Bethesda games are known for their “step-out moments”: the point at which players emerge into the open world for the first time, these set pieces are a promise of the grand adventure that’s to come. While the early scene where plucky protagonist Lucy (Ella Purnell) leaves the safety of Vault 33 to search for her kidnapped father (Kyle MacLachlan) doesn’t quite reach the heights of similar moments from the Fallout games, Amazon’s series nevertheless nails the tone of the acclaimed RPGs spectacularly to deliver a post-apocalyptic outing that’s darkly comedic and shrouded in mystery.

Set within a 50s-inspired retro-futuristic world where nuclear war has turned the planet into an irradiated and lawless wasteland populated by ruthless factions and mutated creatures, the series follows three main characters whose paths intersect over a shared goal. Alongside vault dweller Lucy, the series centres around Maximus (Aaron Moten), a low-ranking soldier in the heavily armoured militia known as The Brotherhood of Steel, and a TV star turned mutated bounty hunter played magnificently by Walter Goggins. Meanwhile, the other denizens of Vault 33 begin to unpick a sinister mystery.

Co-creators Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, with involvement from director Jonathan Nolan and game creator Todd Howard, juggle a lot of moving parts within this series. While it takes a little time for viewers to get to the real meat of the show, the plot is perfectly paced, with plenty of fun encounters to be had along the way (one of the best being Matt Berry as a friendly organ-harvesting robot). The early episodes take their time introducing audiences to the world before delving further into its main themes and central mystery, with the overall experience being all the better for it.

Although viewers don’t need to be familiar with the games to jump into the show, fans of the Fallout series will doubtlessly appreciate the level of detail that’s gone into bringing the postapocalyptic world to life. Alongside the wicked sense of humour that’s punctuated by delightfully pulpy violence, Amazon’s adaptation is incredibly faithful to the look and feel of the games. From the postwar soundtrack that lifts some tracks straight from the games to the onscreen display of the impractically bulky Pip-Boy Lucy wears on her wrist, this show is quintessentially Fallout.

Following in the footsteps of The Last Of Us, Amazon’s Fallout is another excellent video game adaptation that gets a huge thumbs up.

★★★★★

Andrew Murray

Fallout is released on Prime Video on 11^th April 2024.

Watch the trailer for Fallout here: