S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a classic game series about survival in a familiar yet alien land doused with radiation from one of worst nuclear disasters in human history. The series offers many gameplay hooks to keep players interested, even if it sports tons of classic Eurojank to accompany the big ideas. At first glance, Atomfall seems like an overly British version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Give it some time, and you'll find that the game produces something quite different.

In 1957, a fire broke out in the Windscale nuclear power plant in Northern England. The fire lasted for three days, and while no one died, the suspicion of radioactivity caused the government to throw away goods from the area for a month. The game takes place roughly five years after that real-life incident in an alternate reality where the area fell under quarantine. Society in the affected zone has changed, local wildlife and humans have been altered by the radiation, and there seems to be more going on beyond the presence of a nuclear power plant. You play the role of a mysterious person who awoke in a bunker inside the quarantine zone. With no recollection of who you are or how you got there, your only goal is to find out what's going on.

The setup for the story is a familiar trope in video games. We've seen the amnesiac protagonist enough that it's not so exciting to have another one. While you can't hear what your character is saying, you're given enough prompts in a conversation that your character isn't silent. There are a few things that keep the story compelling. The first thing is the characters that provide quests and the shopkeepers. Both groups have their own eccentric backstories, and their introductions are well paced throughout the journey. The other element that helps the story is the setting. Most games tend to use North America as their setting for apocalyptic events, and a good number use the Chernobyl site due to the success of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Seeing the game use the quaint villages and open fields of Northern England is a breath of fresh air. It's refreshing to see the extensive greenery and vegetation, even if it's amongst ruined houses and rusted metals, which have become signature pieces of a world gone wrong.

One part of the story that can be divisive is its use of mystery. There's a prevailing sense that you're never told the whole story in every situation. You get the sense that a few of the major players don't trust each other, but there's never a full explanation. By the time you reach the end credits, there's still a sense that the ending you get never provides a clear conclusion, so you're left with more questions than answers. Granted, we only uncovered two of the reported six endings. It's difficult to discern whether these were considered good or bad endings in the grand scheme of the game. Depending on how you deal with those conclusions, you'll either remain intrigued enough to go for another run or dismayed by the lack of a satisfactory ending.

From a gameplay perspective, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. comparisons begin and end with the use of a real-life nuclear disaster for the setting. There's more of a modern Fallout vibe, as there are no survival traits like hunger or thirst to manage, but the game features big open areas connected to one another by doorways and other passageways. There are different factions roving each area, from the army to outlaw gangs to pagans. Amidst the idyllic countryside, you'll run into bunkers and bases covered in dust; the locations are equipped with modern technology and can still function if you can provide power. Robots are big clunky beasts that are tough to take down, and there's still some wildlife that look somewhat normal but have been greatly affected by the radiation. For example, rats will swarm and act more aggressively, while the bees are larger and sport a rainbow of fluorescent colors. When you do run into people who don't attack you on sight, you'll be given different prompts to respond to, each with their own status that provides an idea of the direction that the conversation will take.

When it comes to combat, the first-person perspective means that you can do some shooting. Given Rebellion's past work, it shouldn't be a surprise that the shooting mechanic feels good, whether you've got a rusty gun or one in pristine condition. However, ammo in this game is scarce enough that even if you're good enough to kill someone in two to three shots, you'll feel pressured to not shoot unless it's absolutely necessary. You'll rely on melee weapons, which can include homemade shivs, sickles, a makeshift machete, and a cricket bat. Each weapon is given a damage rating and speed at which you'll be able to land a blow. Some weapons even have bonus abilities, like the chance to make someone bleed.

To prevent you from mindlessly swinging away, the game incorporates a pulse system that acts similar to a stamina meter. The system forces you to limit your staggering kicks, punches, and weapon swings before your pulse gets too high. You can't do anything for a second; this is explained by the fact that you aren't a soldier who's trained for this kind of thing. In practice, the pulse meter isn't that limiting, but you will want to know your weapon timing, since taking on a ton of enemies at once with melee attacks is asking for a quick death. For those thinking about using guns anyway, you fire less accurately if your heart rate is up. You might stick with melee weapons since they can be thrown, and some can even be retrieved from dead bodies. The only thing you can't do is perform melee attacks with guns.

Going for an aggressive approach only works if you've put the game on the lowest difficulty, so you'll spend a decent deal of time practicing stealth when enemies are around. You can go behind some foes to take them down, and the game relies on basic stealth mechanics like sight and sound to determine whether you get spotted. It doesn't go beyond this; you can't move bodies, so expect to be caught if you take down anyone in the immediate area.

Unlike the combat, the stealth portion isn't as polished. When it comes to vegetation, hiding only occurs when you're in certain tall grass patches, so enemies can still see you even if you're trying to hide behind a tree. Most enemies tend to give up the chase rather easily, so you'll hear them ask if you've disappeared when you go behind a wall or close a door. The callouts are sometimes falsely thrown out, as you'll find those same foes going to your location and opening doors to find you. It makes the process feel even more unreliable when they spot you through some doors anyway.

While chunks of Atomfall are reminiscent of other titles, there are a few distinct elements that the title brings to the table. Shopkeepers only deal in a barter system, so everything you find is considered valuable. Every trader places a different value on items, so this is where you'll need to be economical about what you carry since you can't upgrade your backpack capacity. Unless you're dealing with feral beings or robots, you can avoid a good deal of fights by running away. Most enemies will not go into a fighting mode and would rather threaten you. Also, anyone can die, including quest-givers, but the game never places you in an unwinnable state because of it. The multiple endings ensure that you'll always find a way to the end credits, and there's never a situation where you're stuck. There's always a method for getting the item you need without having to resort to massive backtracking.

One of the most striking mechanics is the lack of quest markers and accompanying directions. Using a system that the developers are calling Leads, you're given a general idea of where to go for a quest. If you're lucky, you'll get a location marked on your map, but you won't automatically get an on-screen marker. You can place a marker on the map to get the on-screen waypoint to appear, but you'll relying on your own navigational and observational skills to complete your tasks. You won't get step-by-step instructions on how to complete the quest, though.

The system works quite well in practice, as it forces you to explore everything instead of making a beeline for the main quests. The areas have plenty to explore, and while some of those diversions lead to hidden weapons and upgrade caches, others lead to pieces of lore that flesh out the world. Other diversions prove to be more fruitful, as you'll come across items that lead to questlines that either align with whomever you side with or lead to someone you didn't know was giving out quests. The system counteracts the complaints some have about games that guide players too much.

The overall sense of freedom and discovery makes the game appealing, but it helps creates situations where things don't work as expected. One such situation happened early on, when I went into the village and found the head of army personnel. Since I didn't like his initial attitude toward me, I killed him and his subordinates who were in the same building, and I let a villager in the same room escape. As expected, I was locked out of his potential quests, but there was no backlash from the other soldiers for killing their leader. Considering that the village hated the army, it was no surprise that the escaping villager didn't say a word. Even toward the back half of the game, the soldiers never turned on me, no matter how much time had passed and no matter how many times I kept going in and out of the area. Whether you view this as a bad thing is dependent on how difficult you want the game to be when you're sowing chaos, but it is worth noting that trying to break the game can only go so far.

Graphically, Atomfall is fine. The character models are good, but don't expect any creatures to be hideously grotesque. The most you'll get are former humans with graying skin, a gaunt physique, and glowing eyes. Everyone's animations are fine, but there are moments when NPCs will warp to an area while walking, and you may catch a moment when their eyes are close to being dead. The lush environments look very nice, but stone and other similar structures can sometimes exhibit detail texture replacement as you move. Some textures never resolve beyond their low resolution one. The frame rate holds up well on a variety of machines, and the game supports ultrawide resolutions without much trouble. Don't expect any HDR, ray tracing, or even any of the major upscaling technologies on this title. It's all raw performance or nothing else powering this one.

Just like the graphics, the audio can be considered mostly fine. The sound effects have a heft, so melee attacks sound like they hit hard. Footsteps from the towering robots are loud and deep enough to elicit fear when they're nearby, even if the machines aren't actively hunting you. The music is moody enough, but it is used sparingly, and you'll mostly notice it when enemies have spotted you or go into alert status. The voices are the highlight, as they're full of various British accents and slang that have no explanations, but you'll quickly understand the meaning. The only knock is that you'll hear various lines repeated often and sometimes in quick succession.

Atomfall got the Verified status for the Steam Deck before its launch, and the good news is that this is an accurate rating. The game is displayed in the device's native 1280x800 once you get past the title screen. With a medium preset all around, the frame rate can hit 60fps in indoor areas, but it can also fluctuate between 37-60fps when outdoors. Considering that this isn't a title that requires quick reactions, it would be ideal to lock the frame rate to 30fps or 40fps via the device's settings. You'll also want to do that to save on battery life. The MangoHUD readings can go from between one-and-a-half hours and two-and-a-half hours, depending on where you're at in the game. The game still looks and performs well on the Deck if you can stand the high system fans going on at almost all times.

Atomfall is a fascinating yet familiar game. The story is mysterious, even if the ending might not be that conclusive. The freedom that lies within is very appealing, as is the predominant use of melee versus firearms. The presentation is fine, and while other elements of the game (like stealth) are flawed, those issues are outweighed by the previously mentioned positives. Atomfall is well worth checking out for those looking for a very different experience.

Score: 8.0/10