Since its reveal, Atomfall has been called “British Fallout.” The vibes are certainly there, but overall, it’s a very different kind of game with the only real similarity being the alternate history approach to an apocalyptic event. Even then, Atomfall‘s real-world Windscale incident is much more localized than the Great War in the Fallout universe, but anyone who loves a good post-apocalyptic game owes it to themselves to check out Atomfall. After 90 minutes with it, it became clear that developer Rebellion’s action-adventure game is something special.
Game Rant was recently invited to London in the UK to check out Atomfall, where our 90-minute preview began just after the opening sequence of the game. Rebellion spared us whatever spoilers it contained, and we found ourselves in Atomfall‘s world with a map, a few items/weapons, and one objective: find Mother Jago in the Old Mines of Casterfell Woods (our map). Of course, 90 minutes isn’t enough to put a definitive stamp on it, but it was enough to be enamored with the charm of its first gameplay area. That charm, we would later learn, applied differently to everyone at the event.
Adjusting to Atomfall’s World
With no idea why we were tracking down Mother Jago, we emerged out of a large sewage pipe into a wooded area with a few nearby ruins. We were getting used to the controls when we were attacked by a couple of druids who were screaming about a Voice. We defeated these first few druids with our melee weapons, while also learning how to craft bandages to heal. Melee is standard for a first-person action-adventure game – you can push enemies back, deliver standard and charged attacks, and swap between heavy-hitting but slower weapons and quicker, more agile weapons.
There’s also a plethora of ranged weapons, including a rusty pistol, shotgun, and rifle, all of which are effective and loud. What stands out, combat-wise, is the stealth in Atomfall. After defeating one of the druids and looting their bow, we managed to stealth our way around and pick off enemies at a distance. Managing our arrows became super important at this point, but luckily, these could usually be looted off the enemies we faced. The stealth isn’t revolutionary, but it is simple, effective, and fun. Finding the right position to quickly pick off the druids before they could make it to us ended up being a lot of fun, and when we faced bigger encounters later on, Atomfall pushed us to make the most of our limited arrows, our limited ammunition, and our trusty knife. The combat encounters, alongside use of stealth, really shined for us.
In all that, however, it’s worth noting that we encountered a few bugs (that could be fixed before launch, as this was a preview build) that saw us waste resources. If we fired a gun in close-range, as a result of an enemy charging us while we had a gun out, the damage would clearly go straight through the enemy models. This was enough of a concern to avoid ranged attacks any time an enemy was close enough. At another point, enemies did a full about-face and noticed us because we placed our bow’s reticle on them—despite making no noise and being a fair distance away. Overall, though, these were small bumps in the combat because, whether we were fighting through a dungeon or picking off enemies in the more open areas, Atomfall‘s combat encounters were tons of fun.
And that’s something we encountered plenty of in Atomfall, unlike our peers at the event we later learned. After getting through the opening area, many of us found a crashed helicopter that had clearly been there for years. There was some loot there, but what’s most important is how we all took different paths from that point. Many of our colleagues talked about finding a town and chatting up the friendly NPCs there, completing quests and getting a worldview from the NPCs there. They barely experienced any combat during their sessions. We, on the other hand, had no idea there was even a peaceful town on this map and were constantly fighting druids at every turn. We ended up trying to make our way to the Old Mines, but it seems all of our experiences in Atomfall diverged at this downed helicopter.
Exploring The World of Atomfall
Atomfall offers minimal handholding, with that being obvious in its investigation system (the quests) and its map. There are no map markers in a traditional sense; instead, players carry a map of the area that, as they learn more about the world, will mark locations. Interestingly, these locations are drawn on the map by the main character. For example, the map had a dam and the old mine marked on it when we started the game, but we would later mark a shipyard after discovering it. We could navigate back there, but to do so, we’d have to adjust our direction and constantly refer to the map since there was no mini-map or traditional map markers.
That’s the point of the game: getting lost in this world and, as an amnesiac almost-detective, enjoying the exploration of Atomfall. That does come with some inconvenience, although that’s the point. More than once, because of a combat encounter or something in the world catching our attention, we opened our map to find we had gone the wrong way. We also ended up going the wrong way because we’d quickly check the map, see we were headed toward one of the drawn-in locations, and not double-check it was the right one. Atomfall encourages players getting lost, and players who enjoy exploration are likely to enjoy this approach. It’s not as demanding or as punishing as we first thought when hearing Atomfall didn’t feature traditional map markers, and even after a short time with the game, it’s clear that it would be a radically different title if this was the case.
This goes hand-in-hand with its investigation system. In short, it’s just the way quests work in Atomfall, but it comes with very little info. We were told to go see Mother Jago, for example, but not why. It was only when we got there that our character made any mention of having amnesia, and it bonded us to him because we had no idea what was going on either. When players get a “lead,” whether that’s info from an NPC or a key item, their quest will update, but it comes with little new info, no new map markers, or anything like that. Players need to pay attention or find leads in unique ways, as we did.
Finding Leads with Lead
Somewhere between Atomfall‘s starting point and the Old Mines, we encountered a merchant out in the woods. We approached with our weapons drawn thinking he was one of Atomfall‘s druids, but he reacted accordingly, claiming to not be our enemy. We bought a few items from him, but as we prepared to leave, a little devil on our shoulders asked: “If he is scared of the weapons, can you kill him?” The answer is yes, as he and I learned in that very moment. We were able to loot a few items that were in the shop, but not all of them, and among them was a key item that triggered another investigation. Later on, we’d pass one of the iconic British telephone booths. It rang, we answered, and an obscure voice made some comments on that key item.
When we made our way to the Old Mines, we found Mother Jago who claimed she could help if we went to the Druid’s castle and retrieved her book. That little devil returned during our conversation with her, and it said, “The merchant was just a random NPC. This is a main quest giver. Can you kill her?” The answer is yes, as she and I learned in that very moment. Looting her turned up another key item for our investigation, revealing that she had given someone in the druid’s castle a recipe that helps resist the Voice. That was likely our target, meaning we had more info than before, and we set out for the Druid Castle now marked on our map.
The Druid Castle
In any other game, it would have led us to the Druid’s Castle and probably placed a marker on the NPC we needed to find. Atomfall did not do that. We trekked back across the map to the Druid’s Castle, and when we got there, we were in for the fight of our life. It took every bullet, arrow, and bandage we could scavenge to make it through the outer border, get into the camp, and find a door that goes beneath the castle. The dungeon was claustrophobic, tightly designed, and filled with enemies. We found a druid priestess down there who was performing some form of ritual, but she wasn’t our target apparently. After clearing out the dungeon of the castle, we found a way into its interior and fought our way, tooth and nail, through it.
All along the way, we never found the NPC that Mother Jago’s lead directed us toward, and what’s more, we found two locked-off sections that required certain keys. Because of its design, we had absolutely no idea where the NPC or the keys were after we had laid waste to the castle. We were going back through looking for stragglers and keys when our time with Atomfall came to an end.
Ultimately, Atomfall‘s defining feature is its freedom. Players are free to explore, discover new things, and have their own unique experiences in the game. Within 90 minutes, everyone at the event had experienced this, and that’s extra impressive given the short time.
Survival
Action
Adventure
- Released
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March 27, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen // Blood, Language, Violence
Atomfall releases March 27 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided travel and lodging for the purposes of this preview.