For seven years now, British developer Revolt has honed and enhanced its craft on iterative sequels. A second Evil Genius, a fourth Zombie Military, a fifth Sniper Elite — all completely good to nice video games in their very own proper, however based mostly on an already fine-tuned method. Atomfall, then, the studio’s first new IP since Unusual Brigade, represents an eye catching break from that norm.
With shades of Disco Elysium and immersive sims like Deus Ex and PREY, the workforce has swapped simple motion for thriller and suspense. It’s about meddling in locations you don’t belong, working for and in opposition to folks to get what you need, and discovering a manner out of an English quarantine zone. It’s an idea so properly executed that Atomfall clears Revolt’s previous efforts to turn into its best achievement so far.
Set within the picturesque Lake District of northern England, the village of Wyndham and its environment have been closed off from the skin world for 5 years. The sport makes use of the real-life Windscale nuclear catastrophe and creates an alternate timeline the place the as soon as peaceable countryside surrounding the plant by no means recovered. The village now finds itself beneath authorities management, with robots patrolling the streets and violent, excessive clans searching anybody not sporting their colors outdoors of its partitions.
You get up at some point in a bunker contained in the quarantine zone with probably the most candid of aims: escape. As everyone knows, nonetheless, it’s by no means that easy. Conspiracy theories and rumours are rife all through the village, and you will need to separate truth from fiction as a way to trend a dependable getaway. The magic of Atomfall is there’s no assure your discoveries will even result in something of word — deadends are frequent and false hope is frequent. As such, the expertise turns into one you’ll wish to poke and prod to see the way it reacts again (and probably reload a save), at all times doubtful over whether or not you’ve been manipulated into taking the fallacious path.
The title presents this investigation to you within the type of Leads, that are a substitute for the standard RPG quests system. As a substitute of markers routinely littering a map, you’ll discuss to folks and discover notes that reveal extra concerning the world as you go alongside. These clues are then documented and grouped collectively so you possibly can discover an general concept of escape relatively than finishing a singular goal in isolation.
Areas will likely be marked in your map based mostly on the proof you discover, opening up extra locations to pursue the hearsay and work out whether or not it’s a viable technique to go away the quarantine zone or not. There are simply as some ways to interrupt free and end the sport as there usually are not, making the expertise ripe for replay to see what alternatives you missed the primary time.
Tying all these inquiries collectively is a gameplay loop of exploring, speaking, crafting, and the occasional capturing. The sport adopts an open zone construction, with Wyndham Village at its centre and a handful of various areas surrounding it, all accessed by quick load screens. Inside its partitions, Wyndham prioritises the investigation by character interactions and sneaking previous guards. Exterior of them, killing cult members — both with a gun or melee weapons — replaces any introductory pleasantries.
You could scavenge for provides, assets, and ammo to outlive out within the wild, however there’s greater than sufficient to go round. Whereas it’s been marketed as a “survival-action recreation”, the crafting system is the one mechanic that comes near one thing you’d count on of a survival expertise. You don’t have to handle any starvation, thirst, or sleep meters — there’s nothing near that in Atomfall. And even then, we had been by no means low on therapeutic gadgets or bullets, permitting us full freedom in how we approached any state of affairs.
That is, for all intents and functions, a standard motion recreation if you determine to battle again in opposition to the cults — nevertheless it’s additionally the place the expertise slips considerably. The melee fight and gunplay are each a bit of clunky, with disappointing hit suggestions that makes swinging the likes of cricket bats and knives notably unfulfilling.
There’s additionally a stealth system and a easy trespassing mechanic for locations you’re not imagined to be in, alerting close by enemies if you’re noticed. Each really feel tacked on, nonetheless. Regardless of it clearly not being the principle focus of the sport, you interact in fight typically sufficient for it to remove from the general expertise. Atomfall is much and away at its finest if you’re pursuing Leads by dialog and espionage because the countryside’s James Bond, not bashing an enemy’s head in with a cricket bat.
Revolt not less than does a unbelievable job of guaranteeing you’re partaking with the previous as a lot as potential because of an exquisite recreation of a typical, quaint English village. Hailing from the UK, we instantly fell in love with Wyndham and its dry stone partitions, pub, and the identical model of village corridor with a stage all over the place appears to have.
Complementing the setting is social and political commentary performed over loudspeakers all through Wyndham that makes enjoyable of varied British stereotypes and themes, together with Conservative slogans from the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of the magic will likely be misplaced on gamers from outdoors of the UK. Nevertheless, for anybody who can establish with that small-town nature the place everybody is aware of one another, and native gossip and grudges are the discuss of the place, then Wyndham proves a particular setting.
On the PS5 Professional not less than, all of it runs excellently too. Save for a rogue audio cutout problem, the sport performs at a really clean 60 frames-per-second with respectable visuals to match. Wyndham appears beautiful regardless of the ruins round its perimeter, and the encircling zones are simply as a lot of a deal with to discover with fascinating landmarks and attractive underground areas.
Conclusion
Atomfall commits to embodying every little thing it means to be British, and it comes out the opposite aspect all the higher for it. The thriller on the coronary heart of the alternate Nineteen Sixties setting is gripping, perpetually teasing clues and options to a manner out of its rural quarantine zone. Its fight techniques and mechanics let the expertise down, however Revolt’s newest peaks when it makes you the countryside’s Inspector Gadget with a bunch of Results in pursue and villagefolk to suspect.
