Atomfall Review

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In the overgrown remains of nearby structures, a solitary, vibrant-red telephone booth stands ominously; it starts to ring. Would you pick it up?

Atomfall, developed by Rebellion Games known for their Sniper Elite series, aims to offer a fresh survival experience by shaking up the standard “objective pursuit” formula. The game showcases some intriguing and captivating elements, but my playthrough was marred by a lack of clear guidance. It doesn’t fully embrace its identity, leading to perplexing decisions and missing aspects that left me puzzled. One point must be emphasized: Atomfall is not Fallout.

On October 10, 1957, a significant nuclear incident occurred at the Windscale Site on England’s northwest coast (now Sellafield, Cumbria), marking the United Kingdom’s first nuclear mishap. This calamitous event forms the backdrop for Rebellion’s latest game release. In this parallel universe, the disaster was even more devastating, causing the surrounding areas to be sealed off for extended periods. The story unfolds five years after the incident, with you finding yourself confined within the quarantine zone encircling the Atom Plant, which emits an unsettling glow in the distance. Alongside other survivors, you’ll encounter roving gangs of outlaws, overzealous military units, and even more alarming, bizarre threats like eerie, glowing blue creatures running wild.

In this game, you find yourself as a stranger in a shelter with no recollection of your past or purpose. A hint and a basic knife are all you’re given, thrusting you into a harsh environment where your only objective is to stay alive and break free. As the tale unfolds, you chase down leads in your desperate bid for freedom within the quarantine zone. One distinctive feature of the game, as emphasized by Rebellion, is that any character you meet – whether they’re common NPCs, shopkeepers, or crucial storyline figures – can be eliminated if desired. This choice-driven aspect encourages multiple playthroughs, as your decisions determine various outcomes (with each playthrough lasting approximately 15 hours). Through these repeated experiences, you may gradually reveal the secrets behind the enigmatic phone calls and uncover the truth about the world outside the shelter.

In Atomfall, I’ve found myself immersed in a unique gaming experience, with the intriguing “leads” system and my absolute favorite, the diverse accessibility and challenge settings that cater to every gamer. Instead of the usual mission-driven approach, Atomfall invites me to explore and unravel mysteries at my own pace. Traversing deserted zones, mapping out coordinates, and deciphering clues makes me feel like a detective in a post-apocalyptic world. Each piece of paper I discover is like opening an unknown mystery chocolate – you never know what treasure lies within!

The game’s enigmatic nature extends to its default setting, where it keeps me guessing which leads are connected to the main storyline. Following a trail of clues only to hit a dead end and find some resources can be disappointing, but that’s part of the charm. If this doesn’t strike your fancy, Atomfall offers plenty of options to customize your experience and make it more enjoyable for you.

Beyond the regular game modes, you have the flexibility to customize Atomfall according to your preferred gaming approach. You can tweak elements like enemy awareness and aggression levels, as well as control factors such as the number of enemies present, loot availability, whether ammo gets discarded upon reloading, and if you’ll get tips about main story leads. It’s quite an extensive range of options, and it’s commendable that Rebellion has paid such close attention to detail. If any part of Atomfall seems too challenging, the settings menu is definitely worth checking out.

In addition to fine-tuning the game’s challenge level, the team at Atomfall places a strong emphasis on accessibility as well. They’ve incorporated over 30 customization settings to ensure the game is enjoyable and easy to play for people with various abilities. Features like high-contrast NPC overlays, adjustable text and HUD options, audio cues for aiming or object interaction, and assistive controls such as automatic movement, firing, and navigation are all included. Moreover, camera effects like shake or wobble can be turned off. This extensive range of options makes Atomfall a highly accessible game, and I must commend Rebellion for their dedication to inclusivity.

Instead of presenting expansive, connected open-world landscapes, Rebellion chose to create four primary zones, each containing smaller, labyrinthine areas to investigate. Although these regions are split by loading screens, they remain brimming with hidden treasures and intricate details to discover. However, I find it peculiar that there’s no fast-travel system. Initially, I thought this design choice was intended to heighten the game’s survival elements, but as I advanced, the repeated need for backtracking due to keys and other tasks grew tedious. There is a shortcut system called the Interchange, which links various regions, but the more I played, the less appealing it became to keep running back and forth.

The game Atomfall appears to be a peculiar blend of concepts, appearing indecisive as to whether it aims to become a complete survival game and how much role-playing elements it wishes to incorporate. From a survival perspective, it falls short in essential genre aspects like weapon deterioration, hunger and thirst indicators, or even a day-night cycle. The only vital character stats you need to monitor are your health and heart rate, with the latter influencing accuracy. While you do have to manage ammo, healing items, and crafting materials, survival is more about confronting dangerous adversaries than addressing environmental hazards. It’s crucial to note that you are not invincible; instead, you’re more akin to a fragile cracker, with just a few gunshots or a misplaced grenade likely to be your downfall.

In survival games like Atomfall, the delicate equilibrium between risk and reward is key, as the thrill lies in navigating peril. Regrettably, I seldom experienced that the risks I took were justified. Similar to other survival games, you can plunder enemies for resources, but the gains never seemed commensurate with the hazard. Typically, what I could gather from deserted buildings—scraps and strings—were what I’d find on defeated foes. Ammunition was a bit more frequent, yet I could just as easily find it in containers. Instead of bettering my situation through combat, fights often led to no gain or even setbacks.

Several aspects of Atomfall have left me with recurring frustrations, primarily stemming from its design decisions. For instance, it’s perplexing why the game doesn’t inform me when I’ve already searched an area, as it only alerts me if there’s nothing to find. If I miss an item due to limited inventory space, there’s no signal to let me know. Regarding the inventory system, it seems inconsistent that I can stash grenades, rifles, and first-aid kits in storage tubes but not shotgun shells or scrap metal. This restriction feels arbitrary and discourages thorough scavenging.

Moreover, I find it inconvenient that I can’t mark or track enemy groups on my compass, nor is there an ammo counter when quickly switching weapons. These may appear as trivial issues separately, but collectively, they became increasingly bothersome over time.

Despite Atomfall not resonating completely with me, I’m convinced its distinctive take on the survival genre will captivate a devoted fanbase. Kudos to Rebellion for their extensive accessibility options and groundbreaking “Lead” system, which I look forward to seeing improved in future titles. However, for each element I appreciated, there were twice as many peculiar absences or design decisions that hindered the game. Here’s hoping Rebellion revisits this franchise, but next time, I’d like Atomfall to feel more integrated and fully developed.

6

Tested versions include PC. Additionally, Atomfall can be played on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One as well.

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2025-03-25 04:56