Summary
The wastelands of theFalloutuniverse are dotted with the surviving remnants of a world before and after a nuclear war. Some of these remnants act as landmarks and safe havens for survivors of the apocalypse. Aside from being environmental buildings or backdrops, these places are also central to the choices that define the player’s journey.
These iconic locationshave become synonymous with theFalloutfranchise’s bleak yet optimistic identity. From the firstFallouttothe newFalloutTV Series, some of these places stand as symbols of civilization’s stubborn endurance, while others represent the strangeness of humanity left behind in the post-apocalypse.
10Junktown
The Classic Small Trader Town
Junktownis a memorable location from the originalFallout, notable for being made up of random pieces of junk and living off of trading with a reputation for open hospitality. This settlement is filled with law-abiding citizens, all watched over by the town’s sheriff, Killian Darkwater. Aside from the classic post-apocalyptic aesthetic, Junktown is also known for the weight of decisions players face within its walls.
Junktown houses Gizmo’s Casino, a seedy establishment that serves as the headquarters forGizmo’s criminal operations. Killian Darkwater is in the midst of a battle against Gizmo’s corruption, and the player can choose a clear-cut good or evil ending to this story. Junktown also happens to be the place where Dogmeat first shows up.
9Rivet City
The Decaying Aircraft City
Rivet Cityis an unforgettable landmark in the Capital Wasteland, a decaying aircraft carrier housing a city of scientists and hydroponic gardens. This city is fortified by an efficiently organized society, complete with housing and markets, a research lab, and security detail.
Rivet City represents humanity’s reclaimed image of scientific progress, and is responsible for supplying edible, non-irradiated food, and acting as a major trade hub for raw materials. It’s upheld by a military-grade force, and governed by a three-person council made up of representatives from each group on board the ship.Rivet Cityalso houses a few major characters inFallout 3’sstoryline, pertaining to the messy affairs surrounding Project Purity and the Enclave.
8Nuka-World
Post-Apocalyptic Amusement Park
Nuka-Worldis home to the popular Nuka-Cola drink found in and referenced across theFalloutuniverse. Created by John-Caleb Bradberton, Nuka-World began as an amusement park but, with military influences, also became automated with military-grade robotics. After Bradberton’s success with Nuka-Cola, he became obsessed with immortality and joined the LEAP-X team, which promised prolonged life.
After the Great War broke out, Bradberton failed to protect Nuka-World and ended up as a head in a jar in a secret vault underneath his office, trapped in isolation for over 200 years. While he was trapped in his office, Nuka-World was repopulated by feral amusement park employees and apowerful group of raiders.
7Vault 101
Home Of The Lone Wanderer
Vault 101is aVault-Tec Vaultin Washington, D.C., the starting area inFallout 3known for its vibrant community and twisted history. Just after the Great War, the first Vault 101 overseer prevented anyone from leaving the Vault, and every overseer since then maintained the illusion of the outside world being entirely uninhabitable.
When players enter the scene inFallout 3, they experience life growing up inside the Vault, with events like a birthday or dealing with a gang formed among other kids calling themselves the Tunnel Snakes. The story of Vault 101 unravels when the player character’s father escapes into the Wasteland during a radroach infestation, and the true nature of the Vault is revealed—Vault 101 was a study in isolation, which is what the role of an overseer is in a Vault never opens.
6Shady Sands
The Surviving Settlement
Shady Sandswas first seen inFalloutandFallout 2and referred to as the New California Republic, one of the first and largest cities to emerge from scratch without using any pre-War ruins as a foundation. Shady Sands is also a vital plot element in theFalloutTV series, a place that was oppressed by a Vault-Tec executive.
Shady Sands was jump-started by using Vault 15’s G.E.C.K., a terraforming device that contained seed and soil supplements, a cold-fusion power generator, matter-energy replicators, chemical stabilizers, and water purifiers. The veneer ofShady Sands as an oasiswould be eradicated when outside forces decided to impede on its success, making it both an optimistic and tragic story of surviving the irradiated wasteland.
5Novac
A Resettled Novel Motel
Novacis a notable stop along the old Highway 95, notable for its landmark Dinky the T-Rex statue and Dino Dee-lite Motel, which serves as a commercial pit stop both before and after the nuclear apocalypse. Novac gets its name from the ancient “No Vacancy” sign, with only the letters of the town’s new name continuing to glow in neon.
Two veteran sharpshooters,Craig Boone and Manny Vargas, work shifts day and night, watching the wasteland from the Dinky the T-Rex statue’s mouth, and offer memorable dialogue and sidequests to explore inFallout: New Vegas. Novac is a safe and grounded place to be, with all of its inhabitants being survivors seeking shelter or travelers seeking a relatively nice place to stay.
4Sanctuary Hills
The Sole Survivor’s Suburban Neighborhood
Players are introduced toFallout 4throughSanctuary Hillsin the pre-war era, a picture-perfect suburban neighborhood with tidy lawns and pastel houses. After the Sole Survivor emerges from Vault 111, they find Sanctuary Hills in ruins. In this post-apocalyptic Sanctuary Hills, players find a chance to transform the neighborhood into a personalized home.
After completing the quest “When Freedom Calls,” players can use a Settlement Workshop to build a settlement on top of Sanctuary Hills,now shortened to Sanctuary. As the site of the Sole Survivor’s tragedy, Sanctuary becomes a chance for renewal and a sense of normalcy, making it an iconic location for being the first settlement players can build inFallout 4.
3New Vegas Strip
A Small Piece Of Pre-War Splendor
The Strip in New Vegasis a championed piece of pre-War splendor, nearly as structurally sound as it was in its heyday. The Strip was a piece of Las Vegas founded before the Great War, and protected by wealthy businessman Robert House. House ensured the incoming missiles would not strike the city through a combination of clever planning and vast wealth, thus creating a somewhat technologically advanced place amidst the post-apocalypse.
Robert House gave up his physical body to a life-support device in favor of wiring his brain directly into a vast information network via supercomputer, giving him the ability to transcend time and operate the Strip remotely. TheNew Vegas StripinFallout: New Vegasis highly memorable for its twisted history and decadent appearances.
2Megaton
Home Of An Undetonated Atomic Bomb
Megatonis one of the first shantytowns the Lone Wanderer can run into inFallout 3, as it’s just southeast of Vault 101. The first thing players notice when wandering into this fortified settlement is the undetonated Megaton-class atomic bomb at its center, after which the town is named. Megaton is assembled from scraps of old pre-War airplanes, and ishome to several people, including some Children of the Atom.
One of the biggest reasons why this place is so memorable is because of the quest “The Power of the Atom,” where the Lone Wanderer is given the choice of disarming or detonating the atomic bomb at the center of town. The strangeness of an undetonated bomb with survivors of the apocalypse living around it, and the ability to influence the fate of the town, is peakFallout.
1Diamond City
The Great Green Jewel
Diamond Cityis a fortified settlement inFallout 4, a pre-War baseball stadium turned intoa sprawling cityknown as the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth. At the heart of Boston, Diamond City is upheld by survivors, with its own police force, public school, agriculture and industry, and economic influence across the region.
The Diamond City Radio station can be heard across the Commonwealth, a symbol of its prosperity despite still being a shantytown contained within a dilapidated stadium. Most of the game’s important characters live or wander through here at some point, including Piper Wright, the city’s activist newsperson, and Nick Valentine, the synth detective.
