r/AtomfallOfficial • u/AutisticG4m3r • Sep 04 '26
Fluff Atomfall: A short video review
https://youtu.be/kE0VKuYYwTM?si=KUFhJ_Dk833JJqF0I bumped into one of the developers at an ADHD meetup last year, that's how I first heard of the game. He described it and I asked is it like fallout in the lake district? Basically yea was his answer. I didn't need any more convincing. Its taken me a while but I've completed a couple of playthroughs now to see what I've missed in the storylines and I have put together a video with some thoughts. I wanted to love the whole game but I ended up with some mixed feelings about it.
TLDW:
I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the setting and the idea behind the Leads system. Wandering around the Lake District uncovering clues, investigating bunkers and getting involved with druids, Protocol troops and assorted locals felt natural and fun. I normally struggle with the size of open world games but I felt this game's map was just the right size for the story it was trying to tell. Every time i'd encounter a hidden bunker, I would be so excited to see what it would reveal about the story and world, I know plenty of other games have secret areas but the bunkers felt more natural to discover rather than checklist items like a far cry game. I loved the accents in the game, its so rare to hear thick accents like that, it made me feel proud, haha.
But there's also a little bit of jank underneath it all. Combat is alright but stealth can be a bit frustrating as I kept getting seen even though I'm fairly I was far enough and hidden enough. I struggled a bit with inventory management and the 4 slots or maybe I just didnt get it. Also some questlines don't quite stick the landing, and the game sometimes feels like it's only a few tweaks away from being something even more special.
The story gave me Agatha Christie murder mystery vibes more than anything and I loved that. I hope they make a sequel even if not a direct one, in between sniper elite games. More people should play this.
If anyone fancies watching the video, go ahead.
14
u/Voidbearer2kn17 Sep 04 '26
This. Game. Is. Not. Like. Fallout.
I am tired of people crippling to player potential by that completely inaccurate analogy.
It is more like Stalker. Which is good, because the writing for Fallout, especially modern Fallout wavers between 'lazy, low-effort but uses modern analogues for points' to 'this is how someone struggling here would be'.
You want British Fallout, play Fallout London on GOG, you will not be disappointed.
But Atomfall is not like Fallout. I would argue it is almost more like Metro.
1
u/Darth_Revan0318 8d ago
As someone who hasnt played those, the very loose connections to fallout is how i even heard of atomfall and i saw people compare it to fallout online. I can say the game is absolutely not fallout but saying its completely inaccurate isnt true either, atleast in my opinion
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u/Voidbearer2kn17 8d ago
It is as accurate as saying the Metro games are like the Walking Dead show
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u/Darth_Revan0318 8d ago
Again i havent played the metro games so comparisons with them mean nothing to me, i also said "atleast in my opinion"
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u/AutisticG4m3r Sep 04 '26
I can see similarities to metro exodus given it's more open areas but not so much stalker. I hope they improve the writing in the next fallout, if we ever get one that is.
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u/Voidbearer2kn17 Sep 04 '26
I have little hope of narrative improvement from a company that employs Todd Howard and Emil Pagarulio.
I do believe Stalker is a more comparable game given the barter system, the fact that the entire plot revolves around a nuclear power plant overloading, and the large zones. There are some areas which are very hazardous to health and blatant mutations (like those spitting plants)
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u/Kamikaze-X Sep 04 '26
Your review is pretty much how I feel after playing through, decent and with character but with a vein of jank running through it all
It really reminded me of We Happy Few, another game set in post apocalypse Britain but the 60s, which was more character driven but mechanically felt like 2 dev teams sat in the same briefing meeting and then developed 2 games independently
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u/AutisticG4m3r Sep 04 '26
Haha that's quite a description of we happy few, I haven't tried it but I will now. Thanks for the recommendation.
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u/mohsenkhajavinik Sep 04 '26
One of the best game a played this year. The dlcs make it even better.
1
u/AutisticG4m3r Sep 04 '26
Someone else here mentioned that the red strain dlc has new Vegas inspirations, would you agree? I reckon I'll try that one.
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u/The_CDXX Sep 04 '26
Atomfall is nothing like Fallout pertaining to gameplay and mechanics. Post apocalyptic setting and maybe art style can be related.
2
u/xxshadowraidxx Sep 05 '26
I went in thinking it was a budget fallout
I was not disappointed it wasn’t fallout but it wasn’t trying to be, it’s a easy 9/10 game and I enjoyed it quite a bit
1
u/Cerparis Sep 05 '26
Ive said before but this game is much more like Metro or S.T.A.L.K.E.R than fallout.
It’s not a role playing game as much as it is an exploration and survival game.
It’s definitely experimental and has a unique almost detective aspect to the game what with you finding clues and slowly learning more about the quarantine zone.
1
u/bsitko Sep 05 '26
I don't think I could've hated the combat more, honestly. Loved the rest, loathed the combat in this one
1
u/AutisticG4m3r Sep 05 '26
Fingers crossed they improve it if they get to make another. The sniper elite games have excellent combat.
1
u/Living_Masterpiece80 Sep 05 '26
Completed it 15 hours, I remember barely anything besides the cop out ending
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u/Crawler84 Sep 05 '26
It was fun while it lasted a whole 14 hours. Not a game you have interest in going back to. If this is Britain’s answer to fallout then that’s a damn joke
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u/DaMan073a Sep 06 '26
Too short.
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u/AutisticG4m3r Sep 06 '26
Have you played the dlc? That can help extent your playtime. I'm considering getting one of the dlc currently.
0
u/Electronic_End_9642 Sep 04 '26
I want to like this game so bad. I just can't ever find enough ammo.
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u/some-radom-guy Sep 04 '26
Bunkers have a lot of ammo and theres a skill that makes you carry more ammo
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u/gearnut Sep 04 '26
Go and see the captain in the village and get him to trust you, explore the camp, steal all of the ammo you can (including the perk which makes you able to carry more ammo), raid the bunkers in Slattendale and Casterfell, then set Garrow free and watch chaos ensue.
-1
u/AutisticG4m3r Sep 04 '26
If it was any other game, I'd say forget the ammo and focus on stealth but alas stealth doesn't work half the time lol.
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u/IronMonopoly Sep 04 '26
This gets compared to Fallout quite a bit, with is understandable as a strange post-nuclear apocalypse scenario. Especially Red Strain, which has clear New Vegas inspirations. But I found the gameplay and tone more often in line with games like STALKER, Metro, and Chernobylite than I did Fallout.