When I first heard about Atomfall, I was immediately intrigued. From its post-nuclear disaster setting in Northern England to the mysterious story and fight-to-survive approach, it looked to have all the ingredients for a fun time.
Atomfall takes place within a quarantine zone sealed off from the outside world for five years. In October 1957, a secret Ministry of Defence project caused the world's first major nuclear disaster at Windscale, and the fate of those trapped within the quarantine zone remains unknown.
Waking up inside a bunker with no idea who you are or how you got there, it is up to players to discover the secrets behind what really happened at Windscale. From ruthless military soldiers and deadly robots to twisted cultists and infected creatures, uncovering the truth comes with its risks, but how they are overcome is down to you.
This is your warning that while all efforts have been made to avoid the main story completely, there may be mild spoilers for Atomfall below.
Customizable Freedom
Before entering the world of Atomfall, I was allowed to select my preferred difficulty. However, this wasn’t your ordinary difficulty selection screen. Instead, I could customize the experience to my liking, free to adjust the difficulty of the game’s three core aspects—Combat, Survival, and Exploration.
I wanted to be tested in combat but receive enough help from the environment to find my way around. Increased guidance and additional spawned supplies ensured I was well-equipped. I appreciated this feature, which offers great customization and freedom to suit all playstyles.
click to enlarge
+ 6Setting an Eerie Tone
From entering the main menu to taking my first steps in the opening mission, the game’s eerie music immediately caught my attention. It made me feel uneasy right from the get-go, perfectly matching the environment I found myself in. However, a repetitive music change often ruined its sinister soundtrack whenever enemies spotted me or I entered combat. While I understand the sudden switch corresponds with an active threat, I found its timing odd. I’d kill a bunch of enemies, and the music would cut abruptly, only for the same tune to start again seconds later when more enemies appeared.
It soon became apparent that the game would leave me with many unanswered questions early on, adding to its already mysterious and shady nature. As I peeled back the layers of Atomfall’s secrets, I’d stumble across several red telephone boxes scattered across the land, which would constantly ring. Too intrigued to ignore, I answered the same mysterious voice every single time, only to be left with cryptic messages about different people and locations.
click to enlarge + 6Like the unknown voice over the phone, characters play a huge part in Atomfall's mystique. There’s an array of peculiarly charming personalities to interact with throughout the quarantine zone—who you do and don’t trust is entirely up to you.
A Refreshing Yet Familiar Sight
Cumbria’s fictionalized Lake District is captured beautifully. Despite obvious signs of catastrophe and frequent reminders of the horror that once unfolded, there is something unusually calm and pleasing to the eye. From dark and deprived areas such as caves, castles, and camps to colorful and vibrant hills, valleys, and villages, there is a bit of everything out there. Some outdoor objects like trees, bushes, and greenery looked fuzzy and pixelated. However, aside from these minor gripes, the graphics held up well on my PS5.
click to enlarge + 6At times, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Far Cry 5 and its sequel New Dawn—searching for and picking up anything I could find in underground bunkers before returning to the dystopian world that awaited me outside. The presence of disturbed cult members, voices from within, and the unsettling sound of radio music in the distance meant that my mind was cast back to Hope County on several occasions.
A Desperate Fight for Survival
Rebellion describes Atomfall’s combat as desperate, messy, and brutal, and that’s precisely what it is. From loading my first bullet to firing my last, every battle I got into felt like a genuine fight for survival, and there was never a moment where I thought my safety was guaranteed. Even though it seemed like I had picked up plenty on my travels, ammo often disappeared instantly, reminding me just how precious and scarce it can be. I must say, though, firing an arrow from my bow straight into the skull of an unsuspecting enemy felt pretty damn satisfying.
While it is far from the worst I have experienced, combat got tedious after a few encounters, especially as enemies appeared to respawn soon after I cleared an area. One glaring issue I occasionally encountered was my crosshair suddenly jolting when firing a weapon. This didn’t feel or look natural, impacting my accuracy and the enjoyment of gunfights.
The heart rate feature adds to the intensity of combat, playing a significant role in how you operate. Doing strenuous activities too often or too quickly tired me, impacting my ability to shoot and fight effectively. Initially, I wasn’t a fan of this as I felt it restricted me from moving at my desired pace when exploring. However, as I ventured deeper into the game, I discovered skills that made my heart rate rise slower and recover faster, which did make a notable difference.
click to enlarge + 6There are skill upgrades to improve Combat, Survival, and Conditioning, with nine unlockable enhancements in each category. My discovery of a firearms training manual meant that gun-related skills instantly became available, which I thought was quite cool.
It wouldn’t be a true survival game without some crafting mechanics. Various lootable objects act as ingredients for crafting items. For example, whenever I was severely hurt but out of health restores, I could use the cloth and alcohol I’d found to craft a bandage.
The skill tree and crafting capabilities were not groundbreaking, but they added to the importance of looting and presented several ways to improve my character's abilities.
An Overwhelming World
Atomfall isn’t your standard RPG; it ditches traditional mission mechanics altogether. Instead of pursuing a dedicated mission or side quest, players follow leads that unravel into a spider web of connected stories. Rather than completing a mission to unlock the next, I tracked each lead to its conclusion, opening up new possibilities and pathways.
While I understand Rebellion’s decision behind this approach, it just wasn’t for me and often made the world overwhelming to navigate. Before I knew it, my investigation notebook was filled with several avenues to investigate, including nine leads categorized as 'Main Story.' I genuinely didn’t know where to start.
click to enlarge + 6Leads are unlocked through conversations with NPCs or by finding letters and items as you roam around. However, it got to the point where I didn’t want to initiate discussions or pick up notes because I was already swamped with things to do. Unfortunately, this dampened the experience for me, and I would have preferred it a lot more if Atomfall followed the old-school mission process.
The world of Atomfall comprises four interconnecting sandbox-style maps. It is more of an “open zone” experience than one big open world, and while it works well enough, it made traveling slightly dull. Instead of seamlessly moving between linked maps or areas without interruption, I would have to hold down a button at one of its entrances before transferring via a short loading screen. Because of this, there were a lot of back-and-forth scenarios, and just like the combat, it soon fell into a repetitive chore.
A Mixed Atomic Bag
To an extent, exploring Atomfall and investigating its troubled yet compelling world was fun, though I came away feeling like it was missing something—a special spark that made it stand out from the crowd. I’m not sure it will be a game we still hear much about in the months and years ahead. I would love to be proven wrong because, deep down, there is a lot of potential to work with, but I don’t see how it leaves a lasting impression.
The plot was enticing, the environment was cool, the characters were fun, and the gameplay was okay, but did it leave me wanting more? No, not really. As I write this, I’m not particularly itching to go back in. While Atomfall neatly captures and combines everything it set out to be in a well-executed fashion, the intrigue I had before playing soon detached, with a lack of in-game variety and innovation failing to maintain my interest.
click to enlarge + 6That said, the visual performance of Atomfall on my base PlayStation 5 model was pretty good. I can’t recall encountering any noticeable stutters or frame drops, and the gameplay mostly felt smooth and well-polished throughout.
It may have failed to captivate me, but Rebellion’s attention to detail in Atomfall is evident and should be commended. Regardless of my closing thoughts, it’s obvious that much time, love, and passion went into it, which can sometimes be a rarity in the gaming industry. So, for that, I take my hat off to the developers.
I went into Atomfall with an itch, but unfortunately, it couldn’t provide the scratch.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Reviews page.