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Across the first two seasons of Fallout, the Prime Video adaptation has recreated many iconic video game locations, even adding to the pantheon of Best Fallout Vaults from the long-running franchise. As any good Vaultie knows, evil mega-corp Vault-Tec is responsible for the construction of hundreds of underground settlements designed to allow Vault Dwellers to ride out the nuclear apocalypse, all while being unwittingly experimented on.
If you've been keeping up with the many Fallout season 2 Easter eggs, you'll know that the show has even canonized Vault 24 – the notorious underground settlement previously featured in unofficial New Vegas mod A World of Less Pain. So Fallout season 2's love for those disturbing test chambers runs deep.
Anyone who's spent time in any of Bethesda or Interplay's Fallout games will know catastrophe is a common result. But boy oh boy, is that selling it short a lot of the time. Some bunkers turn into absolute carnage, and what's bad for the dwellers, is good for us as the audience. These are the best Fallout vaults, picked from across all the best Fallout games and Amazon's show so far, to inspire you to do some digging of your own ahead of Fallout 5.
The best Fallout Vaults so far, starting with...
Vault 4
Appears in: Fallout TV show season 1
A pivotal and terrifying part of the first season of Fallout, where Lucy learns not every vault is a buzzing utopia like the one she grew up in. A scientific safe-haven, the human test subjects eventually gained control of the lab, turfed out their cruel overlords, and now welcome outsiders, even if begrudgingly. If you ignore the culty behaviour, they're actually quite nice, and it's the outlandish behaviour beneath the veneer of warmth that makes it worth mentioning here.
Vault 8
Appears in: Fallout 2
The origin of Vault City. We've already had Vault 4; might as well keep moving numerically. This historic bunker is part of Fallout 2 and a rare indicator of Vault-Tec's ability to manufacture genuinely worthwhile scenarios. According to the franchise's collective timeline, by the time the characters of the show would see it, it'll just be a communal basement for the city up above, but if the bustling and medically advanced Vault City is included, then so should Vault 8.
Vault 111
Appears in: Fallout 4
The starting point of Fallout 4, where you awaken from cryogenic sleep to find out your child has been kidnapped. There's a strong chance this is on the list of future Vaults for inclusion in the Fallout show, since 4 is such a magnificent entry in the games (just read our Fallout 4 review for more on that). We've seen cryogenics already in Amazon's series, creating some connective tissue in how different technology is exploited. It's an iconic location, and sticks in the minds of many players still today.
Vault 29
Appears in: Fallout 76
The deeply punchable rich college kids of the world had to go somewhere, and a number of them wound up here. We only know of this one's existence through offhand mentions in the first Fallout and Fallout 76. That leaves the whole thing wide open for narrative use. A one-off episode could be amazing, but imagine if Lucy, Maximus, or The Ghoul had to rely on these spoiled losers repeatedly for something? The possibilities are high.
Vault 75
Appears in: Fallout 4
No sci-fi franchise is complete without a little eugenics going on somewhere. In Fallout 4, it's revealed that this vault contained an attempt at breeding soldiers who could weather the wasteland. Heightened strength and speed, and instincts for violence in an enclosed space. What could go wrong? A lot, and you get to find out many of the grim details. Not only is what happened here horrific, it also leaves the question of what other attempts did Vault-Tec make to achieve the same goals? This is likely just the research that’s been exposed, leaving a hefty impression.
Vault 87
Appears: Fallout 3
Human experimentation generally isn't a great idea. It's downright terrible when you're trapped below ground thanks to nuclear war. Nonetheless, Vault 87 exists, and so do Super Mutants. Yeah. It's not pretty when this one appears in Fallout 3, and it wouldn’t be in the TV show if it were ever included, either. But the Fallout showrunners have shown they don't mind making things a little ugly and scary, and Vault 87 can bring a strong dose of both. In terms of Vaults in the games, few are as scaring or disturbing as this one. You sure won't forget it.
Vault 94
Appears in: Fallout 76
All sorts hide beneath the surface of the Mire, a radioactive swamp in the heart of the Appalachian mountains. It's a grimy place to find yourself, and it comes from the downfall of Vault 94. Full of pacifistic people who refused to take any weapons, raiders eventually got their hands on the vault, killing everyone. But a systems meltdown caused a containment breach, infecting the surrounding areas, causing the Mire. It’s bleak in all the ways that make Fallout poetic.
Vault 12
Appears in: Fallout
Ghouls aren't strictly undead, but they aren't exactly alive either. In an experiment to see what happens to people who're gradually poisoned by radiation, the result is the glorious Necropolis, as founded by the ghouls who emerge from this hole after the door isn’t properly sealed. You don't need to be a fan of zombies to see why that'd be an excellent addition to the Fallout show if they ever included it, though we advocates of The Walking Dead sure would be pleased.
Vault 109
Appears in: Fallout: The Board Game
This one will only sound familiar to people who're really invested in the universe, hailing as it does from Fallout: The Board Game. The five-star hotel equivalent of a Vault, 109 came with a supply of all the high-end products you'd want to continue living the swankiest life possible after the planet’s been decimated by nukes. These goods would make you a target for the desperate or downright gluttonous, and there's something to be said for watching the wealthy get their just desserts when they thought they could hide.
Vault 70
Appears in: Fallout Bible
There was a point in time when Interplay was going to make Fallout 3. Among the ideas for the threequel that never happened was Vault 70, where jumpsuits become scarce after only six months, causing a scarcity of fresh, clean clothing. The community was going to be largely composed of Mormons, and those facets alone would've made it intriguing to see. An idea I hope gets included in some form of Fallout release someday, whether on television or in a video game.
Vault 108
Appears in: Fallout 3
Talk about a powder keg: internal systems designed to last only two decades, an abundance of weapons, and a requirement for overseers to be terminally ill when people first settle into the Vault. Oh, and a cloning machine creates multiple copies of one guy, named Gary. It's always Gary, isn't it? An implosion that'd make a hell of a one-off episode if Amazon's TV adaptation should pay it a visit, with an awesome opportunity for the perfect cameo in the person who gets cloned.
If you are excited to learn what lays ahead in Prime Video's new season, check out everything we know about Fallout season 3 next. Or you can also head over to our list of the best games like Fallout to play today if you want to branch out from the Wasteland as well.
