When Rebellion Developments announced Atomfall, I was intrigued. I love the Sniper Elite series, and I was excited to see the studio stretch its legs after making nothing but Sniper Elite games since around 2013. An RPG-esque Fallout-style game set in the 1960s after a nuclear disaster turns England into a post-apocalyptic, radioactive quarantine zone? That premise alone had me hooked. Imagining that setting mixed with the incredible mechanics that Rebellion is known for? What could go wrong?
Well, after just over an hour with Atomfall, I have some concerns.
As I mentioned, Atomfall follows the protagonist—an amnesiac with no identity—who must explore a quarantine zone in the Lake District, Northern England, five years after the Windscale nuclear disaster to uncover the truth about what happened. The world is full of doomsday cultists, rogue military factions, robots, radioactive monstrosities, and, of course, bandits. Lots and lots of bandits.
The story elements I experienced in the preview were minimal. After exploring for quite some time, I stumbled across a town under strict military rule. The atmosphere was tense, with soldiers patrolling and townsfolk keeping their heads down. After wandering around and soaking in the environment, I eventually found the person in charge. He was wary of new people but trusted me just enough to send me on a mission to identify which townsfolk were plotting a resurgence against him. It felt a little disjointed, and honestly, what I saw of the story didn’t really pull me in yet.
The one thing that did intrigue me was the presence of these weird phone booths that would randomly ring. Answering one put me in contact with an omniscient voice that spoke cryptically about needing to destroy something. That mystery element piqued my interest. That said, since we were tossed into the middle of the game with no real context, I’m willing to hold off on judgment and hope that the narrative has more weight behind it in the final release.
“One of my biggest gripes with exploration in Atomfall is how tracking quests and points of interest works—or rather, doesn’t.”
Atomfall does have some connective tissue to the Sniper Elite series, particularly with a bigger focus on stamina and heartbeat mechanics. Instead of just affecting your aim like in Sniper Elite, here it affects a lot more—you get blurry vision, it becomes harder to focus, and even swinging melee weapons or kicking feels sluggish if you’re too winded. Close-quarters combat is what I ended up relying on the most, as ammo in Atomfall is scarce. That makes sense in a post-apocalyptic setting, and I did enjoy the feeling of every bullet mattering when I finally found some.
What I didn’t love was the way weapon stats were presented. Rather than a clear comparison, weapons are simply labeled with vague descriptors like “slow,” “average,” or “fast” for swing speed and damage. If you want actual stats, you have to go into your inventory, which is weird considering you can hot-equip items you find lying around. It also doesn’t help that the inventory screen doesn’t fully pause the game, making it tough to figure out what works best in the middle of combat.
One of my biggest gripes with exploration in Atomfall is how tracking quests and points of interest works—or rather, doesn’t. Whenever I received an update to a quest, I found it difficult to track. Even when I opted to track a mission, I wouldn’t see any markers on my map or on the compass bar at the top of the screen. This forced me to keep checking my journal for directions, which was frustrating. I get that some games want to encourage exploration by minimizing HUD elements, but I wish there was an option for clearer on-screen markers. As it stands, it just led to me wandering around aimlessly more often than I would have liked.
“…when I wasn’t getting stomped by unkillable river monsters or struggling with the UI, I genuinely enjoyed the combat in Atomfall.”
The RPG mechanics, on the other hand, feel surprisingly solid, rather than a traditional experience-based leveling system, Atomfall ties upgrades to specific items you find in the world. This means progression is directly tied to how well you explore. I focused on upgrading my stamina and health since I tend to play more aggressively. While I like this system in theory, I worry about how it will scale. If a player doesn’t find enough upgrade materials early on, they might end up severely underpowered later in the game. It’s one of those mechanics that could go either way—rewarding thorough exploration or punishing less observant players with an unfair difficulty spike.
Speaking of difficulty, let’s talk about those enemies. During my playtime, I encountered these plant-like creatures that sprouted out of the water and shot poison at me. No matter what I did, they would not die. I ran up to one and shot it four times with a shotgun, then emptied an entire pistol clip into it, and it still kept attacking me. This made fighting the cultists in the same area incredibly frustrating. To make matters worse, they seemed to be able to hit me through trees, which felt cheap rather than challenging. It was one of the more frustrating parts of my experience.
That said, when I wasn’t getting stomped by unkillable river monsters or struggling with the UI, I genuinely enjoyed the combat in Atomfall. It has a gritty, tactile feel that makes every fight feel intense. Bullet drop and damage output need to be considered, and you can’t just soak up bullets like a tank—you go down fast if you’re not careful. There’s a weightiness to both shooting and melee combat that makes every encounter feel tense and rewarding. I really want to see how this aspect evolves in the full game as we go up against more of what Rebellion has in store.
Weirdly, after playing Atomfall for an hour, I find myself feeling more cautious than excited. There’s definitely something here—the setting is fantastic, the combat has potential, and there are glimpses of interesting storytelling. But there are also some major concerns, particularly with mission tracking, weapon clarity, and potentially unfair difficulty scaling. I went in eager to love it, and while I didn’t walk away disappointed, I didn’t walk away fully convinced either. There’s just enough to keep me interested, but I need to see how the game holds up after more than just a brief glimpse. Here’s hoping that with some polish and refinement, Atomfall can live up to the potential that its premise promises.
