If Fallout wasn’t dead already through Bethesda’s meddling, it sure as hell is now. This is probably the worst slop, aka franchise-destroying sludge I have ever seen. Maybe even worse than The Rings of Power. To be fair to the show, it looks like Fallout, well, Bethesda’s version of it, so they got the aesthetics right at least. Beyond that, these two first episodes were terrible. Not only for being bad because they messed up the lore, but the show feels very amateurish script-wise, and on a “cinematic” level. Scenes not making any kind of sense are one example.
Vault what?
One thing in the show that initially didn’t make sense at all to me was how the vaults function. Maybe it will get explained later, but so far, it’s confusing considering the reason why these things were built – to continue humanity and repopulate the earth. Apparently, the vaults trade and change people with each other for breeding purposes, as a vault only holds about 50 people. That is way too little to sustain a good genetic pool. So, of course, raiders get in that way by faking being part of a vault. No checking or anything, they get in and after a while, a massacre starts. And this fight scene was just retarded and made no sense at all. Suddenly everyone is cramped inside the dining hall, enemies and vault dwellers intermixed fighting in melee and with ranged weapons. It’s bloody and very edgy, but the skirmish makes no sense how characters just kinda pop in and out of the scenes. Very messy, and the supposed dramatic violent scenes don’t feel earned at all.
Another thing that made no sense was when the chick wanted to leave, and they mentioned that the vault door had never ever been opened. What? Didn’t they let other vault dwellers/raiders inside just a moment ago? Besides plot-related things that happened during the show, I found it way too vulgar, with crude sex jokes that didn’t land at all, and with Marvel-tier writing that makes it insufferable to follow along. It has this sarcastic blasé attitude that is very common in shows nowadays, that nothing at all matters. Oh, someone got shot, whatever *continues to make a crass joke*.
Immortal ghouls
Remember that dumb questline in Fallout 4 about a boy who got locked in a fridge for 200 years? Well, that thing returned. But instead of a fridge this time, it’s a ghoul that has been buried in a casket for god knows how long. When they dig him out, he is a pretty good shape considering. Most people would probably go insane after a week, but this guy spent years in a casket… in the dark. It’s just too much for me. Also, he is immune to bullets, and other kinds of damage for some reason. I know ghouls live a long time, but they were never immortal to wounds.
It’s funny too how the concept of rebuilding civilization has completely been dropped from its themes when Bethesda took over. Well, except for Brotherhood of Steel which seems to be mega-powerful. However, even when being the police of the wasteland with enormous resources they are really shit at their job. Wasteland is as drab and horrible as ever. Nothing has improved. Their knights are not much to cheer for either, as shown in one battle scene. The guy gets scared and runs off when having to fight a mutant bear. Everything is just so goddamn silly and incredibly unfunny.
Another thing that gets to me, is how all the music is now 50s tunes. What happened to the ambiance-based music that Fallout is known for to set mood? Bethesda themselves included that kind of music in Fallout 3, so it’s not some kind of unknown to them.
Oh well, can’t wait to watch the next couple of episodes (lol).
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Blog 