Atomfall fits very nicely into my wheelhouse. It’s (kind of) a post-apocalyptic, semi-open-world adventure set in the rolling hills of Cumbria, England, and it’s riddled with combat sequences, stealthy escapades, and dense mysteries. I recently played Atomfall for just over an hour, exploring more of what is my most anticipated game of 2025.
My exclusive session took place a few hours into the game, so I had plenty of toys to play with, and I quickly found myself plunged into a stunning world fraught with danger, intrigue, and opportunity.
Atomfall is Coming
Atomfall has been described as ‘Fallout in the United Kingdom’, and that’s not far off the mark. It has post-apocalyptic vibes, roaming robots, mutated creatures, and a solid mix of factions. The world is dangerous and expansive, the survival elements are front and centre, and the game boasts a branching narrative that can be approached from multiple angles.
It also has skill paths, it suits a range of play styles, and the core of the story is set around a nuclear disaster.
I’ve had my eye on Atomfall since it was revealed, and at Gamescom 2024, I had the chance to play an earlier build – and fell in love. This extended preview that I recently enjoyed was nothing short of sumptuous, giving me the freedom to explore a large area of the game and uncover some key secrets – which I won’t spoil here.
Atomfall – My Impressions
From what I’ve seen, Atomfall is turning into a sharpened survival title with more than a few innovations. The world looks brilliant, combat feels satisfying, and the gameplay focuses nicely on a balance between open-endedness and dedicated investigations. It’s a mystery game at heart, and players are tasked with ultimately solving what happened in the world to cause this disaster.
There are multiple endings, which can be discovered by aligning with or turning against factions, but it all boils down to getting access to the Windscale Power Plant and finding out what happened – and dealing with it accordingly. That’s the gist I’ve got from my experience with Atomfall, anyway.
Along the journey, players must contend with rampaging raiders, twisted tribes, and some fairly ethereal enemies. It’s not all aggressive, though – there are plenty of friendly, generous folks out there in Atomfall, should you be willing to risk the wilderness to find them.
I had nothing but a good time with Atomfall. I love the pacing of the game, which is fairly slow but can quickly turn on its head when you get into a fight. It’s designed for the player to prioritise stealth and subterfuge over bold-faced combat, which is a refreshing change from the games I’m used to playing of late.
In the hour that I played, I didn’t experience any issues, and I found myself genuinely interested in learning about the events of the world around me through notes, books, and other scraps I could pick up to inform me about the game’s lore. There’s a lot to catch up on, and I’m intrigued and eager to learn more.
The set pieces are nice, the animations are clean, and some of the more technical mechanics, like the need to manage your stamina and inventory, present a fair challenge without being too finicky.
I can’t wait for more.
Atomfall will be released on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC on March 27.
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