We were all blown away by the Fallout TV series. What a way to honor the prolific franchise, and bring in new fans along the way. The biggest travesty of that moment is simply that no new Fallout game was even on the horizon, so longtime devotees and new followers had to fall back on what came before. Unfortunately, there’s still nothing new for that franchise, but that may not matter nearly as much soon. With Atomfall almost here, I got to play a final preview, and if what I had in hand is any indication, players of any post-apocalyptic survival RPG will soon have their gameplay thirsts satiated by its non-radiated water.
This slice of gameplay didn’t have much story, so I’ll stick to gameplay. While my session was marred a bit by spotty cloud streaming, every bit of the bones of Atomfall’s gameplay seems to be good. Certain aspects of the gameplay were so smooth in practice they even trumped my connection woes. For all of those issues, Rebellion seems to have their finger on the pulse of this gameplay loop.
If there were a recent game I’m immediately reminded of in terms of Atomfall’s construction, it would be Avowed. Similar to it, Atomfall is a no-nonsense game; that being that it doesn’t overfill the game with random mechanics and instead simplifies the experience. While there’s still plenty to explore, I didn’t feel like I was on the back foot out the gate. The scope is also clearly scaled back in the open-world, with several maps being the play rather than a huge connected zone.
Atomfall proceeds like most first-person RPGs, with you deciding what you want to carry and equip along the way. There isn’t a ton littering the environment to pick up, but there’s just enough lying around to make you think twice before leaving it. Backpack space was sparse in this playthrough, and in true survival fashion, you’ll want to make sure the right things are filling the grids. Thankfully, there are plenty of spots for big and small weaponry, along with a quick-equip option so you don’t have to go rooting in your inventory for a weapon or item.
As I walked through the green, tree-filled, and rocky plains of this level, there was something different about whatever earth-shattering event occurred. Some has been explained of the nuclear disaster in previous trailers and gameplay breakdowns, but Atomfall doesn’t exactly mimic the barren wastelands we’ve seen from other games presenting cataclysmic events. It’s a nice touch, and it makes for a more unique setting as well.
From the first second I loaded in, there was a band of enemies on patrol right in front of me. This faction is called the druids, and they were the main ones I fought within this area. Given this was only one section of the map, I’m sure you’ll run into a lot more variety. These guys were divided into a couple of classes: archers, heavies, blade-wielders, and a single projectile thrower I ran into at the end of my demo. They all have a pretty standard set of moves like the blade-wielders throwing a jump slash at you. None of them seem to want to fight immediately unless you’re trespassing, so it will be possible to sneak around if you make the right choices.
Speaking of your choices, Atomfall somewhat falls into an immersive sim in this manner. While dialogue isn’t available to avoid these encounters, you’ll have plenty of choices at hand in how you want to proceed. Maybe you’re about stealth and want to sneak in without bloodshed. Perhaps you just want to sprint right at your opposition. You might want to fight at a distance with a bow or rifle. There’s a wasp nest over in a tree, you could possibly throw something at it to get them riled up and attacking your foes. Heck, be an arsonist and chuck a molotov on their heads. It’s not as intricate as say Dishonored or Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, but there’s a lot here you can mess around with as you explore and engage.
I did my fair share of running directly at the druids and took a blade to the face a few times. This resulted in my death in several cases, especially with the bleed status effect causing me to take damage over time as I bled out. I’m extremely impressed with long-range weaponry, although you’ll want to hold onto your rifles for special cases. After all, in the apocalypse, bullets are a lot rarer than arrows. That’s not a bad thing, because I was hitting with the bow, and it may have been my favorite weapon in the entire demo. It feels good to shoot and isn’t incredibly difficult to get a feel for when aiming. Maybe it’s Rebellion wanting to give their Sniper fans something familiar, but in any case, I love it.
Melee combat is going to be your usual too in a fight, and it’s fine. I felt like I was Skyrim-mashing a lot of the time, and if that’s what works, it’s what works. One choice I’m happy to see is no durability on your weapons. During my playtime, I didn’t notice a dodge button, so that was a bit odd, leading to me taking quite a few blows I’d usually avoid. There is a kick button, and although I didn’t have the opportunity to experiment with it in a fair fight, you could use that to stagger an enemy in theory. When I did use it, I cheesed several NPCs who stupidly kept climbing a ladder to try and attack me. Silly druids, you were just heading to a Spartan kick.
The survival elements are subdued in Atomfall, something I am quite happy about. As great as KCD2 was, having to constantly eat, drink, and sleep isn’t something I’m trying to do in my usual gaming. You’ll have to pay attention to status effects that can affect you for a short period, but otherwise, your survival mostly falls to needing to scavenge for crafting and not take too much damage. Your health bar is certainly more vulnerable in Atomfall; it doesn’t take a ton of hits before you’re pushing up daisies. This faux survival works in Atomfall’s best interest, not pushing away players wanting to try something new and instead offering a good entry into the genre.
That extends to the crafting as well. It’s simple, find the items you need, craft the thing. The process reminds me of The Last of Us, holding down the crafting button on the recipe you want to craft. There are plenty of recipes you’ll uncover in the world just by exploring, which makes finding materials all the more important. There is a limit as to how many crafting items you can carry – it’s separated thankfully – so pay attention to what you’re crafting and if it may take items from something you might need more.
There’s a whole lot more to Atomfall even in just the demo I played, but I’ll have to play more of the game to properly understand the ins and outs of this intriguing world. That said, there is a lot of promise I can see, even between the blurry lines of a Parsec connection. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to play natively, as Atomfall releases on March 27th. It’ll be available on Xbox Series consoles and Game Pass Ultimate, PC, and PlayStation 5. Keep your eyes here on GamingTrend for our eventual review!
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