Published , by Shack Staff
Published , by Shack Staff
Fallout recently celebrated its 25th birthday this week, having released back on October 10, 1997. We celebrated with a feature taking a look back at 1997's Fallout. However, the Fallout franchise as a whole has grown quite a bit since then with multiple entries in the series each full of their own unique, memorable moments. With this in mind, the Shacknews staff is sounding off with some of their favorite Fallout memories!
Throughout the events of Fallout: New Vegas, there is legend of a fellow who was once one of the most powerful warriors in the entire Caesar’s Legion faction, as well as the right-hand man and former close friend of Caesar himself. However, a critical failure forced the brutal Caesar to hold this man accountable.
After his devastating failure to take Hoover Dam from the New California Republic, this man was doused in tar and lit aflame. He tumbled on fire down a long hill into a river and was swept away… but his body was never found. That’s because he lived, and the legends speak of him as both a ghost and a reaper, still prowling the Mojave Wasteland. His name was Joshua Graham, or Malpais Legate, but you and many others know him by the legends as The Burned Man.
The Burned Man made no appearance throughout the base game of Fallout: New Vegas. We only knew of his legend. He was a campfire story told by NCR, Caesar’s Legion, and New Vegas Clan rookies and veterans alike. So when you finally meet Joshua Graham, alive and managing, it can only be described as a reverent experience.
This is the fellow that neither NCR nor Caesar’s Legion could kill, and his very bravado puts that on full display in your meeting. Graham is a religious man, but practical at that. “We can’t expect God to do all the work,” Graham tells you as he disassembles and inspects a pile of of handguns even while carrying on the conversation.
Graham has gone to lead a different life, becoming the leader of a clan and teaching them to defend themselves. As you come to know him, he can be a complicated ally or an incredibly deadly enemy. More than anything, he was a ghost story made real, and the lead-up to actually meeting and assisting or engaging him is easily one of the biggest payoffs in Fallout for me.
I’m honestly not that into the Fallout series personally, but one thing I’ve always appreciated about it was its forever optimistic mascot, Vault Boy. I think it sums up the series’ 1950s aesthetic and dark sense of humor all in one package. Training vids and the ability-based art variations for Vault Boy amuse me to no end. And you can ask anyone on the Shacknews Slack and they will tell you I use an emoji of Vault Boy giving the thumbs up as a nod of approval for just about anything.
I'm not the most seasoned Fallout player. There's more of the series that I haven't played than I have. With that said, I understood the gravity of stepping out of Vault 101 at the start of Fallout 3, if only because I knew how long people had been waiting for Fallout 3 to even exist.
There was so much demand for a new Fallout for many years and when it finally happened, it represented a victory for that entire fanbase. On top of that, it was reimagined in 3D, changing the way people looked at the series forever. Stepping out of the vault represented such a turning point and the beginning of a brand new era for Fallout and games like it. While Fallout isn't my favorite series, I knew that this was a huge deal.
Though I have quite fond memories of playing Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, I have always wanted to explore those worlds with someone else. Despite Fallout 76’s rocky launch, and although I’ve not gone back to it since then, I’ve got to admit, traveling through the Fallout world with my wife was excellent.
It was exciting to be able to explore an entirely new Fallout game in co-op, working together to survive the wasteland. If I had more time on my hands, I think I’d dip my toe back in and see about traipsing across the world listening to old-timey radio tunes with my wife once more.
My favorite moment from the Fallout franchise is from Fallout 4. If you’ve played that game and gone through the Silver Shroud quest, it’s an absolute delight. It has the Sole Survivor assume the identity of the Silver Shroud, a fictional, pre-war vigilante who cleans the streets of criminals. In Fallout 4, a character named Kent Connolly wants to bring back the Silver Shroud through the player’s character.
You’ll get the hat, trenchcoat, submachine gun, and some calling cards. Kent will then send you after criminals, and each time you encounter some evil doers, you can speak as the Silver Shroud before handing out justice. Courtney Taylor, the female voice of the Sole Survivor in Fallout 4, does an incredible job through this quest (and the entire game), and really makes it something memorable in an already incredible game.
My favorite Fallout memory is tied between a list of my favorite bugs and glitches that I’ve encountered in the games over the years (like the time I spotted a spinning, breakdancing robot leg stuck in a box that was way funnier than it had any right to be) and the sheer amount of time I spent collecting companions in Fallout 4.
I went with Fallout 4 because I genuinely loved stumbling across new friends in the game like the adorable Dogmeat and chatty Codsworth, along with things like the process of getting to know characters like Hancock better. My favorite companions in Fallout 4 include the aforementioned Dogmeat and Hancock, as well as Nick Valentine and Paladin Danse. They’re all great, though.
If I were to ever replay Fallout 4, I’d once again prioritize the collecting of companions for no other reason than it, as Marie Kondo would say, sparks joy.
I have not played any of the Fallout games but I’ve had a great time watching my friends explore those worlds over the years. I remember watching a ton of Fallout: New Vegas and find it really interesting how attached people can get to their companions. I’d say the story involving Yes Man comes to mind first when I think of memorable moments. I don’t remember the details as clearly nowadays but there was a lot of charm and terror to the back and forth.
What is my favorite memory from the Fallout franchise? Getting to attend the Electronics and Entertainment Expo was always a goal for me and I have been able to do that for years now. That being said, some of the cooler events at E3 are Bethesda media events and I was able to attend them for Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.
The launch for Fallout 4 was a lot smoother as compared to the Fallout 76 launch but it’s still cool to think that I was able to see these games before the masses and before they were deemed successful. Another memory I have about Fallout is getting a physical copy of Fallout 4 to review from Bethesda. It felt like back then that more companies sent physical copies to review instead of going the code route., like they do now. That being said, in my opinion it felt a little special to get a physical copy to review.
And there you have it, dear Shacknews readers, some of our favorite Fallout memories and moments. Now, we're turning the question over to you. What are some of your favorite Fallout moments? What do you hope to see from the series in the future? Let us know in the comment section below!