Atomfall is a game that interested me all the way from its first trailers. Now that I've finally got my hands on it, I had a very enjoyable experience. It took me 30-ish hours to finish the whole thing, with significant exploration and DLC content included.

Atomfall might at first seem like a Fallout/Stalker like experience but going into this game and expecting a Bethesda style open world or super immersive survival of Stalker will lead to disappointment. Atomfall is a much more contained experience, with a handful of densely populated and pictoresque maps each acting as its own little ecosystem. The game doesn't exactly have quests but rather it has ''leads'' all pushing you towards a selection of endings at the central location, the Windscale nuclear power plant. As such, the game has a very Breath of the Wild/Elden Ring style of progression where, if you know what to do, you can easily breeze through the game in a very short notice. Thankfully, the world is fun and interesting to explore, with a metric ton of interesting characters and enviromental storytelling acting as excellent distractions, pulling you in to stay in the hills of Northern England a wee bit longer.

However, I do believe the expansions are somewhat neccesary to prolong this stay as they weave into the gameworld acting as extra 2 hefty open maps for you to explore, with quests, skills, weapons and content that pours into the base game. DLC packs also add extra story endings. If you get a chance, absolutely get the complete edition for, well, complete experience.

Game is absolutely NOT perfect, however. The full sandbox freedom will inevitably mess with your pacing when it comes to things like gear or skipping entire portions of investigative plot. You can VERY easily get your hands on end game weapons in matter of an hour even without exactly knowing what you are doing. The weapon system of rusty/stock/pristine is NOT a survival mechanic, its far more closer to a rarity system (common/uncommon/rare) as weapon state only affects its stats and looks and nothing else. With learning how to upgrade weapon tiers through crafting and killing few soldiers in easy to reach area, you will very quickly make a lot of weapons almost completely obsolete. This is especially apparent with shotguns as your selection boils down to a single shot, double barrel and semi automatic tube fed shotgun. Once you get your hands on the semi automatic one, the rest literally become irrelevant. Rest of the weaponry acts pretty much the same way. As such, weapon progression is short and VERY fast to go through.

This game also is NOT an rpg and is far more comparable to an action adventure game with perks, not unlike something like Far Cry. Perks are almost all completely passive as well (more X, faster Y, extra Z when healing, etc) and do not allow for specialized builds UNLESS you roleplay with self imposed rules. Once you find weapons that do the job best, you will basically stick with them the entire game.
Not to mention, the combat is pretty solid yet also somewhat annoying. Melee combat is missing critical features like blocking and dodging, making most melee encounters a slap fight of exchanging damage while gunplay is very satisfying but not always encouraged due to lack of ammunition.

Despite its flaws, Atomfall still ends up victorious as it has an immense amount of charm, enjoyable exploration, lots and lots of lore and the lead system genuinely reminds me of classic rpg's where you had to deduce locations and solutions yourself. These ''distractions'' and systems result in a game that masterfully masks its less than ideal decisions and mechanics and ensures the overall experience stays consistent. By the time of me finishing the story and majority of leads, I felt the game wraps it up right by the time it starts to overstay its welcome.

All in all, Atomfall firmly sits at the respectable table of games that are just solid overall. Nothing groundbreaking but filled with soul and enough engaging elements to keep you satisfied. It will hardly win any ''best game eveeerrrr!'' accolades but it doesnt have to. Its ambitious in places where it matters, its filled to brim with heart and love for the setting itself and knows when it has to end, respecting your time. Well worth a buy on a solid sale for complete edition and especially worth if you live in Northern England as this game will, literally, feel like home. Considering the sales were good and the game is considered a success, I am expecting improvements to the formula for any sequel that might come. Right now the game will remain a positive memory, a simple satisfaction elusive of eating a warm cornish pasty in a homely bakery on a rainy morning. Not lifechanging, just purely enjoyable.

A very nice, but fairly short game. A bit like if Fallout was set in an alternate 1960s in the Lake District. Nice FPS combat with weapon upgrades and fighting preferences with stealth being a viable option. An array of interesting characters and a few decent areas to explore with endings based on your choices. It's a 30hr base game at most, but a fun ride.

AtomFall really is the closest thing to “Fallout, but in Europe,” and honestly, that’s part of its charm. It leans into that survival‑resource‑management vibe with a fresh setting, great atmosphere, and some genuinely impressive visuals. With everything on Ultra, the world looks fantastic — dark, moody, and full of little details that pull you in. And as you progress, that subtle blue tint starts showing up more and more, especially in the infected. Blue eyes, blue‑tinted skin… and by the time you reach the Oberon section, the whole aesthetic goes full surreal.

The story is interesting and gives you some freedom in how things play out. It’s not linear in the traditional sense — your choices actually affect how people treat you and which escape routes open up at the end. No matter what path you take, everything eventually leads you to Oberon, but the journey there can feel different depending on your decisions.

Gameplay‑wise, it’s solid. The tools, like the signal redirector, add some fun twists, and the sound design and atmosphere do exactly what they need to. Nothing about the game is bad — it’s just not the kind of experience that made me stop and go “wow, this is something special.” It’s good, not great.

It’s a quick, satisfying weekend game. I finished it in about 15 hours, and it’s perfect if you’re trying to clear out your backlog or want something that scratches that Fallout itch with modern graphics and a new setting. Definitely worth grabbing on sale or if you want to support smaller devs.

Overall, I’d give AtomFall a 6.5/10 — a good, enjoyable experience that does its job well, even if it doesn’t push into amazing territory.