(Image credit: Rebellion)
The opening moments of Atomfall quickly set the stage for what this game represents. You find yourself in a bunker, devoid of memory about who you are or where you’ve landed. An injured scientist offers a keycard necessary for your escape and for accessing The Interchange, but the catch is you need to trade it for a bandage. Do you scavenge materials, craft the bandage, and complete the exchange? Or maybe you take a darker path, opting to murder and loot? The choice is yours.
The core philosophy of Atomfall lies in its open-ended nature. After departing the bunker, leaving either a thankful or deceased scientist in your wake, you’re left with total freedom. No guiding text, no waypoints, and no NPCs urging you forward. Set in a universe where the 1957 Windscale nuclear incident turned catastrophic, the storyline confines you to a quarantined 1960s rural England, a place teeming with mystery awaiting your curiosity. Navigate this world as you please, picking a path and forging your own story.
Release date: March 27
Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One
Developer: In-house
Publisher: Rebellion
Atomfall is touted as a punishing adventure devoid of hand-holding. Yet, this severity is adjustable. A plethora of accessibility settings allows personalization—whether you desire predefined difficulty levels or bespoke tweaks. You can finely tune resource availability, combat intensity, or navigational aids to suit your preferences. Personally, I favored objective waypoints to streamline questing, though finding them still required effort.
Rather than presenting a sequence of quests that culminate in credits, Atomfall allows discovery through exploration. Follow that peculiar NPC, read a note on a random corpse, or examine parchment stuck to a tree, each potentially leading to a quest—although in this game, ‘quest’ may feel like a misnomer. Often, Atomfall transcends the game feel, immersing you in its reality.
Venturing into enemy territory prompts warnings before aggression, reflecting the spirit of a world teeming with secrets and serendipitous encounters. This sense of exploration, driven by curiosity, lays the groundwork for discovery of leads you might miss otherwise. The interconnected maps are compact compared to typical open-world games, adhering to a ‘less is more’ approach that eliminates filler content, trading vast emptiness for meaningful discovery.
Some might compare Atomfall to a British variant of Fallout. However, it’s a misconception; Atomfall offers a drastically different experience. The lack of XP, linear skill progression, or traditional quest rewards fosters a reward system centered around Training Stimulants and collectibles. Each skill or recipe you unearth demands application to truly ‘learn’ it.
In Atomfall, no two journeys are alike, gifting players with a plethora of choices that ensure unique narratives. Its unorthodox style and sporadic humor, such as signs urging you to ‘piss off’ or outlaws warning ‘let’s not have a barney’, add whimsical elements amid its thrilling intrigue. The developers have left facets of Atomfall for players to explore and internally piece together stories— essentially constructing your own headcanon.
Your initial vicinity teems with interactive potential; the village, for example, is rich with opportunities to craft personal tales, like pilfering pub toilet rolls for materials—a high-notched villainy of my playthrough. A personal favorite involved a murder investigation where I navigated choices, sometimes double-crossing, sparking engaging directions.
Atomfall’s bartering economy negates money, offering trade nuances where values fluctuate based on region and profession. This barter system adds layers to the interaction with traders, elevating transactions into strategic exchanges. In 15 hours, I reached one of five endings observed in my 22 hours of gameplay, with even more secrets calling a return.
Despite streamlined gameplay, the lack of quick travel can occasionally annoy; traversing back and forth tested patience. Heartbeat management, linked to physical exertion, adds another dynamic layer, hindering constant sprinting but never substantially impeding enjoyment.
While the marketing hints at survival, expect no traditional survival mechanics like base-building or hunger meters. Instead, Atomfall strikes a delicate balance, pairing an edge of survival with delightful exploration. Reviewed on PS5, courtesy of publisher.
Atomfall remains difficult to classify. Developers inspired by the notion of an X-Files set in the Cold War Lake District, have crafted an experience that’s refreshingly unconventional and uniquely compelling.