There are about 60 cultural references discovered in Fallout 4 so far. Since we can't cover all of them, we're bringing you the incredibly great ones, like references to great movie franchises, America's history, games, and much more. This article is two pages long, with about 15 Fallout 4 cultural references on each page.
Game References
The game Red Menace is a reference to the 1981 Nintendo game Donkey Kong.
Commodore 64
The boot-up screen of the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV has 64kb of RAM and 38911 bytes free.
Missile Command
The game Atomic Command is a reference to the 1980 Atari game Missile Command.
Grand Theft Auto
In the South Boston Police Department, there is an entry on the evidence terminal pertaining to a suspect named Nicole Connelly, who is accused of the crime of grand theft auto. Her name is shortened to "NiCo" in the evidence log entries. Niko Bellic is the name of the protagonist in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV.
The Elder Scrolls: Arena
A telephone pole just east of Sanctuary outside the Robotics Disposal Ground reads TES 01 PPL 364946. In March of 1994, TES1 was released.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Sweet Rolls can be found throughout the game. And perhaps most notably, one can be found in East Boston Police Station on the desk of a detective. A play on the situation given for character creation in Morrowind.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The cover of one Taboo Tattoos magazine has the iron helmet from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The iron helmet is an armor piece from the game that was made famous by being featured heavily in the marketing of the game as being the chosen headgear of the "Dragonborn".
Crippling a Raider's leg may cause them to groan about a "bullet in the knee." The specificity and wording of "the knee" instead of "my knee" make it similar to the often-repeated Skyrim town guard dialogue "I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee..."
In the very beginning of the game, the news reporter on the TV will begin a segment on local baseball news, and start his talk by saying "And now for something unquestionable, inescapably... American", which is a quote of John Henry Eden's on the Enclave Radio in Fallout 3.
Fallout 4 shows a pre-War motorcycle company named "Lone Wanderer", this being inherent for on every motorcycle found in the game has "Lone Wanderer" on their side, plus billboards showing the name of the old company. There is also a perk called "Lone Wanderer," as well as a hairstyle option. These are all references to the name of the player character in Fallout 3.
Robert Joseph MacCready, the character you meet at The Third Rail, is the former mayor of Little Lamplight from Fallout 3. If you decide to hire him, he will occasionally say "Tunnel Snakes rule!", a reference to the Tunnel Snakes from Vault 101. He may also make reference to other areas, such as Little Lamplight or Vault 87.
In various locations (such as Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup) there are sets of Wooden blocks with the letters "G", "A", "R", "Y", usually present with one or more other children's toys. This is a reference to the Gary clones that populated Vault 108.
The Synth test used at Covenant is the same as the GOAT test, with exception to the Overseer question.
Movie / Show References
Alien Franchise
The inscription on the back of the flux sensor reads "FLUX SENSOR CM-88B 180924609". This is a reference to the ship in Alien, the USCSS Nostromo (reg. 180924609). When first talked to after completing the Freedom Trail, Glory compliments the Sole Survivor by saying his work on the trail was "Not bad, for a human." This is likely a reference to the same compliment the Synthetic Bishop gives Ellen Ripley in the movie Aliens.
Jaws
In boats all around The Commonwealth, there is a man with the same blue jacket and the blue bandana as Robert Shaw's character in the film, along with a machete, and a mutant dolphin. A cage similar to the one in the film will also be under the boat.
Mad Max
Two of the names that are supported by Codsworth are "Rockatansky" and "Toecutter", respectively being the surname of the main character and the name of the main villain in the 1979 movie Mad Max.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Some of the names that are supported by Codsworth are"Humungus" and "Wez", the two major villains as well as "Toadie", a minor character in Mad Max 2.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Also among the names Codsworth supports are "Splendid", "Capable", "Toast", "Dag", "Imperator", "Furiosa", "Rictus", "Erectus" "Slit", "Immortan" which are references to the major characters Splendid Agharad, Capable, Toast the Knowing, the Dag and Imperator Furiosa, major villains Rictus Erectus and Immortan Joe, and minor villain Slit from the film Mad Max: Fury Road.
Apocalypse Now
When fighting a Gunner Colonel Gutsy he will sometimes say "I love the smell of plasma in the morning" which is a reference to the character Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore from Apocalypse Now who says "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".
Back to the Future
Codsworth supports both the names Marty and McFly. This is a reference to Michael J. Fox's character in the film franchise.
The Matrix
Three of the names supported by Codsworth are "Neo", "Morpheus" and "Trinity", which are the names of three of the main characters from the 1999 film the Matrix and its sequels.
Terminator 2
The PIN "9003" given by Father for full access to his terminal is the one John Connor uses to fraudulently withdraw cash from an ATM in Terminator 2.
