If you ask me where my Monday disappeared, all I can say is Fallout. The TV show from Prime Video has been my latest binge, and it’s tickled all those rights parts of me and made me want to do nothing more than re-install and play some Fallout 4 again.
A big reason the show makes me want to return to the game is the countless little Easter eggs and small nods to the franchise that created the world and paves the way for an exciting second season.
So, if, like me, you’ve found hours of your life unaccounted for because of Fallout fever, here are seven times that the Fallout TV Show tickled the Fallout gamer in me. And be warned, there will be spoilers.
Fallout TV Show Easter eggs:
0xF9AC ($HACKING/}
If there is one thing that is synonymous with the Fallout franchise, it’s hacking.
Throughout the TV show, there are various references to the computer interfaces that players interact with within the games, from playing holotypes on Pip-Boys (special shout out to Aromic Command from Fallout 4) to Vault terminals.
But the coolest moment of them all is when Norm needs to hack a Vault terminal, and the same hacking minigame players will recognise from the games pops up. Chefs kiss.
Drive In, Fly Out!
Another moment anyone who saw the promo images released in the lead-up to the show knew was coming was the iconic Red Rocket location.
In Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, The Red Rocket is a brand of truck stops and gas stations that appears around the world. Not only is the location featured in the show, but they also got the reveal moment just right.
In Fallout 4, players will find one of the most iconic doggos in gaming history outside of a Red Rocket. In the show, the Ghoul finds a German shepherd at a Red Rocket as well and, shortly after, even calls the dog Dogmeat.
Golly, But These Pants Are Tight
There is little more recognisable in gaming than the iconic image of Fallout’s Vault Boy giving a thumbs-up and wink.
The Fallout TV Show more than delivers when it comes to giving us some of the backstory behind Vault Boy’s mascot. It also references one of the longest-running fan theories in the game’s fandom—what does the thumbs-up mean?
Presenting the capital of the New California Republic
Another iconic game location that made its way into the show is Shady Sands. In the first Fallout game, Shady Sands is the first settlement that the Vault Dweller finds.
Shandy Sands also served as the first capital of the New California Republic. In the show, we learn that the location is no more after being nuked off the map and that Maximus was a survivor of the attack.
The destruction of this iconic location is a massive deal to the story that the show is creating because it explains why the NCR presence is so minimal and why both the Brotherhood and the Enclave thrive.
Presenting Robert House
One of the most pivotal moments in the entire first session of the Fallout TV Show is when a bunch of the Vault-Tec brass come together to discuss the coming apocalypse and their financial strategies.
It’s a compelling moment that sets the tone of the entire story and what will still come, but it’s also huge for another reason.
In this meeting, Robert House is in attendance for RobCo and a representative of the Big MT. Anyone who played New Vegas will recognise both names.
Robert House is a mysterious entity that rules New Vegas, and the Big MT is the scientific dystopia at the centre of the DLC pack Old World Blues.
Fallout Released When?
This isn’t an earth-shattering Easter egg or anything, but it is a great little moment to have included and to pick up on. There is a moment when Hank needs to type his access code into a terminal at the NCR compound.
Hank ends up typing in 101097, a reference to the original release date for the game that started it all, October 10th 1997.
Welcome To New Vegas, Baby!
The final moment that had me itching to hit that reinstall button also happened to be the final shot of the first season.
In the final shot, we see the settlement of New Vegas and the skull of one of the most feared and deadly of all the Fallout big bads, a Deathclaw. What a great way to end a fantastic season.
If you enjoyed this post but still need more of the Fallout TV Show in your life, you can follow the link here to read about one of the show’s most incredible Easter eggs. You’re welcome.