Fallout Season 2 Review: The Stellar Video Game Adaptation Goes To New Vegas

Video game adaptations have been increasing in numbers and in quality in recent years, with different schools of thought applied to these adaptations. There is "The Last of Us," for people who like watching walkthrough videos and want their adaptations as faithful as possible. There's also "Arcane," for those who want their video games to be boldly reinterpreted and presented with gorgeous animation.

Then there's "Fallout," a stellar show that avoids the biggest flaw in most adaptations. That's because creators Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, as well as producers Todd Howard, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, figured out that you don't have to adapt the story but rather adapt the world. The main draw of the "Fallout" video game series is its retro-futuristic world annihilated by a nuclear holocaust and its dark humor. The TV show draws elements from several games without really adapting a specific entry. It doesn't contradict or even try to replicate what came before. Instead, it lets "Fallout" be "Fallout."

The characters (for the most part) are original, the storylines brand new, all while feeling intrinsically "Fallout," as if we were getting a brand new game in the series. Still, the show also dives deep into the lore, giving answers to questions the games haven't explored, with flashbacks showing us how the end of the world was decided by committee. The result is a funny, thrilling, and existentially dark show about how capitalism ruins everything and war never changes.

"Fallout" season 2 doubles down on what the first season did so well, while expanding on the story. The introduction of new factions and new locations, as well as major characters from the games give this season a new focus that makes "Fallout" season 2 a thrilling ride — but also a very busy one.

"Fallout" season 2 follows Lucy (Ella Purnell) and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) chasing after Lucy's father to bring him to justice for his crimes, while Maximus (Aaron Moten) grapples with his loyalty to a power-hungry, fascistic military organization. Meanwhile, we still get flashbacks showing The Ghoul aka former actor Cooper Howard, uncovering ugly truths about how the world ended.

Much like the first season, "Fallout" makes its locations shine as bright as the characters, with the new episodes exploring the Mojave Desert and visiting fan-favorite sites from the games like the Lucky 38 hotel and casino in New Vegas, the town of Novac, and even Area 51 (yes, really). These locations are beautifully brought to life with a spectacular mix of practical and visual effects, featuring massive sets that feel tactile and lived-in. The same applies to the many creatures that show up. If you thought radroaches and mutant bears were frightening, season 2 doubles down on the thrills and frights with some truly horrifying monsters. We encounter everything from radscorpions to super mutants and even the iconic deathclaw, and they simply look astonishingly good. You can tell the creators went to great lengths to replicate the look and feel of these creatures with a mix of digital effects and massive puppets, because every creature looks tactile and tangible.

It's not all horror, however. In true "Fallout" fashion, there are plenty of laughs to be found. Macaulay Culkin has a delightful role as an overly enthusiastic Roman-esque soldier with a penchant for crucifixions, while a subplot involving a Dickensian factory using child labor is depressingly funny and also surprisingly heartfelt. Though each plot line has its highlights, the best part of the show remains Goggins' Ghoul, who seems to be the nexus of every storyline.

If "Fallout" the TV show were a video game, then the first season was the player venturing out of the vault and encountering the world for the first time and learning how things work. Season 2, then, is when we learn what the plot of the game is. Each storyline, whether that's Maximus and the Brotherhood of Steel's dreams of conquest, or Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) doing some nefarious experiments, seem to be pointing to the same end goal.

This makes this season feel a bit too stuffed with story compared to the first season and takes away some of the fun of just exploring the world. If you're not familiar with the games and the hints that the early episodes drop as to where this is all going, it may come across as unnecessarily convoluted, but it works because of how charming the characters are and because of how engrossing the world of "Fallout" is.

Even when this season falls into the games' territory and brings in known factions and characters like the mysterious Mr. House (Justin Theroux), it does so in service of painting a picture of this post-apocalyptic world populated by colorful and weird little guys. The show keeps the ambiguity of the ending of "Fallout: New Vegas" and avoids giving definitive answers that can contradict a player's head canon, while still nodding to events from that game.

It remains to be seen where exactly this is all heading, and whether "Fallout" can stick the landing. Still, if the first six episodes of season 2 are anything to go by, the show has earned our goodwill with a thrilling, hilarious, and visually stunning story worth sticking with.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Fallout" season 2 premieres on Prime Video December 16, 2025.