I recently had the opportunity to play Atomfall at Gamescom, enjoying a lengthy playthrough of this all-new, single-player game from Rebellion. It was only this year that Atomfall was revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase, but it has already generated plenty of hype on account of the solid post-apocalyptic vibes that the game gives off – and inspired by real events.
Atomfall has been dubbed ‘Fallout in the UK’, and there’s some truth to that, but there’s enough meat on the bones of this game for it to stand apart from the competition that has dominated the genre for many years.
Read on and check out my full Atomfall preview.
Authenticity
From the moment I stepped into Atomfall, I knew I was playing a British game. The opening sequences of my demo saw me exploring a rural (but fictional) setting in Cumbria, England. As soon as I heard the voices of enemies from across the rocky, verdant terrain, I knew exactly where I was. As I progressed, I found more characters lurking in the beautiful setting, all of them quintessentially British.
I even found a box of tea to consume to keep myself perked up.
Atomfall is inspired by true events. In 1957, the worst nuclear accident in UK history occurred at the Windscale site, causing widespread radiation to be emitted around a vast area. It was subsequently covered up by the British government – at least in part – and it took years until the full story was revealed.
In Atomfall, a cataclysmic event has occurred in a nuclear plant that led the government to wall off a massive area of the countryside, trapping people within and forcing them to fend for themselves, scrubbing the location from the maps. As factions rise and survivors still living in the region try to scrape through, intense mysteries emerge and an immersive story unravels.
I tried to question the devs on what had happened and whether we’d see anything mutated coming out of that catastrophe, but they were tight-lipped.
Getting to the Game
I love an apocalyptic title, and that’s what Atomfall is. It’s not a global apocalypse, but a downscaled version, with the end of times being concentrated in a small area in England. As I explored the game, I found myself appreciating the traditional survival elements. I had to become a hunter-gatherer of sorts, scrounging for one or two bullets while defending myself against enemy factions.
I quickly learned that in Atomfall, how you behave around others matters massively. Get too close to a faction that doesn’t trust you, and you’ll be set upon pretty quickly. In conversations, you can choose from what might be several choices, each of which can lead a different way. If you want to be stealthier, you’ll put enemies on edge, and if you go in guns blazing, you’ll quickly draw an entire force down upon you.
With that being said, I asked the developers how far the freedom of this game goes, and they advised me that you can kill everyone and still complete the game. It’s very open.
It’s a solid ‘looter’ game that requires some inventory management, and there are a few skill paths to play around with. It’s open-ended, and the map is split up into several areas, each of which is bursting with things to see and do. If you like exploring and uncovering secrets, this game is a surefire winner.
It’ll take anywhere between 20 and 30 hours to complete, depending on how you approach the game. I wasn’t able to learn too much about the cataclysmic event that erupted in the nuclear plant or what the long-term ramifications of it is, but I was exposed to enough intrigue and mystery to want to play more.
Looking Ahead
Atomfall looks brilliant on-screen and it runs well. Rebellion has put a lot of work into this game, and it feels like a living, breathing world with plenty to uncover. Everything from traversal to the stamina system feels well thought out and the voice acting is stellar from what I experienced.
It’ll be released in March 2025, all being well. It’s worth putting on your wishlist – take that to the bank from a die-hard post-apocalyptic gamer with a huge love for Fallout.
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