Atomfall has been described as British Fallout by many, and that’s what pulled me into the preview at Gamescom this year. However, after 20 minutes of running around the Northern England countryside, struggling to survive a single combat encounter, I feel that it both is and isn’t British Fallout. Whatever it is, it shows a lot of promise.
Developed by Rebellion, this survival action game takes place five years after the Windscale fire, a real event from 1957. This nuclear disaster is the backdrop for Atomfall, as the player is dropped into a quarantine zone.
Don’t let the radiation fool you - Atomfall sets itself apart from Fallout very quickly. The most glaring difference is the combat, which is far more punishing here. It might feel similar at first, as you run around an open world with a linear map pointing out different landmarks, but that’s where the similarities end. This isn’t a shooter with RPG mechanics, it’s just a shooter. With that, it has far more realism than Fallout concerns itself with.
Atomfall is shaping up to be far more than just British Fallout.
Here, each bullet counts. I found far less ammo lying around here than I’m used...
