A Thorough Look at Fallout [Revised/Expanded/HD]

This is a video review and retrospective of the full Fallout franchise, from its '90s isometric roots to the Pitt Expeditions update of Fallout 76, with everything in between. It looks at how Fallout 1 established the tone and iconography of the series, and then how each subsequent game interpreted those elements in its own unique way. This video essay doesn't seek to rank the games, instead looking at each in terms of its individual strengths, weaknesses, and fidelity to what came before. FULL SPOILERS THROUGHOUT.

This video made with production assistance from Nate Greene.

____TABLE OF CONTENTS____
Intro-- 0:00:00
Fallout 1-- 0:01:12
Fallout 2-- 0:50:34
Fallout Tactics-- 1:56:41
Fallout 'Van Buren'-- 2:39:31
Fallout Brotherhood of Steel-- 2:43:13
Fallout 3-- 3:06:42
(F3) Operation Anchorage-- 3:53:47
(F3) The Pitt-- 3:56:45
(F3) Broken Steel-- 4:03:04
(F3) Point Lookout-- 4:08:10
(F3) Mothership Zeta-- 4:15:00
Fallout New Vegas-- 4:20:37
(FNV) Dead Money-- 5:16:15
(FNV) Honest Hearts-- 5:27:31
(FNV) Old World Blues-- 5:38:45
(FNV) Lonesome Road-- 5:49:11
Fallout Shelter-- 6:05:59
Fallout 4-- 6:11:09
(F4) Automatron-- 7:21:33
(F4) Far Harbor-- 7:24:46
(F4) Nuka World-- 7:37:55
Fallout 76-- 7:56:10
Patron Thanks-- 9:03:04

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[broadcaststsatic]

If you enjoyed this video but crave even more Fallout content:

The Atomic Cafe, the 1982 documentary mentioned and sampled in the introduction, is currently available here on YouTube for free:

I also completed a two video series where I drove the real-life maps of all the mainline Fallout titles and compared them to the games:

And lastly, I did a history-focused Atomic Age road trip where I make the pilgrimage to Trinity Site, where the first bomb was detonated, as well as other Cold War points of interests like a simulated launch at a Titan-2 Missile Silo:

Hope you enjoyed this video!

[ezrawallet]

New Vegas is, to this day, the only game my mother has ever actively asked to watch me play. The radio stations grabbed her attention, and when I explained the plot, she said it reminded her of cowboy movies she’s loved over the years. She still asks me what that “cowboy game” is that she liked so much, haha. Just a testament to the presentation of NV that a non-gamer mom loved it even without ever playing it

[MrMultiGamer]

Finally, a Fallout series review that isn't just a play-by-play of the entire story of the games, and instead a thorough critical analysis of themes, video game design, and politics.

[JelloApocalypse]

I could not be less surprised that Noah's favorite part of the Fallout series is the DLC about a post-apocalyptic road.

[arsyn.kolgrim]

babe wake up new 10 hour video essay on a game franchise i know 3 minuscule things about dropped 7 months ago and i missed it so we’re watching it now

edit 2 months later: i’m now obsessed with this franchise

[Jonazzz]

"Good role-playing is being able to choose among meaningful options. Great role-playing is having choices meaningful enough to make a player question their own assumptions and motivations, to feel the weight of Choice" This is Gold

[JerichosFishStand]

If you ever feel like we're living in the worst possible timeline, remember that there's an alternate universe where, "you don't know about Fallout: BOS" guy discouraged Noah so much that he never made another video.

[arielvalentine]

"I've seen a lot of people out here, you're different"
"I know, I have the world's largest burlap sack full of desk fans, and I want YOU... To hold it."

[puncass]

Was really expecting the line "Just as Ron Pearlman brought you into this world" to end with "Ron Pearlman will take you out of it" like he eviscerates us at the end

[KTL-]

"You can throw soda at the rat! No one gives a shit." 'Cool, man. I'm 35.' In a 9+ hour long retrospective with a ton of effort put into it and so much meat to sink one's teeth into, this line will *still* stick in my brain for years to come, as I laughed for 10 minutes straight at it. Godspeed, Noah.

[marchindley]

The best thing about falling asleep to Noah's videos is you get to wake up to them too

[mothersbasement]

I feel like the title really undersells what this video is. Like calling the entire Jackson LOTR trilogy a revised/expanded/HD cut of the *trailer* for the Bakshi version

[hemangchauhan]

Noah's shift in tone from excited talking New Vegas DLCs to a little tired in Fallout 4 section is so stark

[xXJonesyXx]

It says so much about the quality of the world New Vegas built that, while every other section has some story analysis, the New Vegas section is an hour long and is like 50% philosophy discussion.

[StevenSeagull]

"Evil happens most often when people give up" is a really good line.

[scottnready]

The transition from atomic cafe into the fallout 1 intro… Bravo, Noah! Your skills have come a long way and it’s been great to see them develop.

[AbbyGirlJ]

This is the first review of Honest Hearts I’ve found that really understands the way that Mormonism is integral to that DLC, and both Joshua Graham and David as a characters. They represent the two versions of the church: the meek, peaceful, kind version it likes to present itself as today, and the violent, warmongering, imperialist version of Brigham Young. It’s such biting satire

[GoneFishingAmalgam]

I always liked the fan theory that Vault 76's experiment was that all the residents were selected form the worst of the worst and that is why every new player fresh out of the vault has all 1 for their S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats

[citrusguava]

The madman really did it, been looking forward to this video since the Half-Life revisit. Could honestly listen to Noah talk about anything for days on end, his writing is so damn relaxing to listen to.

[Spyno]

"A person can't control the media that shapes them. When the right piece of media hits the person at the right time, it can become a part of them for the rest of their lives."

This needs to be in history books.