Yet Another Gaming Blog

A review code for Atomfall was provided by a PR on behalf of Rebellion Developments for the purposes of this review. This has not influenced the review in any shape or form. I just thought you should know.

A couple of hours into my time in Atomfall, I headed back into Wyndham Village; the games central location. I’d been to Wyndham a few times in passing, not really paying too much attention to it or its citizens, mainly using it to duck out of trouble, or to get onto my next objective. This particular visit, however, felt different. The odd jobs I’d done out in Casterfell Woods seemed to have alerted those stationed in Wyndham to a goings on in a neighboring area. An increased armed forces presence would be only natural for the safety and security of its inhabitants. I was shocked that Atomfall actually did that. More men at the door, and a giant armed robot patrolling the entry. I was stunned.

Atomfall is the latest release from British veterans, Rebellion, boasting their second published title in 3 months, following Sniper Elite: Resistance’s January release. This isn’t that (demonstrably successful) formula in Cumbrian dressing, however. This is a confident step in a new direction for the 33 year old developer. Atomfall is a survival game set in a world that acts, and reacts, according to the choices you make. And, for the most part, it pulls off exactly the tricks it wants to pull.

Atomic Amnesia

Waking up in an abandoned bunker with a soon to be dead scientist at your side isn’t the ideal way to start a day, but that’s that scenario Atomfall plops you in immediately. After gathering your bearings, you’re out into the world, and answering a telephone call from a stranger telling you where you are, what you’re looking at, where you need to go to kick things off. From that point, it’s up to you to navigate your way to the Windscale Atomic Plant, solve the mysteries it holds, and find a way out of this place.

The entire game takes place within a quarantine zone. Atomfall itself takes place in an alternate timeline, where the Windscale fire of 1957, the worst nuclear disaster in British history, ended up being a thousand times worse than it actually was, and created something of a nuclear wasteland within Northern Britain. As a result, the British government enacted the “quarantine protocol”, and put the surrounding area behind walls. And that’s where we are, 5 years later.

A Green, Unpleasant Land

Atomfall’s biggest success is its environment. I’ve not felt this uneasy in a games world in a long time. Every inch of Wyndham and its neighbouring arenas is eerie. Not spooky, not scary, just…off. The atmosphere Atomfall generates is like little else out there, and it’s a testament to Rebellion and their staff that they’ve made something as innocuous as walking through a woodland feel unnerving. 

It’s a beautiful world, too. So often a post-apocalyptic setting brings with it depressions by the way one muted greens and browns, but Atomfall is a world filled with colour and life. Rebellion properly captured the essence of the North’s beauty, with rolling vibrant green hills muttered with blues and reds and feel so British in a way that cannot be truly described without just showing you.

The Windscale Atomic Plant remains a contact in the background, too. No matter where you go, you can see it, and its weird blue smoke billowing into the clouds. You’re never allowed to forget that it’s there. You’re never allowed to forget why the world is the way it is. It’s a stark and powerful constant that adds an extra layer of eerieness to a world laced with the stuff.

More that that, Wyndham Village itself feels so homely and real that, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think it were plucked out of reality. There are parts of Wyndham that remind me of where I grew up. St. Katherine’s (the Church at the centre of Wyndham) could have literally been just St. Mary’s (the Church at the centre of the village I lived in). It’s a very distinct feeling that I’m not will be truly appreciated by players outside of this Island.

Local Shop For Local People

That feeling extends to its inhabitants, too. Atomfall’s cast is eccentric, to say the very least, reaching into all manner of classic British media for inspiration. Mother Jago (for whom I wrote “Quest giver, weed dealer, all round friendly face” in my notes before it became clear she wasn’t simply helping me out of the goodness of her heart), and the “Druid’s” that live around her, could be straight out of The Wicker Man. Captain Sims, head of The Protocol (the organisation tasked with enacting the quarantine), is pure Basil Fawlty. The mysterious voice in the telephone box? Could be straight out of Doctor Who. And the villagers themselves feel like they’ve been lifted out of The League of Gentlemen.

These characters drive the narrative. Each major character will provide you with quests that will both gain and lose their belief, and it’s up to you as to who you choose to trust. Operating with that level of autonomy was an honest thrill. Using one questline to further another made me feel like I was committing deep levels of espionage. For example, accepting a quest from Captain Sims gave me access to a part of the map containing an item vital for another character’s quest line. Which then opened up a third characters line. All the while Captain Sims thinks I was simply an innocent bystander while the chaos I caused ensued. Because that’s exactly what I told him happened. Sorry for lying, Captain.

With each main story quest completed, you dig a little deeper into exactly what happened at Windscale, what’s going on around the quarantine, and how exactly you can escape. Each major character you come across claims to know how to get your out, as long as you trust them and do what they say. That, I’m afraid, is where Atomfall falters a little.

Sticking the landing

Atomfall tries its best to juggle each of its main storylines throughout its run time, but as it sharpens to a point, it can’t quite stick the landing. The very nature of the games set up means it doesn’t really make a great deal totally clear. My final two-ish hours were spent combing each of the games four main areas looking for one specific item to basically trigger the point of no return. Once I got it, it was plain sailing, but that made for an exceptionally frustrating experience.

The narrative culmination of all those threads didn’t quite land, either. My playthrough left me with more questions than answers. Yes, there are (at least) four more endings for me to discover, but the ending I chose wasn’t quite as fulfilling as the journey taken.

I did also run into a fair few spikes in difficulty that seemed to come out of nowhere. I will accept that I could have used the games crafting system to my advantage far more (those blue spore clouds are no joke), but on more than one occasion I found myself triggering stealth/combat scenarios that felt like there was no obvious way through without trialling and erroring my way through the room.

A minor point as well; for a game that prides itself on its wonderful character interactions, I’d have liked to have the ability to negotiate my way past strangers. Walking through the forest and hearing “we know not what you intend” from a pack of Druid’s always sent a shiver down my spine knowing I was a few seconds from an arrow to the head. I mean you no harm! I’m just trying to avoid that tunnel with the glowing blue zombies!

In conclusion

None of that should deter you from taking a trip into the quarantine zone. My playthrough clocked in at just over 12 hours, and I’m certain there are side quests that completely passed me by. Rebellion have crafted a satisfying experience set in one of the most compelling worlds I’ve explored in a game in years. Despite living a bus ride away from their studios, Atomfall represents my first foray into a Rebellion Developments game. And I’m delighted to report the hometown heroes have delivered.

Alright, time for another save.

Atomfall releases on March 27th, and will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.