Nine years have passed since the release of Fallout 4, and those looking for a replacement will be disappointed. There are not many suitable alternatives, but one studio could change that in 2025.
What kind of game is Atomfall? The studio “Rebellion,” known primarily for its “Sniper Elite” titles, is venturing into a new project: Atomfall.
Atomfall is a single-player action survival game set in an alternative timeline of old Britain, using the real event of Windscale 1957 as its template.
A nuclear disaster has turned the northern part of England into a quarantine zone where people must fight for their survival. You, as a nameless survivor, must explore the open world, uncover the mystery behind the disaster, and above all, try to survive.
All of this sounds enticing, but what similarities do Atomfall and Fallout have, and what distinguishes the two games? We will show you.
Similarities: Open World and Retro-Futurism
What do both games have in common? Anyone who has spent countless hours in Fallout can feel at home when viewing the trailers for Atomfall. According to the gameplay trailer from Rebellion, Atomfall offers a vast world full of secrets that you can explore.
Alongside many locations, villages, and ruins, you will also enter abandoned facilities and bunkers to uncover the full extent of the disaster and fill your pockets. These are either guarded by soldiers, cultists, or large robots – almost just like in Fallout.
The world is also filled with many NPCs that can assist you in your investigations. They provide you with information about new places, people, and the history.
The combat system is similarly designed to Fallout’s first-person mode, but you do not have an automatic targeting system (V.A.T.S) and cannot switch to third-person view. In combat, you use all the weapons you can find on your travels.
From melee weapons like clubs and axes to old firearms like shotguns and pistols. Grenades are also present and can be crafted as needed with the crafting system.
In addition to a crafting system, there is also a manageable skill system. This affects your fights, interactions with NPCs, and the construction and upgrading of new weapons and items for combat.
However, there are also some aspects of Atomfall that Fallout does not share, which are more reminiscent of a survival game.
Differences: No Quest System and Character Creation
How do the games differ? If you want a classic quest system like in Fallout, we must disappoint you – it does not exist. You set your own quests by exploring your environment driven by wanderlust and curiosity.
Additionally, you cannot customize your playable protagonist. He or she is nameless, and their gender is unknown. Fallout also has its own brand of humor, while Atomfall adopts a much darker tone and even offers various horror elements through the abandoned locations, which hold some abominations.
Anyone looking for a new experience in a post-apocalyptic world, with a more realistic touch, should definitely check out Atomfall. The game releases on March 27, 2025, on Steam, PS4/PS5, and Xbox Series/One. For more on survival games, check out our comprehensive list: The 29 Best Survival Games for PS5, Steam, and Xbox
