Off the Shelf Media

PrimeVideo’s season two of Fallout (2024- ) ended on February 3, 2026, and already, I’m full of anticipation for season three. If you’re anything like me, you casually got into the Fallout games in preparation for season one before getting totally hooked on the lore. 

In the newer iterations, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 are all first-person, open-world games. More than likely, it’s how most players were introduced to the Fallout franchise. Speaking for myself, Fallout 4 is where I chose to dive in. Most of these games also take place farther out east than season one of the show, though speculation is already swirling about where season three will place our characters. 

We’re not here to speculate where Prime Video and Bethesda will take the show, but in an attempt to satisfy the Fallout craving, I wondered to myself whether it was time to finally give Fallout and Fallout 2 a try. 

These games had been sitting in my Steam inventory for a while, as I got them for pennies on the dollar during a promotional sale. Everyone I had spoken to about the games said not to bother and to settle for watching YouTube explainer videos. 

I decided not to listen. 

Trial by fire

So, rather blindly and ignoring the many warnings, I decided to jump into Fallout. Here’s how it went. 

I died for the first time, about 72 minutes in. More or less. 

Not only did I die, but I wasted a ton of time, collected nothing, accidentally created bad reputations in multiple towns, befriended zero companions (I didn’t know they were a part of this game initially), and used up most of my supplies.

The worst part is that I had set everything to the easiest mode that the game would allow. I increased the walk speed and dialogue speed to accomplish more. I set my S.P.EC.I.A.L. based on recommendations from Reddit, though with what I’ve learned since, I certainly could have improved my build. I set myself up for success as much as I could think of and still failed completely. 

Suffice to say, I didn’t have fun. 

Shortly thereafter, I reported my experience to my group of gaming friends, most of whom are also fellow Off the Shelf Media writers. They commended me for lasting 72 minutes. Most of them had decided to quit and uninstall after about 15 minutes. 

I pressed on anyway. 

Know before you go 

Do you remember driving home from the store as a kid with your new game in hand, ripping open the packaging to reveal all the full-color printed manuals that used to come inside? Now, every Nintendo Switch game container is just an empty, cold shell. But that’s an argument for a different article. 

Unlike more modern games, Fallout, which was released in 1997, intended for players to read instruction manuals and guides before playing. It feels obvious to most of us now that a game will teach and show you how to play when you’re beginning, but we forget that this is more of a luxury and hasn’t always been a part of games, with runtimes of 15 hours versus runtimes of 115 hours. Developers weren’t wasting time and space to make your life easier. You had to actually work for it. 

Anyway, Fallout in 1997 would have come with a similar manual. I purchased the game on Steam, which comes with a downloadable Word version. If it wasn’t clear before, I elected not to read it. This was a mistake. 

Even knowing how much I struggled on my first run, I still elected not to read the manual when I finally gave it another try. I will admit, it’s lazy. 

However, I did refuse to go in blind a second time and highly advise that if you aren’t going to do some light reading, at least do yourself a favor and watch a few tutorials or explainer videos telling you how to play. 

Once you feel more confident in your build and in your knowledge, you’re ready to get after that water chip. 

A few quick tips

Mind your clicks. When I first jumped into the map, I was amazed at how far it allowed my character to travel. No tedious rummaging through open-world irrelevance; I could jump across the map to anywhere I wanted. This was my first massive mistake. With every click, I was wasting time and wasting turns. It’s a turn-based game, and every action matters.

Do what you have to do; worry about the rest later. You’re on a time crunch to get that water chip. Get moving on this first and worry about expanding the world later. The plot will evolve as you play, but with every jump on the map, time is spent. It’s not like other Fallout games where you can spend endless hours screwing around and collecting junk.

And finally, do not worry about impressing anyone. Games are supposed to be fun, and while an aspect of an added challenge can add entertainment, it’s not worth wanting to smash your computer over. With Fallout or Fallout 2, making an honest attempt in the year 2026 is impressive enough; don’t stay away from easing up the settings because you don’t want to tell anyone you did so. 

Your life ends in the wasteland

I’m not going to lie, I really wanted these games to be for me. I wanted to prove everyone wrong and stick it out to finally say I beat them. Increasingly, it’s looking unlikely. 

Though I’m sure I will go back one day and have beaten at least one of these two games, I am a bit ashamed to report that at the time of writing this, I was unable to accomplish anything worth writing about. For now.  

If you’re eager to give Fallout or Fallout 2 a try, which you should, do the work and be prepared for a tough challenge ahead. In full transparency, I’m not good at videogames. I play for entertainment and for the plot, which is why I often cover cozy sims and movies. Even if you simply put the game on easy because you’re fiending for the lore like me, do not expect it to be a cake walk. Easy mode in Fallout 4 does equate to easy in Fallout. 

Fallout is fun and is a true challenge that makes you appreciate not just the game but how much gaming has changed over the years. I can understand why it has evolved into the powerhouse franchise we know it as today. But before you dive in, truly consider how much time you’re willing to spend before and during. And, like me, I had to accept that a short play time does not mean I will beat this game. I may never beat it. But I can take pride in saying I made an honest attempt, which seems to be more than most others have, and I implore you to do the same, at your own risk.