Summary
- Atomfall’s director walks us through the game’s development.
- A previous version of the game was more linear, similar to a Metroidvania.
- The team didn’t like this, and instead focused on player freedom, even letting players kill whatever characters they want.
Atomfall was revealed last summer, and was immediately billed as ‘British Fallout’. It’s easy to see why, as Atomfall gives us an open world to play around in, with the backdrop of a nuclear disaster. The gameplay does a good job of setting itself apart from these inspirations, but it’s still something that is drawing people into Rebellion‘s latest project.
However, Atomfall could have been very different. Speaking with TheGamer at a preview event last week, game director Ben Fisher walked us through Atomfall’s development, telling us that it was almost more of a Metroidvania.
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Atomfall Was Inspired By Fallout, But Became So Much More
Atomfall’s game director Ben Fisher walks us through the games development, from creating a very British apocalypse, to letting players kill everyone.
“One version of the game was structured more like Metroidvania,” Fisher explains. “We had a sequence of sandbox maps where you would find skills or clues or work with characters that would help you get to the next location. You’d gradually open this world [up] over time, but you were sent through in quite a choreographed sequence.”
The devs tried this out, but just didn’t like the lack of freedom that came with this structure. “We asked the question, what happens if we lean right into that Rebellion cultural DNA of giving players freedom and openness?”
Atomfall’s New Direction Lets Players Do Pretty Much Whatever They Want
In abandoning this Metroidvania approach, Rebellion also decided to let players kill whatever NPCs they like. “[Players] might close routes to themselves, but that’s fine. That’s valid for their play style,” Fisher explains, as Atomfall accommodates for these violent playthroughs.
Having played some of Atomfall at the preview event, there’s certainly no lack of player freedom. In fact, it was so free and open that you’ll likely struggle to figure out what to do at first, as you’re left to stumble around the countryside, looking for someone or something that isn’t trying to kill you.
Atomfall launches on March 27. It will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
Survival
Action
Adventure
- Released
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March 27, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen // Blood, Language, Violence