Exploring the Fallout Series: How the Amazon Prime Series Ignited My Interest in the Games

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I've always been interested in Fallout, but never played it

Long before making video games my profession, long before even having my baccalaureate (or even my certificate), the Fallout saga has always been recommended to me by those around me. It must be said that since the third episode released in 2008, the universe of this license has had a huge resurgence in popularity thanks to games with undeniable qualities, both in the narrative and in the gameplay. However, despite the insistence of some of my friends and my certain love for well-constructed universes and interesting narrative threads, I never managed to take the plunge. Of course, I tried to get started several times by lending me a copy of Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas on my good old Xbox 360, but even at the time, Bethesda's style (which I later found in Skyrim and Starfield) put me off. Too many useless things to pick up to clutter up your inventory, aiming system a little too “RPG” for me, lots of elements to take into account… Maybe it was my young age at the time, but one thing was certain: the Fallout games weren't for me.

However, when Amazon Prime revealed the first images of its new series taken from the universe of fallout, I must admit that I was immediately attracted. Indeed, even if the main poster and the first trailer left some doubts about its visual qualities, I still really wanted to finally discover this uchronistic post-apocalyptic universe mixing design from the 50s and lands desolate by atomic bombs. Without really looking forward to it, I let myself be tempted when the episodes were finally released on Amazon Prime Video. And despite the new untimely advertisements for the SVOD service, I must admit that it didn't take me very long to devour the entire first season.

The Fallout Amazon Prime series is a real gem accessible even to the uninitiated

You will have understood, so I tackled the series fallout on Amazon Prime without ever having played more than an hour or two on Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas, and I'm not even talking about the other games that I simply ignored. Even if I had some vague knowledge of the universe and its themes, I was in unknown territory, just like my fiancée who accompanied me on this journey. As a reminder, the series fallout of Amazon Prime is made up ofa season of 8 episodes ranging from 50 to 70 minutesall already available on the SVOD platform. It fits perfectly into the game universe and is considered canon to the latter, but does not directly adapt the storyline of one of the titles from Bethesda, Obsidian or Black Isle Studios.

The first thing you quickly notice when watching this series is thatit has the ambition to compete with the best series of the moment. With such a long format and a very well done production, fallout clearly seeking to join The Rings of Power as a major argument for subscribing to Amazon Prime, and intends to play in the same league House of the Dragon, The Last of Us and other premium creations highly appreciated by the public. The Fallout cast is solid, the costumes are convincing and the special effects are particularly successful, whether in explosive moments of tension or in the Ghoul's makeup, without forgetting the power armor of the knights of the Brotherhood of Steel. While this aspect scared me a little during the film's promotion period (the trailer and the poster didn't really convince me), I must admit that the whole thing more than does the job and thatwe quickly become completely immersed in the Fallout universewhether in Vault 33 or the Wasteland.

And this very particular universe of Fallout, you will be able to discover it from A to Z by watching the series. Even without ever having played the games, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the uchronistic world of fallout before its apocalyptic transformation, on the reasons why everything is so inspired by the 1950s, and of course on everything surrounding the famous anti-atomic shelters in which the Americans took refuge when the bombs fell which devastated the country. Of course, it won't take long for the series to emerge from these shelters to introduce you to the Wasteland and the inhabitants who populate it, and Moreover, it was this striking contrast between these two worlds that particularly grabbed me.

In the series falloutyou will indeed follow three major characters from three very different places. Lucy was born and raised inshelter 33a self-managed micro-society in which everyone is kind and helps each other to become the best citizens possible so that they are ready to repopulate the surface (which they think is completely deserted) one day or another. Conrad Cooperfor its part, is a Ghoul which has lived on the surface for more than 200 years. He directly experienced the day the atomic bombs fell on the United States and was so irradiated that he became a special creature, almost immortal. As such, he has seen the world change and has adapted to become a cruel and lonely bounty hunter who does not hesitate to eliminate any obstacle that stands in his way. Maximusfinally, is a young recruit of the brotherhood of steel. He has always lived on the surface but was recruited very young into this sect mixing extreme militarization and religion, which makes him a perfect mix between the candid virtue of Lucy and the ruthless aspect of Cooper. This trio will often meet, separate and reunite, and each will then be confronted with very different morals from the others, all providing a very intelligent look at this very well developed theme.

Finally, if you are the type who likes mysteries that unfold little by little in your series, know that fallout should satisfy you at this level. Indeed, in addition to the events experienced by the main trio on the surface, the viewer will also be able to learn more about the very reason for the existence of the shelters thanks to Lucy's friends and family who we will continue to follow in Vault 33 throughout the season. Gradually, the characters will realize that everything is not so smooth in this sanitized world, and that morbid and well-hidden secrets could well change their entire vision of society. Personally, I really loved this part of the scenario.especially since the actors present in the shelter are all absolutely divine and everything allows this very particular aspect of the Fallout universe linked to Vault-Tec and shelters to be maintained for longer.

Now that I've seen the series, I really want to play the games

From the end of the first episode of the Fallout series, I must admit that the desire to give Bethesda's games another chance was felt. It must be said that the universe is really particularly well constructed and that I didn't need more to want to go further despite my bad past experience with these games. Thinking that I was perhaps a little too young to appreciate them at their true value at the time of the release of Fallout 3 And Fallout New Vegas, so I wanted to try again. Unfortunately, it must be remembered that even if I have difficulty admitting it to myself: time has still flown since the release of these RPG monuments. As a reminder, Fallout 3 was released in 2008 and Fallout New Vegas in 2010, 16 and 14 years ago. Rather than bring out these relics, so I wanted to tackle something a little more recent and I decided to install Fallout 4, released in 2015.

The good news in all this is that the release of the Fallout series still had a real positive effect on the accessibility of the games in the saga. Indeed, if you are subscribed to Amazon Prime (and normally you should be if you have seen the saga), you can play Fallout 3 And Fallout New Vegas at no additional cost using the cloud gaming service Amazon Lunaand you can install Fallout 76 And Fallout Tactics without spending a single penny. If you prefer, also know that all Fallout games are also available in Game Passand that a good part are also on the PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra.

For the moment, I haven't yet found the time to play enough to know if I'll finally be able to get far enough into a Fallout to want to finish it, but I'm particularly optimistic. My certain appreciation of the series and the fact of knowing that its events are canon to the rest of the universe really makes me want to learn more about itand I have to find a way to fill the void left by the end of season 1. In talking again with the same people who advised me to play the games several years ago, I learned that these The latter often lead us to learn more about the universe by exploring a few disused shelters or other places with a rich history. So I can't wait to go far enough to discover all this and catch up, all while preparing myself for the rest of the series, season 2 of which has just been made official. In short, I advise everyone to watch the Fallout series on Amazon Prime, and if like me you've never played the games, don't let that stop you from taking the plunge. In the best case scenario, the series will subsequently convince you to bring out the games again!