GamesRPGFalloutThe largely forgotten Fallout demo, which features completely unique content not found in the main game, is a free must-play for any Fallout fanWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGFalloutThe largely forgotten Fallout demo, which features completely unique content not found in the main game, is a free must-play for any Fallout fanWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)
Back in 1997, when I was simply an avid reader of PC Gamer magazine each month and not its editor, I picked up the July issue and, checking out the CD Gamer demo disc that was supplied with it, I immediately spotted the name ‘Fallout’ on the cover. It sounded super cool to my teenage ear, so I installed the demo, saw the now iconic key art of the power armor helmet for the first time, and the rest is history.
Things get violent quickly in the Fallout demo.(Image credit: Future)
You can accrue quite an arsenal in the Fallout demo.(Image credit: Future)
How to grab and play the original Fallout demo today
Stage 1:Download the demo from theInternet Archive. It’s just 20mb, so you’ll have it in seconds.
Stage 2:Extract the contents of the zip archive to anywhere (even just your desktop). You’ll be left with a folder called ‘falldemo’.
Stage 3:Inside the falldemo folder you’ll find a Falldemo.exe, but don’t click it straight away. First, we need to sort compatibility. So, right click on the Falldemo.exe and go to the Compatibility tab. Within that tab, under the Compatibility mode section, select the option to run the .exe in Windows 95 mode.
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Stage 4:Finally, in the same Compatibility tab under the ‘Display settings’ section, tick the boxes to run the .exe in 256 colors and 640 x 480 screen resolution. You’re now set to double click the Falldemo.exe and play the Fallout demo.
That’s what the barkeep says to me in the PC Gamer Towers bar each month after deadline.(Image credit: Future)
What do you do in the Fallout demo?
The Fallout demo is interesting as, unlike most videogame demos that just offer a small segment of the full main game, this demo technically delivers stand-alone content that is not available in the full Fallout game. This is despite the fact that the full game’s Junktown location and a few characters are reused, at least in part.
It ain’t my dog!(Image credit: Future)
Seasoned Fallout 1 and 2 players will notice that there are a few differences in how the demo plays compared to the main games, including changes to camera activity in combat, the lack of AP spend to reload your weapon, armour and weapon stats and more besides. The demo also features unique weapon sounds that were not used in the main games, too. And, you know what, I think some of them sound better than what they were replaced with. Guns sound a lot more like proper hand cannons.
Ouch! That gotta hurt.(Image credit: Future)
There are very strict limitations to the demo as well. For example, while you can technically create and spec out a custom character in the character selection menu, you cannot use it in the demo, instead being forced to play as the pre-built ‘Max Stone’ (who, I have to say, is not an ideal build for a demo that’s largely about gun fighting). You can’t even go into the options menu to tweak display settings, and saving and loading games is out of the question, too. Luckily, a single playthrough of the demo is like 10-15 minutes max, so being able to save progress isn’t really an issue.
Advertising the new Fallout experience. Note the date: April 22, 1997.(Image credit: Future)
All said, though, two to three playthroughs of this demo act together as an interesting curio and glimpse back into the, depressingly for me, very distant PC gaming past. Well worth a small diversion I’d say as we all wait for news on Fallout 5.
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