Atomfall is Rebellion’s newest first-person shooting RPG, where they explore a new genre. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

Atomfall Review Overview

What is Atomfall?

Atomfall is a first-person action-survival RPG where you explore a post-apocalyptic quarantine zone. Set in a parallel timeline five years after the real-life events of the nuclear disaster that happened in Windscale, players must fight to survive against the dangers in the region. Players will have to find their way around the British countryside, looking for different resources for crafting, items for bartering, and leads to pursue the truth of what happened five years ago.

Atomfall features:
　⚫︎　 First Person Shooter RPG
　⚫︎　 Post-Apocalyptic British Countryside Setting
　⚫︎　 Basic Crafting System and Skill Tree Progression
　⚫︎　 Open-Ended RPG

For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Atomfall’s gameplay and story.

Atomfall
Steam		Epic		PlayStation		Xbox

Atomfall Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Engaging Narrative Play Your Way Massive Accessibility Options	Not Much to Role Play Unsatisfying Combat No Fast Travel

Atomfall Overall - 70/100

Atomfall is a great showcase of what Rebellion is capable of. It’s a perfect experiment to find out the points of improvement for them to create games in a similar genre and a good sign for their future releases.

Atomfall Story - 9/10

While the whole narrative of Atomfall is made up of what you’d see from other games with the same themes, it doesn’t make it any less engaging and gripping. The "Hansel and Gretel" approach makes the story so much more entertaining. However, the lack of personality from its preset static protagonist is a missed opportunity to have a more personal involvement with the different characters in the game.

Atomfall Gameplay - 6/10

When played in its recommended settings, Atomfall’s gameplay loop is what brings everything together. It’s natural that an unknown amnesiac character with an unknown backstory would be compelled to search for answers similar to how the player will have to look for leads to piece together and find out the truth. Sadly, it’s not all great, as the combat could use a lot of improvement. The difficult early game paired with the clunky combat does not make for a great experience.

Atomfall Visuals - 7/10

In terms of visuals, Atomfall is as good as it gets. The environments, backdrops, character designs, and the like add to the game’s visual storytelling. Of course, it doesn’t mean that the game is drop-dead gorgeous, but it’s good enough to be one of the aspects that doesn’t bring it down.

Atomfall Audio - 6/10

Atomfall’s audio design is decent. The voice acting is its most noticeable strength, but nothing else really stands out to elevate the audio aspect to a higher level.

Atomfall Value for Money - 7/10

Priced at $59.99, Atomfall is a great open-world, make-your-own narrative sandbox. Its strengths lie in chasing leads and how the player interacts with the world with the information given. It’s best if you don’t compare the game to the likes of Fallout, despite the similar theme, as expecting it to play the same would lead to disappointment.

Atomfall Review: An Ambitious Stroll Through Britain's Countryside

When Rebellion announced that they were going to release an open-world RPG, I was admittedly shocked. Shocked because of the theme they were going for as well as their ambition to go for something very different compared to the games that they’re known for. It’s not every day you see a company experiment with different genres that have a small semblance of their expertise. I’ll give them props for releasing a post-apocalyptic, survival, first-person shooter RPG, knowing full well that they’ll have to live with being compared to the likes of Fallout. Yet, somehow, Rebellion was able to set their game apart despite the similarities and was able to show that they’re capable of stepping into new genres.

Not Your Average Post-Apocalypse

Atomfall’s scenery is already a huge stark contrast to its main comparison. Aside from the obvious difference in setting, specifically the country where the game is held, Atomfall has a ton of overgrown forests combined with dilapidated buildings and science facilities. It’s set in a quarantine zone, where the people trapped inside learn to survive through barter, scavenging, and looting. It’s a far cry from the common bleak presentation we get from games that have the same theme and already set themselves apart from the competition.

Aside from its visuals, one big aspect that makes it different from other games is its barter system. In the game, no currency exists. This means that everything you have in your bag is up for exchange; this includes keys, scrap, weapons, and more. While this type of trading isn’t exactly a novel idea, it’s a great way to tie together one of the important aspects of the gameplay.

To add to the game’s good points, the amount of accessibility options is also quite staggering. One could even say that it rivals other AAA games with how much options they offer to players for a better gameplay experience.

Going Your Own Way

Atomfall’s narrative is also built on a solid foundation built on its premise and how the game is structured—if you play the way the developers intend that is. You open the game with a task to get to a faraway science facility, and as soon as you get out, that’s it. There are no quest markers and no waypoints to show you the way to your next objective.

All you have is a lead, which functions as your guide to know what’s going on. As you explore more of the game and interact with the different characters, find certain items, and visit certain places, you’ll start to gather more information to help you make decisions throughout your journey. It’ll also start to make sense that the game is built around its freedom, where you can choose the way to solve certain problems in different ways.

This is where the game’s creativity comes into play since sometimes the best solution is a bullet to someone’s head. It’s a fairly open-ended game that shines with how much you want to explore the world, and the combination of the breadcrumbs of information plus being able to resolve quests in different ways opens up a completely different experience for each player.

The Ugly: Combat, Role-Playing, and Progression

While the gameplay loop does have its moments, there are glaring weaknesses that the game suffers from. First among these is the combat. It’s slow, cumbersome, and very awkward when you first start playing the game. The ranged combat is decent enough, but the melee combat needs a lot of improvement. This example rears its ugly head early on, as the first few hours of the game are spent by you trying to move around huge groups of enemies to get to different areas of interest armed with scraps. The combat doesn’t have to be easier if that’s the concern; it just has to feel better since the sluggish pace paired with the clunky attacks make for a pretty bad experience.

Second, it lacks customization. The most important part of being an RPG is being able to role-play. Since the game lacks character customization, you’re left with a silent protagonist with no personality. Sure, you can mold the character based on the choices you make, but it may have been better if your character was by your own design instead of trying to imagine what they look like.

Lastly, the skill progression. Skill progression in the game is pretty scarce. It doesn’t have the traditional EXP system that most RPGs do since the skill tree requires you to gain points from specific items. There are also various manuals for you to read so that you can learn even more skills to help you survive. The main problem is that these skills are shallow. They mostly just increase profits, let you disarm traps, and the like. There are skills that you should immediately try to get as soon you have the points to learn them, but it’ll definitely take more time than you’d initially think.

A Promising Experiment

So is Atomfall a groundbreaking success? Probably not. But it is a successful experiment on Rebellion’s end, where they showed that they do have the capability to craft an engaging and compelling open-world game. Additionally, they can also see the main issues of the game clearly, which also means that there’s nowhere to go but upward with this specific IP. I honestly think that the Atomfall IP is promising, and the next games from here on out will be worth paying attention to.

Is Atomfall Worth It?

Great for Post-Apocalyptic Fans, But Don’t Expect Amazing Combat

Regardless of what you think about the game’s similarities and differences, Atomfall is a good game for those who love post-apocalyptic themes and how they shape the people of that world. However, it’s not recommended for those who wish to have in-depth customization and amazing combat, as both of these are its biggest weaknesses in terms of its gameplay.

It's built on the notion that players will explore the world and chase leads to see the bigger picture, as well as interact with the world’s key figures to find out the motivations behind each faction that exists in that contained world. It’s akin to something like Fallout: New Vegas’ freeform approach to completing quests, with multiple available approaches to finishing a certain quest. We highly recommend the game to those who enjoy exploration and investigation, as it’s more of a free investigative game than a full-fledged RPG.

Digital Storefronts
Steam		Epic		PlayStation		Xbox
$59.99

Atomfall FAQ

Will Atomfall Be Available on Xbox Game Pass?

Yes. Atomfall will be available on Xbox Game Pass by the time the game’s standard edition is released.

Does Atomfall Have Voice Acting?

Yes. However, the game is only limited to English voice acting only.

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Atomfall Product Information

Title	ATOMFALL
Release Date	March 27, 2025
Developer	Rebellion
Publisher	Rebellion
Supported Platforms	PC (Steam, Epic), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Genre	Survival, Action, Adventure, RPG
Number of Players	1
ESRB Rating	M 17+
Official Website	Atomfall Official Website

Michael Gerra-Clarin

Resident fighting game nerd, avid FFXIV fan, and enjoyer of mostly anything gaming. He is currently addicted to gambling in TFT and dying to Light Rampant in Futures Rewritten Ultimate.