Introduction
Atomfall‘s initial reveal gave me major Fallout-but-British vibes, but given the alt-history premise is inspired by the UK equivalent of the Chornobyl disaster, it’s closer in spirit to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Yet neither are really a fair comparison: this first person survival adventure is very much its own thing, and a breath of fresh air from Rebellion’s WWII Sniper Elite series.
The 1960s English Northwest setting has let the PC and game console developer really lean into its Britishness, going beyond typical post-apocalyptic tropes for inspirations including Doctor Who, John Wyndham sci-fi novels, and The Wicker Man. That makes this the most convincingly British and Northern game you’ll play since last year’s indie delight Thank Goodness You’re Here. But as you’ll discover in this fictional Lake District quarantine zone, there’s a lot more that makes it all the more appealing to play.
Taking the lead
You wake up as a silent amnesiac inside a bunker, five years after the events of the Windscale nuclear disaster. An injured man has a keycard that can get you out – if you help heal his injuries. It’s a quick introduction to scavenging supplies and crafting items – as well as a test of your moral compass. You could always kill him and swipe the keycard, while keeping the bandage for yourself.
There’s no RPG-like stats to level up here, just a few training manuals and learning stimulants that unlock or enhance certain abilities. Atomfall doesn’t have the same robust gunplay of a first-person shooter either, though that’s somewhat intentional. You’re not a well-equipped super soldier, and are better off staying hidden than attempting direct firefights. But choices run through its DNA, in which you have a lot of freedom from the moment you step outside the bunker and choose where to go next.
That sense of freedom also comes from the way you don’t have missions objectives per se, but more nebulous leads based on notes you might pick up, or information or favours from the people you meet. Someone might mark a location to check out on your map, but the only waypoints are ones you mark and investigate yourself. There’s far less hand-holding here than, say, Fallout.
The combat can feel truly punishing at first, until you realise you’re not usually forced to engage against any hostile folk. I only clocked that staying hidden or doing a runner was the best course of action after spending the opening hour failing spectacularly against a bunch of outlaws who had me outnumbered and outgunned.
Rebellion gives players some very generous difficulty settings, which let you tune survival, exploration and combat separately. I originally felt the default ‘survivor’ setting was a bit too hardcore, but once I changed my approach it was actually fine. The enemies aren’t the brightest tools in the shed, so it’s arguably more forgiving compared to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.
Fascinating factions
While you constantly feel the Windscale nuclear plant’s ominous distant presence, the game’s regions aren’t a fully irradiated disaster area. You’re largely wandering through lush green environments rather than Fallout-esque wastelands. Think Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, except here the people are very much still present.
The character models look a bit creaky, but that works in favour of Atomfall‘s weird vibe. There are outlaws dressed like farmers, eccentric old ladies who aren’t as harmless as they appear, and lots of red phone boxes where a mystery man keeps calling you from. The predominantly Northern voice cast grounds them all in Rebellion’s twisted take on Cumbria. While the script and mystery of what’s actually going on with Windscale never rises beyond the level of a B-movie (is it a nuclear disaster or some bigger conspiracy?) it’s nonetheless very entertaining whenever you encounter a new character.
How you choose to interact with them also affects how the game plays out. The central village of Wyndham is as close to a refuge you can get, albeit fortified by a rather authoritarian regiment of Protocol soldiers, who can easily turn on you if you don’t toe the line. Likewise, speaking to the right person and doing them a favour can also temporarily grant you amnesty from a previously hostile faction, though you can always shift your allegiances as you see fit or kill someone at the expense of locking off that quest path entirely. You might want to keep a few different save files just in case.
Owt and about
Rather than one giant open world, Atomfall is made up of four large sandbox maps separated by loading screens. Central destination The Interchange connects them – as well as numerous caves and bunkers – together. You’ll reach all four regions in a few hours, but each is filled with different sites to explore, and early on you’ll be lacking the keys or information to access it all.
That means there’s an awful lot of backtracking. It’s not uncommon for a lead to take on a big schlep across the map, and there’s no fast travel. You could try taking a different route, of course, and make other worthwhile discoveries along the way. This non-linear approach can be a double-edged sword, where taking one route means missing out on areas in the other direction that could’ve yielded some helpful items early on. Multiple leads can also point to the same objective, and can be made obsolete if you’ve already resolved things elsewhere hours before.
Still, these wrinkles are forgivable when you’re not just progressing through a series of binary choices, and the finale they culminate in has multiple endings. It’s a good excuse for a replay. Atomfall is fairly respectful of your time, too: it’s quite possible to wrap the campaign in 12-15 hours depending on whether you pursue the lengthier leads for certain characters. One achievement even suggests you could whizz through the lot in less than five hours.
Atomfall verdict
Rebellion’s most original game in years lacks the grand scope or hardcore survival of its inspirations, but Atomfall‘s quintessential Britishness and refreshing free-form structure successfully sets it apart.
Even with some occasionally rough edges this is an easy recommendation for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and not at all a bad way to take a virtual trip to the North.
