I am not a fan of the Fallout games at all and just have no interest in basically anything Bethesda puts out, but I watched the first episode last night and loved it. It does make me wish I knew who these characters were now though lol.
The opening scene was freaking awesome. It really set the scene of everything.
I've played most of the fallout games, but not nearly as much as some so I may be wrong... but I'm pretty sure the show doesn't feature any specific characters from the games. Each Fallout game has taken place in different locations around the country and at slightly different times, so I don't even think the games have many (if any) specific characters that carried through. The characters in the show are all different archetypes that we've seen in the games before, but the specific characters themselves are new to everyone. I think I saw a timeline posted somewhere, and the show is set several years after Fallout 4 (the latest game)
I'm not sure how much you know about the fallout games, so excuse me if you already know this: The main character, Lucy (a vault dweller), is the equivalent of who you'd play in any of the games. In each game you start as a generic vault dweller (it's an RPG so it's a custom character), and then something happens that forces you to leave your vault for the first time in your life. Then you're forced to learn how to survive, meet a bunch of people/creatures, etc. The show follows the game format almost perfectly this way
The only thing you're really missing out on is noticing how well done the props and set pieces are compared to the game. It's impressive to see the game items and stuff recreated so well for the show. They're basically Easter eggs, but really show how much effort went into making the show feel right.
I just finished the season and loved it. Much better than I thought a Fallout show would turn out (especially from Amazon... they haven't made a lot of shows I've liked TBH)