Summary
Vaults are one of the most beloved aspects of theFalloutfranchise, and they always prove that Vault-Tec is up to no good. While some of Vault-Tec’s experiments in theFalloutseries can be seen as quirky and bizarre, others are more downright diabolical in their creation, and provide situations and scenarios where not a single person should be subjected to. Some vaults are worse than the wasteland inFallout, and there are many where players would certainly not want to be trapped.
Each vault seems to have a unique experiment disguised behind its allure of safety in the atomic apocalypse, and whether players are first generation or one of the last, these vaults experienced horrors that are never worth a visit, let alone being trapped in until the dying days.
This article contains spoilers for Amazon Prime’s Fallout series
Updated on May 16, 2025, by Jake Fillery:The beloved Fallout series has been given new life thanks to the hit show on Amazon Prime of the same name. With the live-action series, many fans are taking to the games to uncover more about Vault-Tec and their evil experiments, some of which, were even seen on the show itself. With so many Vaults all over America, and the post-war world ravished by raiders, deathclaws, and other sickos, it’s a perfect time to look back at some of the worst Vaults to live in within the Fallout universe, spanning multiple games and now a TV series. Whilst each experiment is different, the horrors involved are consistent.
9Vault 32
Failing Crops & Breeding Programs
It’s always great for fans to learn more about Vault-Tec and their Vaults, and Amazon Prime’sFalloutdoes just that, presenting the trio of Vaults of 31, 32, and 33, working in harmony to create a better world on the surface when the radiation levels have dissipated. However, Vault 32 seemed to have caught on to this scheme 200 years in the making, and they uncovered the truth that their happy life in the Vault is an experiment, where they are guinea pigs bred to create the perfect managers and citizens to lead America into a bright future.
The discovery that their sole purpose was to essentially enter a selective breeding program didn’t help the tensions of Vault 32, and their failing crops drove the population to madness, where they would torture and kill one another, and even embrace cannibalism. Vault 32 wouldn’t be the best place to live due to the violence and starvation that broke out when discovering the truth behind Vault 31.
8Vault 87
Birthplace Of The Super Mutants
No Vault-Tec experiment is pure, and Vault 87 is perhaps one of the worst to exist inFallout 3. This Vault was designed for the sole purpose of experimenting with the Forced Evolutionary Virus, and seeing the results that it has on unwilling and unsuspecting humans. This would start the Evolutionary Experimentation Program, birthing Super Mutants that would eventually take over the Vault and spread across the wastelands of America like irradiated chaos.
These experiments eventually broke free, and still claim Vault 87 as their home, except it’s a twisted playground in which they venture out into the wasteland to kidnap humans and turn them into Super Mutants. It’s a horrible Vault with evil ambitions, starting from 200 years ago on sadistic orders from Vault-Tec, and it’s certainly a place where living here seems worse than a nuclear winter.
7Vault 95
A Rehab Vault, Filled With Drugs
There is no line that Vault-Tec won’t cross, and the nature of their experiments seems downright abhorrent and moronic. Just look atFallout 4’s Vault 95, a location where drug addicts were given treatment for their addiction, and therapy to cure them of their desires for harmful chemicals. Whilst initially this plan was working, and it seemed like Vault 95 was the perfect place to live for those struggling with drugs and abuse, it quickly descended into depravity and violence when a hidden stash of drugs was revealed to the dwellers.
Experimental cures and treatments were no match for the lure of these drugs, and the Vault was quick to murder each other for the stash of drugs, leaving nothing but empty vials, inhalers, and skeletons to fill the Vault. Struggling with addiction is one thing, but having perhaps the last drug of mankind be thrust in these poor peoples' faces is another, leaving Vault 95 a terrible place to be trapped in.
6Vault 112
Virtual Reality Experiment
InFallout 3, players can come across the Vault-Tec facility that houses perhaps one of the strangest and most futuristic experiments known so far. In Vault 112, all inhabitants were forced into suspended animation, in which they would live their lives for eternity within a virtual world. This vault in particular was at the request and needs of its overseer, Dr. Stanislaus Braun, who fitted the vault with Visiontron equipment so that everyone inside had a simulated utopia. Yet, can it really be a utopia, if it’s not real?
On the surface, living in Vault 112’s virtual reality might seem like a nice way to spend forever, considering it’s a wholesome community reminiscent of decades gone by, and certainly before the nuclear apocalypse, it’s still not real. Being trapped in this perpetual cycle of false happiness, never understanding reality, would be a terror, especially when the overseervirtually kills all of the inhabitantsjust to wipe their memory and start again, purely out of boredom and for “fun”.
5Vault 111
Cryogenic Facility
The vault that housed the protagonist ofFallout 4, Vault 111 was an experiment on cryogenic freezing, in which the inhabitants would be placed into cryo-pods andfrozen in time. These cryo-stasis pods were supposed to only keep the inhabitants in suspended sleep for 180 days until it was time to leave and rebuild. Yet, that never happened. The Vault door never opened, and the cryo-pods never released the occupants, leaving every innocent person who had just witnessed the world as they knew it engulfed in fire, trapped in an endless, cold sleep.
Even when Vault 111 released the Sole Survivor, it had been 210 years, and the world was in a worse state than it was left. Everyone the player would have known, gone in the blink of an eye. Everyone’s pods failed, and they all died, except the Sole Survivor. It’s a fate not worth gambling on, especially when one could be asleep forever, with no peace.
4Vault 19
Segregation Experiment
One of the oddest experiments from Vault-Tec can befound in Obsidian’s Mojave WastelandinFallout: New Vegasand it was a segregation experiment. Half of the occupants were given one section of the vault, and the other half their own. These sections were divided between red and blue, and those within the Red Sector could only access red areas, and the same goes for the Blue Sector with those in blue. This Vault had two overseers, due to the experiment limiting contact and teamwork between the two groups.
Whilst the fates of the inhabitants are unknown, the sheer paranoia and prejudice that both groups provided each other with makes it a terrible place to live. This is a vault not worth being trapped in, as although there might be safety, harboring hate and fear for a different group is just not the way forward to survive the wasteland.
3Vault 92
White Noise Creates Super Soldiers
Another Vault located inFallout 3’s Capital Wasteland, Vault 92 preserved the musical talent found before the Great War. Yet, this was another Vault-Tec lie, and those within Vault 92, whilst talented musicians, were actually subjected to subliminal experiments that would see all of the inhabitants lose their minds due to the white noise generators placed in hidden areas, constantly emitting signals into the brains of those who just wanted to survive the war.
This specific Vault-Tec plan was known as White Noise Mind Suggestion Combat Experimentation (WNMSCE), and it attempted to create super soldiers, obedient to every word of those in power by isolating musicians and sending signals to their brains through soundwaves. Yet, the experiment was a failure, and the inhabitants turned aggressive and violent, they all killed each other and even destroyed their vault,leading to mirelurk invaders. It’s safe to say that being brainwashed into an angry soldier, doesn’t make a good vault to live in.
2Vault 11
Yearly Sacrifice So All May Live
Vault 11 was a social experiment that played upon people’s paranoia and trust in one another. As a community, every year they must decide on a human sacrifice. This person chosen would be killed, so that everyone else within Vault 11 could live. Inside the Vault, many would scramble to avoid being chosen, and thisFallout: New Vegasvault showcases the horrors and selfishness that humans can cling to to preserve themselves.
Living in a vault where once a year, either the player or their friend or loved one, would be killed, would leave for an anxiety-inducing existence. Even worse, if the vault dwellers just refused to kill one another, they would becommended by Vault-Tec, nobody would have to die, and the vault door would be opened.
1Vault 108
Gary’s Vault
Deep within the Capital Wasteland ofFallout 3, players can uncover Vault 108, and the horrors that lurk inside. From within, they might hear a chuckle or a rogue footstep. Yet, one thing is assured, they are bound to hear the name… “Gary!” Within this vault, those who occupied it before decided to dedicate themselves to cloning experiments. With nothing but time on their hands, their methods were successful, with some drawbacks.
In cloning, they were able to replicate a man named Gary perfectly, but only in body and name. For every Gary they cloned, they would become more violent to non-Garys, until it was only Gary that remained. Withover a dozen Garysoccupying the vault, this would certainly be an awful place to live, as not only can Gary literally say his name and nothing else, but the fact that Gary kills on sight to non-Garys just makes survival here impossible.
