eden Creation Kit, or GECK. The Chosen One heads for Vault 13, where the GECK is supposed to be. He finds the vault empty of human life and returns to his village under Enclave occupation. A mysterious organization, you later uncover that the Enclave is what remains of the pre-War US government.

Through various missions, the Chosen One is able to activate a ship that will take him to the Enclave’s offshore oil rig. The main character soon discovers that the Enclave has captured the inhabitants of Vault 13. They have been used as test subjects for the FEV. The Enclave’s purpose was to contaminate all humans with the virus so they would be the only humans left, as the Enclave has been protected from the radiation since the Great War. The Chosen One manages to save Vault 13 and Arroyo and destroys the Enclave’s oil rig.

Fallout 3: Finding your father

Fallout 3 takes place in 2277 on the East Coast of the United States, primarily in a region known as the Capital Wasteland. This is a location that spans the areas that were once known as the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The game follows the Lone Wanderer who is forced to flee Vault 101 after their father, James, leaves and throws the vault into anarchy.

The plot centers on the Wanderer's journey as they search for James and uncover his work on Project Purity, a plan to purify the Potomac River using a massive water filter. James scrapped Purity following his partner's death, traveling to Vault 101 to raise their newborn in safety. The Lone Wanderer is also constantly accompanied by the voice of Three Dog on their journey, with the radio host not only offering quests to the character but also commenting on their actions and reputation within the wasteland.

After finding and freeing his father from a virtual reality program, the pair intend to use the information James uncovered to restart Project Purity; however, Enclave members invade the project site. James then floods the control room with radiation to stop the Enclave leader but kills himself in the process. The Wanderer travels to Vault 87 to find a Garden of Eden Creation Kit. The Enclave captures the Wanderer and takes them to their base. There, they learn of the Enclave leader's plan to use Project Purity to infect the water supply with a modified strain of FEV.

Escaping the base, the Wanderer reaches the Purity site with the help of the Brotherhood of Steel. Though they have all the needed components, activating the purifier requires entering a manual code in the radiation-filled control room. This forces the Wanderer to choose between sending a Brotherhood member to complete the task or making the ultimate sacrifice themselves.

Fallout: New Vegas - Don't shoot the messenger

Fallout: New Vegas takes place in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas in 2281, four years after the events of Fallout 3, though its plot is largely unrelated.

You play as the mysterious Courier, with the game opening as they're ambushed while delivering a package from Primm to New Vegas. A mysterious man leads the ambush, taking the package before shooting the Courier and leaving them in a shallow grave. A robot named Viktor discovers the Courier, digging them up and taking them to Goodsprings where Doctor Mitchell rehabilitates them.

The game follows the Courier as they pursue their would-be assassin and centers on a three-way conflict between the New California Republic, Caesar's Legion, and Mr. House. Each faction maneuvers to control the still functional Hoover Dam which supplies the Southwest with clean water.

In the Mojave Wasteland where the game takes place, players also encounter a variety of tribal gangs. The Vipers, Khans, and Jackals all have their origins in New California's Vault 15 before they were driven eastwards due to skirmishes with other groups as well as the more powerful New California Republic's military forces and are a shadow of their former might.

The Courier tracks down their shooter, Benny, who is Mr. House's right hand. In a bid to seize control of New Vegas, Benny intercepted the package which was originally intending for his employer. The end of the game depends on player action. After taking their revenge, the Courier must choose a faction to side with in the final battle for the Hoover Dam. Depending on what they choose, they can either destroy the Dam, claim it for themselves, or place it in the hands of one of the three groups.

Fallout 4: Time Travel

The events of "Fallout 4" occur in 2287 in the Commonwealth, a post-apocalyptic version of Boston. The game follows the Sole Survivor of Vault 111 as they try to find their son, Shaun.

Vault-Tec designed Vault 111 to test the effects of long-term cryogenic suspended animation. The staff lured unsuspecting citizens from nearby neighborhoods into the vault. Claiming they were for decontamination, the staff placed the subjects in stasis pods without their consent.

In 2227, the Survivor witnessed Shaun's kidnapping alongside the murder of their spouse. Trapped in a cryogenic pod, they could not intervene and were refrozen by the assailants. Later, after awakening from their 210-year stasis, they discovered that all the other inhabitants of the vault were dead. After escaping, the Survivor learns that the Institute, an advanced scientific organization, was behind Shaun's kidnapping. They took the infant to use as a source of pure human DNA for their third generation of advanced synthetic humans. Along the way, the player will come into contact with the Minutemen, a volunteer militia that aims to improve the lives of everyone in the Commonwealth, putting them in conflict with the Institute and the Brotherhood of Steel.

The Sole Survivor's search for his son leads to a startling discovery: Shaun, now an old man called "Father" has taken control of the Institute. In the wake of this reveal, the Survivor must work with or against Shaun, a choice that has a significant impact on the people of the Commonwealth. The Survivor can take a variety of companions along with them during this struggle, including the ever loyal German Shepard pup known as Dogmeat and the enigmatic private detective synthetic lifeform Nick Valentine, who can help track down Shaun and complete a wide array of tasks.

Constants

Then, of course, there is the Pip-Boy, a device manufactured by RobCo Industries. It is essentially a wearable computer that operates as an in-game menu and can perform a variety of functions, from showing a map of the area to powering the sophisticated V.A.T.S. system. With a retrofuturistic design, it is one of the most recognizable gadgets in the franchise.

Another constant presence in the "Fallout" series is Nuka Cola, a popular beverage that can be found throughout the wastelands of the United States. The bottles are so widespread that the caps are the de facto currency in the post-apocalyptic world. Similarly, Grognak the Barbarian comics are scattered throughout most of the titles, as can evidence of alien beings known as Zetans. Although they never directly impact the ongoing narrative, this extraterrestrial civilization abducts humans and items, experimenting on them for their own purposes.

Within the video game series, Vault Boy serves as a generic representation of the player character's statistical information within user interface (UI) menus, and is a recurring element in Vault-Tec products found throughout the fictional Fallout universe. The symbol will be receiving and origin story in the upcoming Prime Video Fallout series.

The Future of Fallout

The "Fallout" franchise shows no sign of slowing down, with multiple projects currently in the works. Longtime fans will be most concerned with the upcoming "Fallout 5," the next entry in the role-playing series. Speaking in 2022, Bethesda director and producer Todd Howard explained that the game would officially begin development following the release of "The Elder Scrolls 6" (source | IGN).

One "Fallout" project that is a little more fleshed out is the upcoming Amazon Prime Video television series adaptation. Simply titled "Fallout," the post-apocalyptic show is being developed by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, the team behind the hit science fiction drama "Westworld.”

Todd Howard, Bethesda’s lead game director is also involved in the series, which will chart the aftermath of a massive nuclear war that devastated the United States in 2077. "Justified" and "The Righteous Gemstones" star Walton Goggins is set to have a significant role, as will "Army of the Dead" actor Ella Purnell and "Twin Peaks" alumni Kyle MacLachlan.

The series releases April 12th, 2024 on Prime Video. The official trailer can be watched below.

Everything you need to know about the Fallout universe