On a fierce journey through the British countryside, aka Atom Fall and 90 minutes, a new survival action game from the Rebellion, a sniper elite developer. I recently visited a pub in North London and had pints and some practical playtime, but I was intrigued by Atomfall’s open-ended approach to mission design and creepy tone. I might also have decided to attack everyone I saw, including the old lady who lost her heart and didn’t deserve it with a cricket bat. Let me explain why.
All NPCs in Atomfall can kill from the lowest growl to the most important quest provider. When I sit down to start a demo, I decide that my mission is to test the design. I accept that my approach is free of bias. Just two minutes after exploring this digital Cumbria, I have to clumsyly activate the tripwire alarm and end the lives of three warned guards. I do so with the dull face of a cricket bat. This is a large lump of wood that I was baptized as my liberal splash from Claret and my murder partner.
Later I plunder my bow and arrow and equip it immediately as I am an archery glutton of the game I am. Now I am ready for a long and short distance encounter, so I can get a well-earned rest for Mr. Bhatt, Mr. Cricket. Nearby, I find a giant evil man, towering above me, waiting to descend. I won’t go near it. We’ve seen how the story ends. Such vision nods to the undertones of folk horror, which serves as the bedrock for this part of the segmented world of Atom Fall, consisting of multiple “open zones.” It creates a compelling, unsettling atmosphere that only feeds the larger mystery I am about to crack.
My thoughts about such a mystery are interrupted by the tattered druids who probably have something to do with the evil person. They prove to be the perfect range discoverer of my newly acquired bow. One. two. three. They all fall. “I’m Robin Bloodyhood,” my brain screamed at itself, then came out and returned to the environment of a London pub. I don’t have a drink yet, I promise. It’s only 10am.
The bow feels good to fire. However, I’m more interested in Atomfall’s smart approach to Stamina. Traditional depletion and regeneration bars are not found anywhere, but instead they are replaced by heart rate monitors that increase physically taxable behaviors more. For example, if you’re well above 140 bpm, you’ll find it difficult to aim steadily and accurately if you have to stop suddenly and fight. Then find the Bowmaster Skills Manual that unlocks perks that negates the effect that heartbeat has on pulling back the bow. That’s not exactly the most exciting perk, and browsing the menu suggests that Atomfall doesn’t boast the most complex skill tree suite. However, if you want to specialize in stealth rather than gunplay, for example, it appears to be adaptable enough to adjust the character’s skills to the gameplay style you choose.
My only achievement so far is a bunch of dead druids, so you might wonder if my overall goal is here. And to some extent, I was like that too. I am only following the quest lead, as the aimless quest of the CasterfallWoods region has yet to unearth anything important. Pointing me in the direction of Jago, a herbalist mother who lives near an old mine. Along the way, I found hints to a larger story of play, like sparkling, oily swirls of blue and purple floated over the power plant. Nearby, a phone booth will ring, and a creepy voice will warn you to be out of the woods. That’s too late, but thank you for calling me anyway.
The path is littered with similar touches of small environmental stories, including the old boathouse equipped with an uneasy alarm system, and the word “lost.” Every corner of Atomfall has a fun, unsettling atmosphere, with sleepy, lush woods giving way to a creepy, terrifying zone. There have been a lot of fallout comparisons since its release, but I think Stalker and its recent sequels are a much better touchstone in both tone and game design.
Following another Druid massacre, I slaughter them and loot their garden center home for herbs (an event of viewers if you do so) I meet Mother Jago at her quaint allocation retreat. She wears a plum-colored coat, animal skull and rose hat, resembles Angela Lansbury when she grows into black magical aromatherapy instead of crime solving. But my hope that she can make Atomfall even more clear is quickly shattered. She only gives ambiguous answers to my questions. This reminds us of the classic point-and-click adventures in a way that encourages us to explore every corner of the conversation for hints. Eventually the door opens. Jago offers what she promises to be valuable information in exchange for the safe return of her Herbalism book. Of course, this book was taken hostage in a Druid-formed castle, not in the library. So, I have a new lead in my notebook, so I’m coming back across the map, looking for the recipe and the druid blood that protects it.
I decided to attack the castle from the side as the Freeform Design in Atomfall means I can approach it from all angles. Give way there and encounter a Druid Patrol near an abandoned gas station. When I lobble only the hand-ren bullets in the middle of them, a historic battle begins, certainly immediately considered. The enemy AI is the least reactive, rarely involved in darting for cover and actually evasive manipulation, but the satisfying eruption of the bones warns several shooters from further down the road. I stop them from moving forward with a claw bomb, then proceed to slalom with their arrows, quickly closing the distance so I can snap my neck before putting out a reliable bat into another round of headsmashes. It’s definitely fun to play with these enemies, but from the small sample I’ve had so far, I didn’t go to Atomfall looking for top-tier combat. Instead, it seems wise to treat enemy encounters like a fun sideshow in the main event where you discover the secrets of the world.
After targeting a few axially swinging beasts, I make it inside the castle’s exterior walls. There I come across a locked shed. Notes printed in a series of map coordinates pinned to the door suggest that the key is far southeast. Atomfall doesn’t believe in objective markers. Instead, research your map and leave it to you to put the marker down to your own points of interest. Is this locked shed in a place where books are hidden? Should I search for this key? My prediction says no to me and I instead walk to the big front door of Central Keep.
Once inside, you will find several more druids in the club, but there are no signs of the book. I hunted that dull hallway and found nothing but cloth and alcohol to make healing bandages. I spend a lot of 10 minutes searching every corner, but no luck. This is another example of Atomfall’s dull approach to mission design. There’s no holding your hand here. This book does not shine gold with a large “Pick Me Up” sign. It can lead to moments of frustration, but I’m ultimately encouraged by a rebellious approach to challenge the player and create something that stubbornly sticks to its exploratory, almost detective-like vision.
So, since the book is nowhere to be seen, I decided to follow the paper trail and head for those map coordinates in search of keys I had read previously. Perhaps this will drive my path forward? The coordinates lead me to the burrow of poisonous plants monsters… something that appears to boil my brain as I spend a long time near it. Rifle bullets have minimal impact and there is little that can be done to prevent death immediately. Reload the save and use Skyrim Bunny Hopping Muscle Memory to bypass the beast, jumping the rock face, collecting keys from one of the creature’s early casualties. I’m going back to the shed. There you will find new perk points and ammunition crushing with shiny. None of these items resemble the herbal rhythm book I am trying to find, as there is no doubt.
Lost and slightly lost I venture under the castle and deep inside its intestines. There, druids create their rituals and chemical fuel practices. I find an atomic battery that appears to kill the High Priest, kill about 12 her annoying people, open SMG, recipes for creating poison bombs, and an all-new quest line that doesn’t have time to watch before demo time runs out. Again, the observer between you will realize that none of these items is the book I am looking for.
Xbox Games Series Tierlist
Xbox Games Series Tierlist
After the play session was over, I was told in the book It was At the castle, I must have passed several times, just lying on a table. But before that revelation I begin to believe that this book simply does not exist. That’s a trick. lie. I decided to go back to being a herbalist and see if she had anything to say for herself. Of course, she isn’t because the book is authentic and the quest to win it is legal. But my own confusion makes it clear that I buy completely in the descent of my character’s violence, so I kill her. She will be one who has plants in the soil. Looking for her body for some sort of hidden “truth”, I find recipes for what appears to help me fight the poisonous swamp monsters I’ve encountered previously. It’s too late, but I think this is valuable information she was trying to exchange her books. You could have saved a lot of time here.
It’s not like you can shave a lot of time from the Atomfall runtime. The developers of Rebellion say they struggle to complete the story in “less than 4-5 hours”, and most players will take around 25 hours. However, what happens within 25 hours is very diverse. I spoke to others during the demo session. The demo sessions appeared on a completely different adventure while playing. A quick read of the surface of Atomfall seems to reveal many depths, secrets and mysteries.
However, I think some of the purposes are too insensitive. The lack of direction certainly may be off-witting, but Atomfall feels like a game that rewards you the more you indulge in its obfuscated quest design. The blurry lines between the sides and main objectives add a real danger to every action, and its flexible plot design encourages each player to tell their own story and find their own endings and explanations for what happened here in the illuminated British countryside. I still see the end of the story, but despite killing the poor old man Jago, it may be very different from you.
But that’s all I have time to see today. For now, my hands are bloodied from the unjust end of the war that the Herbalist and I left behind. I decided to engage in full British mode: take a cricket bat, head to the pub and wait for this to be blown away.
Simon Cardy can be found to be running around open world games, indulging in Korean movies, or despairing in Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets state. Follow him on Bluesky @cardy.bsky.social.
