Review of Atomfall

Stepping out of a quarantine zone’s safety into the verdant splendor of England’s Lake District during Atomfall’s opening scene, I was expecting echoes of Bethesda’s iconic Fallout series. Instead, I found myself reminded more of Elden Ring. Atomfall, while not as massive in scale, captures a similar essence by thrusting you into an uncharted land with no sense of identity and only elusive hints guiding you. The game encourages you to forge your own path, discover secrets, and navigate its varied yet daunting landscape. This open-ended narrative style kept me hooked and frequently amazed over the 15-hour journey to the end credits, although I did hit a few bumps along the road, mostly owing to battles with foes as brutish as they are British.

Drawing from the infamous 1957 Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England, Atomfall’s tale unfolds half a decade later in an artistically imagined quarantine zone surrounding the decimated reactor and nearby areas of village, woodland, and farmland. Isolated from the outer world, internal tensions rise among the remaining inhabitants, creating friction between a militaristic force and rival factions. The moral dilemmas are ripe, reminiscent of Fallout: New Vegas’ ambiguity, as you decide which eccentric quest-givers to trust and which to betray, rather than sticking to the straight-and-narrow ethical path seen in Fallout 4.

The tension in making tough choices is compounded by cryptic conversations with an unidentified voice from the many red phone booths scattered across the world, urging me to “trust no one”—a consistent element that had me feeling like I was on the receiving end of prank calls from Agent Fox Mulder.

Beyond the main quest to uncover the truth behind the Windscale incident, Atomfall offers numerous smaller mysteries encountered in conversations and hidden in documents within the many distinctive places spread across its five interconnected maps. I found myself diverting from the main path frequently, lured by intriguing side stories like investigating a murder in the Wyndham Village church or discovering what was trapped in a local bakery’s attic. These diversions ranged from diplomatic resolution to violent confrontations, with the plot weaving ever deeper into enticingly murky moral waters.

What really sets Atomfall apart is its organic navigation. Rather than following an in-your-face waypoint compass, the game gently nudges you in the right direction with subtle visual or contextual clues. This could mean plotting coordinates on the map, deciphering vague location descriptions, or noticing a distant farmhouse chimney’s smoke. This approach drew me into the game world in an immersive way few others have, offering a refreshing break from traditional cluttered game maps. While there is an option for a more guided experience in the settings (which I only resorted to once when stumped by an elusive quest item), the default focus is on exploration and wondering.

Atomfall also delights with its charmingly British spirit. From characters echoing familiar figures like the Major from Fawlty Towers, to crafting poison bombs in a pub pint glass or replenishing health with Cornish pasties, the game’s flavor is distinct. Even though it follows the Fallout: London modification in embracing Britishness, Atomfall carves out its own niche with its rich portrayal of Northern England, presenting a world that’s both alien and strangely familiar.

The content of its quarantine zone draws heavily from British sci-fi and horror lore. Obvious inspirations come in the form of towering flowers reminiscent of The Day of the Triffids or wooden figures reminiscent of The Wicker Man. There are also subtler nods that kept me second-guessing myself. Was that a distant TARDIS on a far hill? Upon exploring, it always seemed to mysteriously relocate.

Notably, the perpetual sunshine in Atomfall’s zone bucks the typical dreariness expected from British weather, offering one of the brightest post-apocalyptic settings I’ve seen. This makes the transitions into the dark, eerie underground bunkers even more striking.

Inside these subterranean spaces, most of Atomfall’s combat unfolds. Battles with renegade outlaws, druid extremists, wild mutants, and looming killbots are frequent, and careless approaches promptly end in disaster. Unlike other sandbox games where you can easily dominate foes, Atomfall demands you step carefully. Your character isn’t a battle-hardened warrior but more of a desperate survivor, so weapons are cumbersome to wield, and keeping calm during firefights is a challenge.

To survive in Atomfall requires tactful planning, with a learning curve steeped in newbie frustration but ultimately rewarding, especially on the Survivor difficulty setting. I gravitated towards stealth, especially once obtaining a bow in the Casterfell Woods. Silent and effective, it minimized resource use compared to the limited shotgun shells.

While enjoyable, Atomfall’s stealth isn’t as flexible as Rebellion’s Sniper Elite. Though you can quietly eliminate enemies or hide in tall grass, you can’t use environmental elements like whiskey bottles to create distractions or make smoke bombs for evasive maneuvers (though, who knows, maybe a secret recipe is hidden somewhere deep within its complex world).

When stealth failed and firefights erupted, combat was often thrilling yet uneven. I encountered frustrating situations, like surprise shotgun ambushes from enemies positioned beyond doors or inexplicable burns from a sentry’s flame attack through walls. Conversely, enemy AI would sometimes descend into farce, lining up to be easily picked off. Such inconsistencies brought to mind the kind of jankiness found in Fallout.

Outside set encounters, enemy patrols aren’t immediately hostile, which was appreciated given the game’s foot travel. It made navigating between sprawling areas more bearable without incessant gunfights, though I occasionally wished for a fast-travel system to ease the backtracking required later in the game. Secret entrances helped but didn’t fully compensate.

Atomfall’s skill tree, divided into ranged combat, melee, survival, and conditioning, is straightforward but effective, matching the game’s concise 15-hour story. Skills like slow-motion aiming and enhanced sneak attacks suited my playstyle, though options exist for others favoring melee enhancements. Compared to the densely branched skill systems in other games, Atomfall’s simplicity was refreshing.

Crafting in Atomfall is equally uncomplicated. Resources like scrap metal and glass are pooled for creating essentials from bandages to improved weapons, all doable on the fly without seeking out workbenches.

Ultimately, the greatest achievement in Atomfall was forging my character’s destiny. I maintained alliances as long as possible, but the climax forced a decision with rewarding personal consequences and challenging moral dilemmas. There are multiple endings, and I’m intrigued enough to revisit earlier saves to explore them all, discovering unexplored areas like the glowingly ominous shutdown medical facilities.

Atomfall may not reinvent the wheel, but its unique blend of storytelling, setting, and British charm made it a journey worth taking—one that lingered long after I shut the game off.