Common Sense Media Review
By Amanda Bindel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Strangely charming sim with weapons and implied sex.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Fallout Shelter
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 8 parent reviews
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
As the overseer of a post-nuclear war fallout shelter in FALLOUT SHALTER, teens assign their vault a number (they can manage multiple vaults at once) and add to the shelter, building rooms and keeping the dwellers happy. To thrive, the shelter needs living quarters, power generators, water treatment facilities, and diners to supply the resources the inhabitants need -- food, power, water, and so on. The overseer builds the rooms and assigns the dwellers to work in them, knowing they'll work better in jobs that fit their special abilities. Hitting certain achievements earns caps -- which serve as currency -- or lunch boxes, which contain gifts of outfits, weapons, and more caps. The overseer has to manage the dwellers and resources as well as defend against radiated pests and raiders from the wasteland, all while keeping his dwellers healthy and happy. The vault continues functioning when kids aren't playing, and they'll receive notifications about the Dwellers' status.
Is It Any Good?
Fallout Shelter is addictive fun. Players can get their vaults running and move on to "real-world" tasks, tending to a vault occasionally or when alerted via a pop-up notification. Teens can manage multiple vaults, too, trying out different scenarios and strategies as a faux social experiment. The premise -- humans living underground after a nuclear disaster -- is not for young kids or sensitive teens, and the violent and sexual themes may not be for everyone either. There's quite a bit of character interaction when dwellers are working together, with thought-provoking and witty conversations going on. In terms of in-app purchases, players will find it very easy to earn lunch boxes and enjoy the bounty they provide without buying them early in the game. Later in play, those boxes are scarce and their bounty missed, which may lead to requests for them via in-app purchase. Though the tutorial is very helpful and the basics are simple enough, there are some elements that aren't explained initially, such as how to gauge a character's strengths or what certain icons mean. In general, Fallout Shelter is a well-designed sim with lots of interaction and clever character development.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about personal strengths. Vault dwellers are happiest and most efficient when they're working in an area that uses their strengths. Ask kids which job they'd be best at. Why?
The dwellers also can train to get better at a job. Talk to kids about how sustained effort can develop skills and talents in the real world.
Discuss setting priorities and how to do it. How do you make decisions about what's most important?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Pricing structure: Free (Lunchboxes of bonus cards are $.99 for one or $19.99 for 40 but are not necessary to play.)
- Release date: June 15, 2015
- Category: Adventure Games
- Topics: Adventures
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks LLC
- Version: 1.0.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.0 or later
- Last updated: July 28, 2016
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