We live in a strange world. Video games are no longer a niche thing, nor have they been so for a very long time at this point. However, out of all the crossovers and adaptations, I never figured we’d see games dip into the world of reality TV, but Fallout is here to surprise us.
As announced by The Game Awards, Fallout Shelter is turning into a reality competition produced by Prime Video (who also produced the Fallout TV show that’s actually a proper adaptation).
“Contestants live together in a vault and compete in a series of games based on attributes from Fallout,” the announcement reads, adding that these attributes have been extracted from the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system in the games, i.e., strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck.
Further details have not yet been revealed, but I have to say this doesn’t sound all that great. Sure, Fallout shelters are an incredible concept lore-wise and fertile ground for wonderful storytelling (just imagine a proper drama series set exclusively in a vault, something like Silo), but I reckon they’re iffy as a reality competition.
In fact, this sounds like something Mr. Beast would produce on YouTube as a fun gag or sponsored gimmick, rather than Amazon Prime. It’s far removed from what Fallout is, thematically, at its core, seemingly utilizing the IP and aesthetics to promote something entirely different. I’ll concede that innovation and diversity are great for any given world or property, but this should just have been another reality TV without the blue vests and vaults.
But we’ll know better when we see more.
