In my previews running up to the release of Atomfall, I stressed that it was my most highly-anticipated game of 2025. Now that I’ve had my chance to review the game in full, I can firmly say that Rebellion has delivered on those anticipations by presenting me with a brilliant game.
In Atomfall, which is a quintessentially English romp through a rural region fraught with risks and mysteries, I got to grips with a sizeable story that saw me pillage, kill, barter, and sneak my curious little heart out. From the drop-dead gorgeous semi-open-world environment to the genuinely intriguing story, Atomfall kept me engaged, no questions asked.
Read on to scope out my full Atomfall review.
Into the Countryside
Atomfall opens up right in the thick of the action, plunging players into a bunker with no idea of how they got there, or where they can go next. With the smallest of clues as to what’s going on, the adventure kicks off in earnest, casting the player into a relatively large world (split up into sections) populated by factions, armed forces, and the odd mutant here and there.
The story is where Atomfall shines the brightest. By taking real-world events and creating an alt-history timeline, Rebellion has crafted something that could feel familiar to those in the know. It also helps that it’s based on a real, living location – the Cumbrian countryside.
Players are utterly unrestricted in Atomfall, and every decision they make can shape how the story ends. Every character you meet can be killed, whether they’re pivotal to the story or not, and who you side with is entirely up to you.
As you navigate Atomfall, you’ll come across countless ‘leads’ that you’ll investigate, giving you the full scale of what happened and how you can escape the Windscale disaster zone. Unlike other games with this operating model, I found myself actively soaking up every note and scrap of information in Atomfall, eager to learn the game’s intricate mysteries and secrets.
My bonus points for the game’s stellar story are followed closely by the world that Rebellion has built. It looks phenomenal, and it’s a far cry from the drab facade of a post-apocalyptic title like Fallout. Instead, Atomfall is bright, colourful, and expressive, and the atmosphere is on point and authentic.
By ‘authentic’, I mean it feels like England. The sleepy villages, the red telephone boxes, the road signs… It’s perfect. It also helps that you can find Cornish pasties, boxes of tea, and cricket bats all over the place.
Meat on the Bones
On the topic of Cornish pasties, let me segue into the meat on the bones of Atomfall.
The exploration aspect of the game is relatively simple, owing to the title being broken down into several semi-open regions. Discovering every location isn’t too much of a chore, but your hand isn’t held at any point. You’re given clues, and you must act upon them if you want to uncover everything this world has to offer.
There’s quite a bit of side content, but it’s almost entirely centred around doing things for people and finding stuff out. There aren’t many side ‘activities’ beyond quests. I found that there are a few unnamed hidden collectables to uncover, such as the gnomes hidden around Wyndham Village – there are also lunchboxes and old-school comic books scattered around.
I also spent a lot of time managing my inventory, which in a game with survival elements, is key. That’s also a nice segue there into the game’s mechanics. Combat is simple but can become challenging when outnumbered or low on resources, and levelling up your character is based on finding stimulants more than it is grinding skills.
There are numerous difficulty presets, too – just in case you want to give yourself a more punishing trial in Atomfall.
In dialogue sequences, you’re given quite a few choices and can pivot how you sound and seem to others very nicely. It allows you more of an RP angle when determining if you want to be standoffish with everyone or a force for good in this mysterious, devastated exclusion zone.
During my playthrough, I didn’t find a single issue with any of these mechanics. It’s a nicely balanced, well-built game that has plenty to offer the average gamer for a good 20 – 30 hours, depending on how quickly you charge through the adventure.
Verdict: Buy
Atomfall was high on my most wanted list for a long time, and what has been delivered by Rebellion ticks all my boxes without any doubt. It’s out of left field from the Sniper Elite developer, but it’s a welcome curveball that I’d happily replay, just to go down the various paths and try different solutions.
I wouldn’t say it’s going to win any major awards, but Atomfall is well worth the purchase if you’re hunting for a first-person survival game thick with intrigue and dicey combat and stealth sequences. It’s also on Game Pass, so that helps massively if you want to try it without parting ways with any cash.
Atomfall is exactly what it set out to be – a mysterious alternate-history adventure set in a never-before-explored location in the English countryside. It’s entertaining, well-made, and meaty enough to keep you occupied for a while. What more could you want?
For more Insider Gaming reviews, check out our coverage of Assassin’s Creed Shadows
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