Is 'Atomfall' just Bristish Fallout?
No, “Atomfall” is not just British Fallout. It’s much more than that and arguably better than Fallout.
“Atomfall” is set in an alternative history similar to that of “Atomic Heart” where the Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England forces the surrounding area to be forced into a quarantine that has lasted longer than initially promised to the locals.
Your character awakes from a bunker with no recollection of where you are or how you got there.
When a scientist stumbles into your room bleeding out, he tasks you with finding the Interchange and powering it up to discover the way out of the quarantine zone.
This sounds relatively straightforward for this RPG survival game, but you’ll quickly find that isn’t the case upon exiting the bunker.
There are zero quest markers to be found and only a lead telling you to find the Interchange.
Having no sense of where to go makes you really stop to survey your surroundings and discover things on your own, which is a big part of “Atomfall.”
Leads and notes hidden around the world help guide you, but the path taken from objective to objective is ultimately up to you, unlike most Fallout games nowadays where you are given a strict set of quests to follow.
Along the way, you can encounter multiple factions that all can be explored to unlock different endings to the game depending on who you choose and the conversations in the dialogue trees you have with characters.
While the dialogue trees aren’t as impressive or lengthy as other games like “Fallout: New Vegas” or “The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind,” there are plenty of unique options to explore with NPCs littered around the world.
This is further aided by the insane amount of British slang used throughout the dialogue trees to the point where I didn’t even know what NPCs were saying some of the time, but there’s plenty of context clues for you to understand what’s happening regardless.
The world itself is limited but feels expansive and beautiful due to the graphics and environments being unique.
Yes, the world design is very reminiscent of the post-apocalyptic style you’d find in “Metro” games, but the British architecture and faction designs help things feel fresh…almost.
After exploring one or two of the main areas in the game, you’ve pretty much seen all the unique designs you’ll find in the game.
This problem continues to be an issue when it comes to enemy variety as the most diversity present is some sci-fi horrors around the Interchange, outlaws, cult-like woodspeople and robots.
It sounds like there’s more options than there are but, as previously said, once you explore a couple of the main areas, you’ve already seen everything.
“Atomfall’s” combat also doesn’t help break things up or add any unique spin on fighting these enemies.
Melee combat is highly prioritized, but everything feels like there’s too much weight behind punches, kicks and swings leading to everything feeling clunky.
Ranged combat also exists using bows and guns, but ammo for those items are scarce regardless of if you find them naturally or try to utilize the crafting system akin to that of “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.”
Trading for these items is also an aspect of the game, but it never felt overwhelming or annoying to do, nor did I have to go out of my way for it.
During my playthrough, I found myself resorting to stealth more often than fighting enemies as things felt more smooth that way, but the enemy AI was able to detect me at unrealistic distances even when I was hidden behind or in cover.
That being said, sometimes they’d give a line of dialogue saying “You better get a move on,” or something like that as if they were about to engage, but then would instantly back away.
Despite the combat being subpar, there were plenty of smaller things to love.
Take the classic British experience of fighting flocks of birds, packs of rats and swarms of bats for example.
Depending on what environment you’re in, there’s a chance these groups of animal will attack the player which doesn’t seem like much, but I can’t remember the last time I had to fight a flock of birds in a video game.
My favorite of the smaller details was the metal detector, which is used to find hidden loot around the world. It’s such a miniscule thing that would never truly matter if it wasn’t added, but it just helps the world feel so much more expansive.
Speaking of expansive, the game’s multiple endings are what I found the most compelling throughout the entire game.
Each option presents new perspectives on the game’s events whether they were caused by you or not and raises even more questions about the world, leaving more room for DLC to expand on the game.
“Atomfall” is not just British Fallout, but certainly takes inspiration from the Fallout games with hints of “Atomic Heart,” “Metro” and “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” spread throughout.
The combat is easily the weakest part of the game, but the complete freedom to explore and learn about the story of the game is easily “Atomfall’s” biggest strength with endings that leave me wanting more.
Atomfall — ★ ★ ★ ★
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Developer: Rebellion Developments
Publisher: Rebellion Developments
Platforms: PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: M (Mature 17+)
Arguably better?
Lol