Atomfall review

Since its 2005 debut, Rebellion Developments’ Sniper Elite franchise has been delivering delectable feasts of pure power fantasy. Across five mainline entries, protagonist Karl Fairburne has stalked World War II battlefields, habitually using long-range rifles to decimate unsuspecting platoons. Sure, a careless action would cause an infantry squad to come looking for Fairburne, but between the ability to hide and an ample supply of explosives, you always held an advantage.

Rebellion’s latest effort puts in the role of an unambiguous underdog. Atomfall begins in the bowels of the Quarantine Zone, a half-decade after the Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England. With strained breathing, an agitated scientist in a yellow radiation suit explains that he will quickly die if you don’t gather some medical resources. As with much of the undertaking that’s ahead of you, you get to decide whether to help or harm the desperate researcher. Unlike Sniper Elite, there’s a deliberate ambiguity that pervades Atomfall’s campaign.

Of K6 Phone Boxes and Conflicting Stories

Soon, you’ll venture out on the dingy bunker and into Atomfall’s world of overgrown vegetation, shadowy caves, and derelict villages. But peculiar features like those iconic English phone boxes situated in barren fields convey that you’re venturing through an alternative reality. To avoid spoiling the game’s carefully constructed sense of discovery, I won’t disclose any other expositional tidbits. But much of the gratification comes from gleaning details about Atomfall’s distinctive dystopia and navigating the occasional instance of misdirection.

The dominant trend in gaming is to create a crumb trail for players to follow, with progression tied to marked destinations on an in-game map. Atomfall’s nebulous clues and occasional disinformation stand in sharp contrast to this. Undoubtedly, the decision will exasperate players eager for one of Sniper Elite’s ghoulish slow-motion bullet-cam shots. Instead, Rebellion seems more interested in cultivating a sense of psychological distrust in players. Through most of my first playthrough, I didn’t know who to trust given the contradictory dialog offered up by key players.

An Unseen Face You Can Trust

While you will gain a few obligatory character upgrades, growth in Atomfall is more about self-assurance. Early on, you’ll meekly creep past NPCs. But as you gain familiarity with this strange world, you might select duplicitous dialog choices that serve your own self-interests. What I liked best about Atomfall is that it made me play as a Machiavellian asshole that will do anything to escape, which felt more like Disco Elysium than your average survival romp. And while there’s a bit of crafting to be found, the mechanic is mostly discretionary. If you need bandages, weapon upgrades, or just a trusty Molotov, you can use found resources to make helpful supplies. But mercifully, you won’t have to endlessly upgrade your workbench. Atomfall isn’t that kind of game.

It also isn’t the type of experience that escorts you across the English countryside. Instead, direction stems from the trickle of clues that are collected in your in-game notebook. Gathering scraps of information and rumors from folks can result in a waypoint on your map. But just as often, it’s a vague clue that might encourage you to head in a specific direction. Similarly, there’s little hand-holding when it comes to hostility. Depending on what difficulty setting you’re tackling, you’ll probably want to avoid direct confrontation and perhaps evaluate each NPC’s potential for an armed encounter. Unsurprisingly, gang members and cultists are usually itching for a fight.

He Who Fights and Runs Away…

Routinely, it feels like Rebellion discourages combat. While stealth kills are easy enough, confronting groups routinely ends in embarrassment. And here’s the other thing: fighting isn’t all that fun. Melee-based skirmishes are unwieldly, as you clumsily attempt to swing a billy club or cricket bat at enemies. Meanwhile, limited ammo counts, slow reload times, and spongy enemies siphon a lot of the enjoyment from gun fights. For some, this might seem like it’s squandering the ability of Rebellion’s delightfully scalable Asura engine. But Atomfall’s gratification is rooted in character treachery, rather than technology.

Atomfall was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.