Open-world survival video games are quite popular among the diverse genres of Gaming. Some of the most popular franchises for open-world survival games include Fallout and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Both of them are unique in their own way, presenting an original post-apocalyptic world. One of the main core mechanics that these popular franchises include is RPG, allowing players to play the respective games as they like. Well, a new studio, yet a popular one has jumped into the Open-world survival RPG genre, and that is Rebellion. The studio is well-known for its Sniper Elite series. This is the first open-world survival from Rebellion, presenting an original post-apocalyptic world. While the game offers a core survival story, survival, and exploration mechanics, there is somewhat similarity with other popular survival games. This is our review of the Atomfall video game developed and published by Rebellion Developments.
Story
The story of Atomfall takes place 5 years after the Windscale Nuclear disaster in Northern England. It is inspired by real-life events, yet portrays a unique and original world setting. As players begin the game, they wake up inside a bunker with no memories of how they got there in the first place. Upon getting out of the Bunker, players will see the Quarantine Zone for themselves. From here, players will have one goal, Escape.
Escaping from the Quarantine Zone can be done through various means. Players will meet various mysterious characters in all the multiple maps of the zone. Each one admits that they can help you escape. However, it is up to players who will they decide to side with.
Gameplay
Atomfall is a first-person open-world survival video game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Despite the post-apocalyptic world setting, all the maps of the zone are lush green with beautiful sceneries. You are free to explore the world at your own pace, meet with the characters, speak with them in various tones, decide to help them for your own benefit, and more. Similar to the Fallout series, the dialogue choices in Atomfall play a crucial role. Every time you speak to an NPC, you will get various dialogue options each one with a unique tone. You can be threatening, wary, surprising, helpful, and so on. The fact that the game allows you to pursue the story as you like is a plus point in this new adventure.
One of the most unique system mechanics that makes Atomfall different from other open-world survival games is that the game does not tell you or direct you in any direction. It is all up to you where you decide to go first and explore the world at your own pace. It can be a bad thing for certain players, but for players who like hardcore survival with realistic exploration, it does an incredible job. Players will always be in confusion whether they are doing the right thing or not. Honestly, it does take time to settle into this new hardcore system, but it is quite interesting and enjoyable. You will not have to worry about deciding which quest to pursue nor see any marker on the compass. All you have to do is read the notes you find and follow the clues to progress.
Difficulty Options
I know a lot of players might not like the hardcore systems of Atomfall, keeping them away from pursuing the story smoothly. Fortunately, the game does an incredible job of including various difficulty options. At the start of the game, you can choose the difficulty level for the preferred personal experience. If you feel any inconvenience regarding combat, survival, or exploration, you can tweak the difficulty options in the Gameplay Settings. You can make each of the different mechanics from Assisted to Veteran.
If you want to make the game easier regarding exploration, change the exploration difficulty to Assisted. It will allow you to track the quests and show you a quest marker on the map and compass. This way, you can easily track the quests and explore the world easily. If you want to change the mechanics of Survival systems, you can change the settings for it as well. Similarly, you can change the settings for combat as well.
Resources, Crafting, and Skills
Atomfall is a through-and-through survival game with various survival mechanics. From the moment you step into the quarantine zone, you will start finding all sorts of resources. These resources include cloth, scrap, water, chemicals, glass, and many more. All of these resources are crucial for crafting numerous recipes. You will gain recipes mainly from exploring the world and purchasing from several traders.
Speaking of traders, there is no certain currency in Atomfall. The trading mechanic in Atomfall is done via Bartering. You will have to barter some of your items to make the trade for an item that you are trying to purchase. Regular items will require fewer common items, whereas, the rare items will require you to barter more items.
As you progress through the story and explore the maps of the zone, you will be able to find Training Simulants. The Training Simulants work as the Skill Points. There are various categories of skills in Atomfall. Moreover, you can unlock new branches of skill by attaining Skill Magazines. You can get these magazines by completing quests, exploring the world, and purchasing from traders.
Combat
The combat in Atomfall is somewhat inferior as you can skip through almost any fight if you play accordingly. Getting close to enemies of different factions will fill up the target meter, engaging combat. However, if you keep your distance from them and be silent while trespassing, you can skip through the fights.
Since there is combat in Atomfall, we felt it was a bit clunky. If it was a bit more polished, it could be a very fun and engaging experience. For what it is, I think you can still grow on it, especially if you keep useful weapons and ammunition on you. Let me remind you that the quarantine zone is scarce for resources, especially ammunition. You must save ammunition for crucial fights, instead of wasting them on local outlaws. Make use of melee weapons as they can be enough to take out a bunch of soldiers and outlaws.
Sound and Visuals
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical regarding the overall look of Atomfall, mainly the voice acting. I thought since it was the first open-world survival game from Rebellion, it might lack the overall involvement of characters. However, I was wrong. The overall look of the game is beautiful and the voice acting for all NPCs is done amazingly. Although the world of quarantine zone is not that big, all multiple maps have unique environmental qualities to them. All NPCs react in a corresponding tone to your reply, enhancing the overall experience.
Verdict – Score 8/10
Surprisingly, Atomfall is a great and well-crafted open-world survival video game. The fact that it was the first game of this type from Rebellion, I think that the Devs have done an exceptional job in putting an original and unique experience. The fans of Fallout and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchises can easily adapt to Atomfall as it contains a bit similar feeling. Despite its world is not too big and popping up loading screens while entering buildings or going to a new map area, it still offers a mysterious and exciting adventure. Players are masters of themselves and they can pursue the story how they feel. They can either agree with NPCs and continue or can go on a killing rampage to kill everyone.
We definitely recommend you giving a try to Atomfall and try it on the Survivor difficulty. It is the base difficulty of the game, offering the peak experience for the game.
Atomfall is launching for Early Access on March 24, 2025, and will be available globally on March 27, 2025. It is available on both previous-gen and current-gen platforms including, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Thank you for reading our review of Atomfall. The review copy of Atomfall was given by the Publishers. This review is done on PC and PlayStation 5.
