Atomfall review: Snitches get shortcuts

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In Atomfall, I found myself in a predicament where the game seemed to have strayed from its original course. Surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, towering robots, guard towers, and automatic turrets, I sat outside a prison compound, feeling trapped and outmatched. My arsenal consisted of a bolt action rifle, bow, pistol, shiv, Molotov cocktails, and limited ammunition.

I was faced with an insurmountable challenge that seemed to require extraordinary gaming skills, but I had no idea how to proceed or even if there were alternative solutions. Frustrated and running out of patience, I resorted to saving my game frequently as I made incremental progress.

After a painstaking hour and over 25 saves, I stumbled upon an opportunity that could have been seized 15 minutes into my Atomfall adventure had I not hesitated at the ambiguous proposal. This chance allowed me to walk through the front gate unchallenged. I was both amazed by the revelation and slightly irked at my earlier hesitation.

Who are you?

In the game Atomfall, players first awaken in a shelter, finding another character who’s injured and panicking, requesting a bandage and offering a keycard for exiting the bunker. He instructs you to head to a location called the Interchange to flee this dreadful place, leaving you clueless about your identity, your purpose there, the nature of the shelter, or the whereabouts of this Interchange. The actions you choose in this critical juncture are entirely within your control – from helping the injured individual with a makeshift bandage, to attacking him out of spite, or simply taking the keycard and abandoning him. This initial scenario illustrates the fundamental mechanics of Atomfall: freedom of movement, decision-making, and execution of those decisions. Your primary objective is clear: find the Interchange and escape.

Leaving the bunker, you’ll find yourself amidst serene landscapes of rolling hills and tranquil rivers, which conceal the post-apocalyptic setting of Atomfall. This game is set five years after the Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England. The stunning vistas are dotted with deserted and charred structures that offer intriguing exploration opportunities as you hunt for secret passages and hidden cellars. However, remember to stay alert, as the inhabitants of these territories may react differently to your presence. Some might tolerate you, while others could attack immediately upon seeing you.

In contrast to everything else, Wyndham is an unusual village, appearing somewhat ordinary at first glance, but there’s something unsettling – a powerful military group known as The Protocol, which exerts tight control over its residents. You’re generally allowed to roam around this town, interact with the locals, and gradually piece together the puzzle of what’s going on here. Interestingly, it serves as a central point connecting the main regions of Atomfall, but it never quite feels like a place you’d call home.

Good luck

After leaving the bunker and potentially reaching Wyndham, what’s next is entirely up to you in Atomfall. The game offers minimal guidance; there are no quest markers unless you choose to enable them. Instead, you navigate the world by interacting with characters and finding notes left behind. These notes can be found in a journal that you can review at any time, and they’re organized by region for easier understanding. However, these notes can be vague, leaving you unsure of your next move or why you should do something at times. This can be intriguing but also a bit frustrating when you’re stuck or wandering aimlessly for long periods. The developers, Rebellion, have considered this and provided options to make the game less challenging if desired.

In essence, Atomfall is indeed a survival-action game, though it offers a more streamlined take on the survival genre. Instead of managing food or water, you’ll focus on maintaining your health through eating and using bandages for injuries. What sets this game apart is its unique heart rate system, acting as an unspoken stamina meter. If your heart rate gets too high, it restricts your movement and combat effectiveness, adding a layer of tension that can make you feel anxious when it nears 180 beats per minute.

As a resourceful survivor, I’m constantly on the hunt for useful recipes, instructional guides, and stimulants to enhance my abilities. These recipes serve as blueprints for creating essential items such as bandages, shivs, tonics, or even explosives – all I need is the necessary materials. The manuals provide insights into the skill tree, but unlocking these skills requires finding training stimulants, which are essentially skill points. Skills can boost my attack power against unsuspecting enemies, help me maintain composure under pressure, or even enhance my haggling abilities in trade situations. Finding a new recipe always fills me with more excitement than discovering a manual, as the fruits of my labor offer immediate results, while the skill tree is often unpredictable.

Bless these lands

In my opinion, although Atomfall isn’t expansive like some other worlds, its meticulous design sets it apart. It may not take long to traverse from one end to another, but the intricate details compel you to slow down and delve deeper. You’ll discover hidden chambers, secret tunnels, and cryptic messages that help piece together the puzzle. Atomfall is a game for players who appreciate a challenge and enjoy solving mysteries on their own terms. There’s a definite whiff of Stalker and Fallout in its atmosphere, with hints of The Outer Worlds thrown into the mix.

Navigating different areas of the globe can sometimes feel monotonous due to long walks between zones. However, it’s important to remember that a shortcut usually exists. This shortcut may not always be desirable, like a dimly lit tunnel or mine, but as you familiarize yourself with the area, you’ll discover ways to save time and effort. Mastering this previously unfamiliar world brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

As you traverse the environment, you’re constantly scouting for fresh weaponry and additional ammunition. Weapons are scarce but can be enhanced through a crafting system. If gunplay isn’t your preference, consider opting for melee combat, though it’s not advisable if facing more than two opponents, especially when one of them is armed. Fortunately, your character possesses a Spartan kick, which serves as an entertaining yet effective alternative when you need to incapacitate someone, even if they persistently try to rise again.

When you’re not under enemy fire, your metal detector is quite handy. Luckily, it functions well even when stowed away in your pocket, signaling you when you’re near hidden treasure. You can then activate it to pinpoint the location of your reward, and dig up your find. The issue is that Atomfall has a stricter inventory management system compared to Stalker 2, so leaving valuable loot behind in the wilderness isn’t unheard of. Although there’s limited storage available, it leaves much to be desired. This makes trading goods somewhat disappointing since you can’t carry essential supplies and high-value items simultaneously, and traders are often situated near hostile individuals. Instead of expanding my backpack capacity, I would have preferred a room in Wyndham equipped with a chest for additional storage. It’s possible that such a space exists but has eluded me during gameplay; however, I’m skeptical about its availability.

Just die already

In the combat department, Atomfall took me by surprise with a mix of positive and negative aspects. I frequently felt exposed during hostile encounters, which was intense but also problematic at times. The ammunition is scarce, the weapons are reminiscent of 1962, and enemies are proficient shooters, making for an authentic high-stakes experience when you’re up against a few bad guys, but not so much when facing larger forces. While there might be other strategies available, it’s easy to see why players could feel inclined to adjust waypoints or lower the suggested difficulty level to tackle situations that seem out of sync with the overall gameplay. However, this doesn’t mean Atomfall is a challenging game overall, as it merely has a couple of moments where it seems misaligned with the rest of the experience.

To put it simply, consider the prison camp as an example of tough opponents, often referred to as ‘bullet sponges’. In numerous situations, a headshot may not result in a kill, even against adversaries without helmets. While a rifle can provide a one-shot headshot, other weapons like bows and pistols might not always do the trick unless you’re very close. I’m not discussing shots taken from long distances, but I’ve managed to hit headshots with a bow on unhelmeted opponents at relatively close range, and all it achieved was annoying them and alerting nearby enemies. Instead of being recognized for your patience and skill, you’re penalized. It’s quite frustrating. However, if your aim is accurate, you can usually eliminate most combatants swiftly, similar to the character John Wick.

In the heat of battle discussions, I find myself yearning for a more refined stealth experience in Atomfall. As a fan who relishes the thrill of an hour-long silent takedown in Assassin’s Creed, I found myself largely avoiding stealth within Atomfall. The ability to sneak past enemies undetected or take them down silently is there, but it doesn’t seem as polished as other gameplay aspects. It seems like the developers might have paid less attention to stealth mechanics compared to other elements of the game.

I believe that many of my concerns could be addressed if headshots consistently resulted in an enemy’s demise. After all, we’ve already discussed the challenges with ranged combat and how it could be improved.

Okay, I’ll stay

In Atomfall, your mission is to flee, but the truth is, this world is so captivating that I find myself unwilling to depart. Initially, locating the Interchange wasn’t a priority for me; instead, I was engrossed in digging up hidden treasures, discovering recipes, perusing notes, and unveiling secrets. I even shot characters just to see what they had on them, always listening to their intriguing conversations first. It wasn’t about them personally, but the three bullets and the key to the secret room they guarded were far more precious to me than their lives. If that strikes you as harsh, don’t worry, for you have the freedom to play an entirely different character, and I guarantee it will be just as thrilling.

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2025-03-21 17:28