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The robots are angry.
The accents are northern.
The atoms have fallen.
Having played through the game, though, Im not quite sure thats the case.
Sure,the aesthetics are spot on.
Its very twee, very British, and its got retrofuturistic robots.
Ergo,British Fallout.
Your perks dont really matter, you cant fast travel, and theres no Deathclaw-smiting power fantasy.
Atomfall Has The Fallout Aesthetic, But Not The Gameplay
Honestly, this is refreshing.
I got very bored of Bethesdas world in Fallout 4.
Soon youre all kitted out in pristine gear with more bottlecaps than you know how to spend.
That may float some peoples zeppelins, but it ruins the immersion of post-apocalyptic scarcity for me.
Atomfall tackles this problem in a few ways.
First, there is no currency in the quarantine zone.
You must barter with shopkeepers on an equal trade basis.
The value of your items versus theirs.
Some vendors may not think bandages are valuable, so they wont offer many items in exchange.
Combined with (very) limited inventory space, this means you could never be hoarding currency.
You cant just buy as many medkits as you need the moment you use all of yours.
You must loot your fallen enemies corpses and trade whatever slim pickings you find to restock the important stuff.
If youre ambushed between your encounter and the vendor?
Tough luck, youll have to muddle through with a cuppa and a prayer.
No vehicles, either.
This is a methodical, slow-paced affair.
The simplest way to kill someone is with a sneak attack from behind, which instantly takes them out.
If theres a solo foe you cannot avoid, this is the way.
You cant play out these encounters like a Bethesda Fallout game.
Shooting in Atomfall is awkward.
This is something I didnt expect from the developers behind the Sniper Elite series, but its clearly deliberate.
The strongest guns are often the least accurate.
Atomfall rewards stealth and creativity.
Funnily enough, this reminds me of Rebellion Developments own Sniper Elite.
Whats the best position to hide out in?
How can you take out these five soldiers without alerting the others?
How can you steal a bunch of scrap without killing anyone at all?
The more I played Atomfall, the less it reminded me of modern Fallout games.
I gotStalker, I got Sniper Elite.
I didnt get Fallout.
Conversations are not limited by your stat distribution.
In fact, there is no stat distribution.
Youre just a bloke.
Theyre not game-breaking upgrades that fill you full of super serum and turn you into Captain Cumbria.
Theyre incremental upgrades that reward your chosen approach to the game.
Atomfall still has that Falloutesque visage.
Its got that twee, retro-British feel that makes me so uncomfortable.
Its got the robots and zombie-like creatures.
But Atomfall couldnt be further from a Fallout game.
And thats the biggest compliment I could give it.
