Atomfall Hands-On Preview – Post-Apocalyptic Survival Comes To The Picturesque English Countryside

Atomfall Hands-On Preview. You don’t tend to see many post-apocalyptic games venture to the English countryside, but that’s exactly what Sniper Elite creators Rebellion Entertainment have done with their latest new IP, Atomfall. Set in an alternate 1960s where the UK’s Windscale nuclear disaster resulted in much of Northern England reduced to a desolate wasteland, Atomfall wears its influences proudly on its sleeves; Fallout New Vegas was one of Rebellion’s main inspirations in terms of concept, but the picturesque backdrop of the sprawling UK countryside lends it a unique identity that really helps sell the atmosphere.

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I was able to go hands-on with about 90 minutes of Atomfall at a recent press event, which gave me free rein of game’s open world. Yes, there were objectives to tackle, but we were encouraged to pretty much do whatever we wanted to soak up the idlyllic setting.

Atomfall Hands-On Preview

My session dumped me in a storm drain in Casterfell Woods with a couple of skill points and a few weapons, including an axe, pistol and shotgun. Naturally, I immediately dipped into the menu and had a butcher’s at my skillset, which includes Ranged, Melee, Survival, and Conditioning. I only had two skill points to play with, so I invested in some extra health and increased the stagger effect of my character’s kick.

The buffs available here are what you’d expect, ranging from increasing the radius of throwable items, searching bodies at a faster rate, and more. With that done, I ventured off into the wilderness, and quickly got into a ruck with some irritated Druid folk, where I got my first taste of melee combat.

R1 and R2 govern your basic and powerful strikes, respectively, with blows feeling appropriately crunchy on impact. You can’t just mash the same button over again; enemies will dodge and counter you with their own attacks, forcing you to think about your timing and use a well-placed kick to regain momentum. A few solid whacks and you’re brown bread, so every strike and well-timed dodge counts.

Long-range combat is a lot more forgiving. I was able to land headshots with the bow & arrow or rifle despite my aim not being entirely spot on, although it helped that enemies seemed content to charge mindlessly at me in a straight line, letting me line up my attacks. Clearly the AI is still being tweaked at this point, although foes armed with bows were pretty lethal in their accuracy.

One of Atomfall’s key aspects is the heart rate monitor, which governs pretty much everything you do. Running, swinging a weapon etc increase your heart rate, which means your vision becomes blurred and sound distorted. While it may seem gimmicky at first, it’s actually a great wrinkle to the core gameplay look that adds a nice strategic layer to battles, as you have to consider your actions more carefully; it makes your character feel vulnerable and human, with every counter carrying significant weight.

Try lining up a headshot on an axe-wielding foe as he approaches with manic bloodlust as your heart is thumping away; the blurred vision and distorted sound makes for quite a nerve-rattling experience.

Speaking of baddies, I went up against chanting Druids that attacked anyone within their territory on sight, as well as gnarly infected sorts known as Ferals, which were able to infect me with some sort of bizarre illness that had my hearing voices calling them to “join us.” Creepy stuff, although it’s curable.

There’s plenty of freedom in regards to how you go about encounters, too. I was able to surreptitiously find my way around patrols and sneak up on unsuspecting foes to deliver a neck-snapping instant kill, so you don’t feel forced to tackle situations head-on.

Atomfall is a game of survival, so you’ll be hoovering up all sorts of bits and bobs on your journey to help you stay alive. A crafting menu confirms you’ll be able to cobble together items in categories such as consumables, throwables, and upgrades, although during my hands-on I was restricted to a basic healing item. You’re also given a metal detector to hunt around for hidden caches, so clearly you’re encouraged to soak up as much of the environment as possible; the sense of freedom is rewarding and hopefully keeps up the pace well beyond what I was able to experience.

The British countryside makes for a stunning backdrop, with lush forests and green hills contrasting with the dilapidated towns and abandoned machinery. Notes left behind by survivors paint a grim picture of the struggles in the post-apocalyptic world, while crumbling castle ruins have been turned into makeshift camps for enemies, offering a nice change of pace as you creep around corners attempting to avoid detection.

Rebellion has leaned heavily on environmental storytelling in Atomfall. A crashed chopper lies in a field, an audio log containing the panicked ramblings of its lone survivor; a boatyard lies abandoned now serves as an industrial graveyard; tunnels are punctuated with the wrecks of automobiles; and deserted houses recall the busy lives of its occupants, now frozen in time. It’s great stuff, and serves well to immerse you in Atomfall’s picturesque British backdrop.

In fact, I spent most of my time just exploring and soaking up the atmosphere during my hands-on, content to enjoy the freedom while getting to grips with the combat system. That said, I did partake in a quest involving the eldery Mother Jango, who informed me of a cure for the aforementioned ‘voice’ illness, the ingredients of which are found in a nearby castle stronghold. I made a beeline for it, and ended my session getting well and truly battered by its fierce occupants. You can’t win them all, eh?

From my time with Atomfall, it’s evident that Rebellion is cooking up a familiar post-apocalyptic concoction that still manages to feel fresh and carve out its own identity. While there’s still wrinkles to iron out at this point, the crunchy combat and wonderfully atmospheric locations are oozing with promise and it’ll be interesting to see how the final product shapes up.

Atomfall is due out on March 27, 2025 for PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. Thanks to LickPR and Rebellion for the opportunity to play Atomfall ahead of release.