Fallout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-mugKDQDlg

One of the chief concerns folks always have about video game adaptations is how faithfully the games and their aesthetics are recreated. Some adaptations have been able to tap into those styles, and others have had to try and make do without. Though I’m not one of these sticklers, a game’s visual identity is often a key part of why I love it, and Amazon’s Fallout series first stunned me with its impressive production values that captured the exact look and feel of the games. With that hurdle overcome, Fallout still had a lot to prove, but it at least felt like it was in the hands of folks who understood the assignment enough to take a decent shot at it.

I’m so glad to report that not only did the team get it, but they kinda knocked it out of the park. Sure, the show stumbles over itself a bit by cramming in reference after reference to the games, but some of that stuff is just part of Fallout’s worldbuilding and some of it can be forgiven as fan service thrown in to appease the series’ longtime followers. Most of the time though, Fallout is a sharper critique of the American way of life than most of the recent games, and as much as I like disappearing into large worlds for great chunks of time, it’s great to be able to get a concise slice of the stuff I love about Fallout without having to wade through aspects of it that don’t gel with me. That and all the bugs in Bethesda’s games. To me, Fallout represents the actual standard that modern adaptations ought to be held up to. — Moises Taveras