A secluded British town. A mysterious and potentially otherworldly threat. And a giant man made out of wood. Is this an episode of Doctor Who, the original Wicker Man, or what? While it could refer to a multitude of British speculative fiction, this time it’s a description of Atomfall. When the first trailer arrived for the action survival game last year, it immediately evoked classic British sci-fi and horror. The large wooden man and the incongruous red telephone booth in the woods advertise this immediately.
This is, of course, intentional. The team at Rebellion drew inspiration from a number of sources for the upcoming game. In terms of gameplay, Atomfall has seen numerous comparisons to Fallout. In a press preview earlier this month, lead developer Ben Fisher noted this as well as the more thematic inspirations. The team “looked at a few survival games and but also 1960s speculative fiction like Doctor Who, Day of the Triffids, The Wicker Man, and more.”
The speculative fiction inspirations prove particularly interesting for a variety of reasons. For one, not much is known about Atomfall’s story. The preview focused mostly on survival and combat. But Rebellion has promised a robust story focusing on...
