A common misconception surrounding Atomfall is that it’s primarily focused on action and combat. In reality, the hook of the game is its massive web of interweaving stories and mysteries.
As you explore its beautifully detailed Northern English take on a post-nuclear disaster, you’ll find out more and more about the enigmatic citizens of the Quarantine Zone. While there are some major plotlines you’ll likely stumble upon to complete the game, there are just as many hidden narratives that enrich the setting. So, out of all the less obvious stories being told in Atomfall, which are the most interesting?
6
The Village Murder
Whodunnit?
It’s only natural that Wyndham Village has the highest concentration of interlinking stories since it’s the most populated area in the game. A story that you’ll likely see parts of, but not see in its entirety, is the mystery of Maisie’s murder.
The core premise of this side story is that Reverend McHenry will task you with working out who killed Maisie, and you’ll quite quickly confirm his suspicions that it’s the village shopkeeper, Morris Wick. But the motivations behind this crime and the different ways you can interact with the story are what makes it so interesting.
By doing some snooping, you’ll discover that Morris killed Maisie for spying on him on behalf of the Reverend. But as it turns out, the Reverend had good reason to be suspicious, since you can find a note where Morris confesses to spying in the village in an attempt to indoctrinate the townspeople into the drudid’s mindset. Depending on whether you choose to let Morris go or rat him out to the Protocol or the Reverend, your faction alignments will shift drastically.
5
Prudence And Charity
The Mystery Of Datlow Hall
It’s pretty rare to find any friendly faces outside of Wyndham Village who are willing to chat, especially if they’re not trying to trade, and that’s why it’s so surprising to find Prudence walking around the halls of the otherwise disheveled Datlow Hall. It’s immediately apparent that something is wrong, and amidst her mutterings, you’ll hear about her sequestered sister, Charity, and a request to find her butler, Jenks.
Upon discovering Jenks’ corpse at the nearby dam, you can read his final message begging for help to be sent to Datlow Hall since Prudence is incapable of looking after herself and Charity is seriously ill. Upon returning to Prudence and informing her of her butler’s passing, she quickly hires you to be the replacement and gives you the key to the conservatory.
This is where you’ll finally uncover the long-dead skeleton of Charity and her last message to her sister, telling her that she has started to hear voices from the soil moments before she passes.
4
Mother Jago’s True Intentions
A Hand From The Occult
A character that you’ll hear bits and pieces about, depending on who you socialize with in Wyndham Village, is Mother Jago. You’ll originally find her around the northern side of Casterfell Woods, and she seems to be a perfectly friendly, if not slightly odd woman, willing to help out those in need (for example, the baker’s husband), but notably wary of the Protocol Soldiers.
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You’ll learn more about her alignments depending on how much you choose to help her out. What originally seems to be just an infiltration of the druids’ territory to get her recipe book quickly transforms into a full-on initiation into their cult-like mindset and indoctrination into hearing the voices from the soil that they constantly reference.
If you fully follow through by aligning your playthrough with Mother Jago and this group, you can choose an ending that will have you feeding Oberon instead of destroying it. This is the only way to completely follow Jago’s instructions, and it leads to your character dying by joining the soil, a.k.a. jumping into a ravine.
3
June And Francis
Fancy A Cuppa?
By the time the protagonist awakens at the beginning of Atomfall, the quarantine has been in place for years, and while the society inside the Quarantine Zone is volatile, it’s now built up a significant amount of history. A great example of this is the side story between June and Francis, which you can only learn by following clues and reading letters.
June, the former owner of the Little Tea Room in Wyndham Village, had been seeing Francis, an assistant technician who previously worked with Dr. Garrow. Thanks to her shrewd investigative skills, she learned too much about the true nature of the Interchange and Garrow’s research. In the end, June had to abandon her budding relationship with Francis and sent a letter to him with a ring, telling him that she has to go back to her old life in Wyndham and pretend she knows nothing.
But unfortunately, the truth about June’s knowledge leaked, and we can find her skeleton in the guarded and abandoned Tea Room, as well as information that she was silenced by the very Protocol officers who are tasked with protecting the citizens of the village.
2
Dr. Garrow And Dr. Holder
Best Frenemies
There are only so many characters you have the opportunity to chat with in Atomfall, and some of these friendly faces are pretty well hidden. Two of the best examples of this are Dr. Holder and Dr. Garrow, two scientists who previously worked together at the Interchange researching Oberon.
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Dr. Holder is found by following clues and getting the key to his hidden laboratory under Wyndham Village’s church, and for Dr. Garrow, you’ll have to find her in the depths of Skethermoor Prison. Depending on how you play the game, you can align yourself with one of these two scientists, with both of them having a unique ending depending on who you help. However, a detail that’s easier to miss is their history.
There are audio logs, letters, and unique dialogue trees that will expose that it’s Garrow’s fault that the quarantine protocol was started thanks to her reckless orders to continue digging into Oberon (against Holder’s warning), and that’s why Holder almost died in the explosion and was subsequently trapped by the quarantine, whereas she was safe on the outside.
It’s no wonder then that if you help Garrow by freeing her from prison and help Holder by getting information in the Interchange, the two will both find themselves in the Interchange control room, and Holder, overcome with vengeance, will shoot her on sight. Can’t really blame him, though.
1
Agravaine And The Infiltrators
Under The Surface
One of the more obscure side stories throughout Atomfall follows the well-hidden trail of clues left by the spies who were sent to find details about the experimentation on Oberon. There are only a few clues that will point you in the direction of Ilya Kozlov, who seems to be trying to get in touch with another agent known only as Agravaine. You can help him rebuild his radio, but as he’s unable to get a signal, he’ll end up trying to escape by himself and abandoning the protagonist.
If you’re a thorough explorer, you’ll later find his corpse in an Oberon-infested cave. If you find your way into the Interchange via Wyndham City, you’ll meet Joyce Tanner, and the mysterious woman (wearing a pretty similar outfit to Ilya) will task you with unlocking each of the radio towers in the Quarantine Zone so she can help you both escape the zone.
If you choose to do this sidequest, you can work towards getting her ending. If you follow enough of the Infiltrators questline and do this, you can ask her if she’s Agravaine right at the end, and she’ll confirm your suspicions. However, you don’t get much chance to celebrate this discovery, as soon after, she’ll knock you out and inform you that, while you’re now free from the Quarantine Zone, you’re likely going to be tortured by the mysterious operation that she works for.
Survival
Action
Adventure
- Released
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March 27, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen // Blood, Language, Violence
- X|S Optimized
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Yes
- Number of Players
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1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Unknown