"Atomfall Massacre: I Killed Everyone in a Frenzied Rage"

Join me on a thrilling journey through the English countryside, a 90-minute adventure with Atomfall, the new survival-action game from Sniper Elite developer, Rebellion. I recently visited a pub in North London for a pint and some hands-on playtime, and I left intrigued by Atomfall's open-ended mission design and its eerie atmosphere. In a moment of madness, I may have attacked everyone in sight, including an innocent old lady, with a cricket bat. Let me explain why.

In Atomfall, every NPC can be killed, from the lowliest grunt to the most crucial quest-giver. As I started the demo, I decided to test this design. My approach was far from elegant; barely two minutes into exploring this digital Cumbria, I triggered a tripwire alarm, forcing me to dispatch three alerted guards with the blunt end of a cricket bat, now baptized in blood.

Later, I looted a bow and arrow, and as an avid fan of archery in games, I quickly equipped it. Now armed for both long and short-range encounters, I let Mr. Cricket Bat rest. Nearby, a towering wicker man loomed, a nod to the folk horror undertones that form the foundation of this region in Atomfall's segmented world, composed of multiple "open zones." This eerie atmosphere enhances the mystery I'm trying to unravel: what exactly happened in this now-irradiated corner of England?

My musings were interrupted by a group of druids, likely connected to the wicker man. They became perfect targets for my new bow. One. Two. Three. They fell, and my mind shouted, "I'M ROBIN BLOODY HOOD," before I snapped back to reality in the London pub. It was only 10am, and I hadn't touched a drink yet.

The bow felt satisfying to use, but I was more intrigued by Atomfall's innovative stamina system. Instead of a traditional depleting and regenerating bar, the game uses a heart rate monitor that increases with physically demanding actions. Sprinting for too long can push your heart rate over 140 bpm, making it harder to aim accurately if you need to stop and fight. I later found a Bow Mastery skill manual that unlocked a perk to mitigate the impact of a high heart rate on drawing the bowstring. While the skill tree may not be the most complex, it offers enough flexibility to tailor your character's abilities to your preferred playstyle, whether it's stealth or gunplay.

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With my only achievement being a trail of dead druids, you might wonder about my overall goal. So did I. My aimless exploration of the Casterfall Woods region hadn't uncovered anything significant, so I followed my only lead: a note directing me to a herbalist, Mother Jago, near an old mine. Along the way, I noticed hints of a larger story, such as a shimmering, oily swirl of blues and purples over a power plant, the apparent cause of Britain's post-apocalyptic state. A ringing phone box delivered a creepy warning to stay out of the woods, but it was too late for that.

The path was dotted with environmental storytelling elements, like an old boathouse rigged with an unsettling alarm system, painted with the words "get lost" and surrounded by a mound of skulls and bones. Atomfall's atmosphere shifts from serene forests to zones of terror, reminiscent of Stalker more than Fallout, both in tone and game design.

After another druid massacre and looting their garden center home for herbs, I met Mother Jago at her quaint allotment retreat. Dressed in a plum-colored coat and a hat adorned with an animal skull and roses, she resembled Angela Lansbury if she'd turned to black magic aromatherapy. However, she offered only vague answers to my questions, reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures where you must explore every conversation for hints. Eventually, she offered valuable information in exchange for her herbalism book, which was held hostage at the druids' fortified castle. With a new lead, I set off across the map to retrieve it.

Atomfall's freeform design allowed me to approach the castle from any angle, so I chose a side attack. En route, I encountered a druid patrol near an abandoned petrol station, leading to the historic Battle of the Forecourt. I lobbed my only grenade into their midst, and though the enemy AI wasn't the most reactive, the satisfying explosion alerted archers further down the road. I halted their advance with a nail bomb, dodged their arrows, and closed in to snap necks and smash heads with my trusty bat. While the combat isn't top-tier, it's a fun sideshow to the main event of uncovering the world's secrets.

After sniping a few axe-wielding brutes, I entered the castle's outer walls and found a locked hut. A note with map coordinates suggested the keys were far to the southeast. Atomfall doesn't use objective markers, instead encouraging players to study the map and place their own markers. My hunch told me the book wasn't in the hut, so I headed to the central keep's front doors.

Inside, I found more druids to club but no sign of the book. I searched the dank hallways, finding only cloth and alcohol for crafting healing bandages. After ten minutes of searching, I found nothing. This exemplifies Atomfall's challenging mission design, which doesn't hold your hand. While it can be frustrating, I appreciate Rebellion's commitment to an explorative, detective-like experience.

With the book still elusive, I followed the map coordinates to find the keys, leading me to a poison plant monster. Rifle bullets had little effect, and I died quickly. Reloading my save, I used my Skyrim bunny-hopping skills to bypass the beast and collect the keys from a previous victim. Back at the hut, I found a perk point and ammo, but no herbalism book.

Feeling lost, I ventured into the castle's depths, where the druids conducted their rituals. I killed the High Priestess and her lackeys, found an SMG, a recipe for poison bombs, and an atomic battery, which seemed to open a new questline. Yet, the book remained missing.

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After my session ended, I learned the book was in the castle, on a table I'd walked past several times. Before that revelation, I believed the book was a ruse, leading me to kill Mother Jago in frustration. Searching her body, I found a recipe to combat the poison swamp monster, which she had intended to exchange for the book. We could have saved a lot of time.

Atomfall's runtime is substantial, with developers estimating a minimum of four to five hours to finish the story, and most players taking around 25 hours. The game offers varied experiences; another player at the demo session had an entirely different adventure, starting with a crashed helicopter and leading to a region filled with killer robots and mutants. Atomfall's depths and secrets are vast, and its obfuscated quest design rewards thorough exploration.

While some objectives might be too obscure for some players, Atomfall's blurred lines between side and main objectives add a thrilling sense of peril to every action. Its malleable plot encourages players to craft their own stories and find unique endings, explaining the events in the irradiated English countryside. Despite killing Mother Jago, I'll see the story's end, though it may differ greatly from others' experiences.

With my hands bloodied from the herbalist's demise and the chaos I'd caused, I embraced full-British mode: I took my cricket bat, headed to the pub, and waited for it all to blow over.