With Atomfall finally out in the wild for a few days now on Xbox Game Pass, we want to know what you make of the game so far! Yep, Developer Rebellion launched its new IP just a few days ago, and it arrived on Microsoft's Game Pass Ultimate service day one.
Here at Pure Xbox, we've been pretty impressed with Atomfall so far. We really like the freedom that Sniper Elite dev Rebellion has managed to weave into its disastrous depiction of the Lake District - and we're hooked into finding out where this journey ends up. We haven't rolled credits yet, but we're still fully engrossed, which is as good a sign as any.
Having said that, we're no tech experts over here at PX HQ, and the game has maybe fallen a little flatter in that regard. The folks over at Digital Foundry have expressed their disappointment in how 'last-gen' the game looks and feels - which is perhaps understandable given Rebellion opted for another cross-gen release with Atomfall. Have you experienced similar feelings so far? Would that factor into your overall rating of the game?
Anyway, enough blabbering on, we'll throw a tasty Atomfall poll down below so you can tell us how highly you rate the game so far. In the meantime, we'll be hopping back into this intriguing post-apocalyptic world to see what other mysteries we can uncover, and who else we can bash in with a cricket bat.
Go ahead and explain your score in the comments section below!
Comments 33
At first I was really enjoying it. But an hour or so in the amount of outlaws and limited resources means I'm enjoying it less. I know that's the point, but it's not my sort of thing. I'm intrigued by the story though so I'm trying to decide whether to make it easier or just admit it's not for me and stop...
@LaurenceJ1987
Makes it easier in the settings as that always helps me.
I have finished the game (twice actually) & gave it 8.
It's a really interesting story presented in a way you don't see very often. Picking your way through the spiders web of clues that make up the story was fantastic.
It has some design choices I don't like such as limited inventory or not being able to quick slot any healing or buff item for no apparent reason. Coupled with the crash & sound issue lost it a couple of points from me.
Generally though i really enjoyed my time in Atomfall (& looking forward to the future dlc.) I do hope Rebellion iterate on this concept for future games as it has a lot of potential for non linear story telling.
@Dalamar73 what was wrong with Eurogamers KCD2 review? I read it and they pretty clearly explained what they didn’t like about the game, specifically what they found frustrating. While you may have a different experience and you might have given it a higher score, KCD2 certainly is not a game for everyone and the score seemed fair considering their experience as they described.
Personally I think a review like that is more helpful than dozens that are just layering on effusive praise for a game that won’t hit for many players. Ultimately reviews are just opinions.
I have to say, many of the things you have to do in this game, are right up my ally. It has elements of Bioshock and immersive sims (System Shock 1), you have to do a lot of exploring and many encounters are either optional (avoid or run away) or you can be a bit creative in how to beat the opponents, which I always like.
How are people finding the movement and melee combat? I’ve heard the former can be clunky, especially when manoeuvring in a fight.
And does the free form exploration/investigative element work only if you have a lot of patience?
Just about to start the game.
@Dalamar73 not sure I buy any of that. A quick check on Google shows they’ve had at least 4 articles and one video on it since its review a month and a half ago, that’s hardly a “total lack of coverage” and far more than most AA games.
The reviewer said they were reaching for the phone because they found it boring, which is fair enough criticism if you don’t enjoy it.
@LaurenceJ1987 I am playing on Survivor (recommended difficulty), and I am having a pretty easy time sneaking around outlaws I don’t want to fight. And I am leaving resources behind because I am finding so many.
Not trying to tell you what to do or suggest I am good at this game (I am not). Just suggesting that you sneak around more and explore every corner if you aren’t doing that already!
I am having fun with the exploration, which is what the game does best. 8/10 for me about 4 hours in. The character models are a little dated and the combat is only fair so far, but it doesn’t really bother me.
@themightyant just to be awkward.
AC shadows has had 9 articles (inc review) on Eurogamer in 10 days. Yet KCD2 sold similar, and talked about as GoTY contender.
Not saying either is wrong, but sometimes EG can get a bee in its bonnet regarding online recourse outside of a game.
I’m looking forward to playing atomfall in a couple of months once the bugs are ironed out.
@gravelmonkey I was worried about the free form stuff, but so far I am solving a lot of leads pretty organically just by exploring a lot. That could change, but so far so good.
The melee combat feels kind of weightless to me, and it annoys me there is no dodge (walking backward during a fight is the best you can do). But it is not a deal breaker for me. Movement seems fine generally. I wish you could sprint more in the game without the heart rate stuff kicking in, because there is a lot of backtracking and no fast travel. But there is something to explore over every hill, so that hasn’t bothered me much either.
@Dalamar73 Respectfully, he was not calling you a liar. He disagreed with your opinion that EG has given KCD2 no coverage and provided evidence with links. He then asserted his own opinion that EG reviewer can have a different opinion than others about the game.
There is a post above this one that came in with some good data to back your opinion. It is a discussion. No one was being insulting to anyone else.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner I agree the coverage for Shadows is OTT, but it’s an anomaly. But it’s one of the highest profile releases of the year so far and currently the most talked about game of the year, even if that’s often for the wrong reasons (culture war, ubisoft’s fate, etc).
KCD2 meanwhile may be a better game for some players but it’s still a low budget AA by comparison, even without the anomaly you wouldn’t expect it to have anywhere near as much coverage as Assassin’s Creed.
But all that is immaterial it HAS had coverage, contrary to what OP said, that’s what I was correcting.
@Dalamar73 why would I call you liar? I’m just disagreeing with your opinion. That’s all, it’s not that deep. I thought EGs KCD2 review was fair for someone who clearly didn’t enjoy the game. KCD2 is not for everyone and It would be a boring world if every review was the same.
Nice to see loads of talking about the game not debating how many stories a site has up about a game!
I'm looking forward to eventually playing the game on gamepass it looks good dispite some negativity such an entitled bunch some gamers and reviewers are about games nowadays like you are owed something!!
So just got out the bunker and where is this shimmering fizz etc some reviews talked about.
I have at the moment zero and lots of shimmer or fizz in AC Shadows on Pro. Which reviews don’t mention.
I beginning to get more untrusting of reviews than ever.
Maybe it’s because I force the series x with 120hz and VRR on. But it’s a lovely picture and smooth panning.
@themightyant
So just got out the bunker and where is this shimmering fizz etc some reviews talked about.
I have at the moment zero and lots of shimmer or fizz in AC Shadows on Pro. Which reviews don’t mention.
I beginning to get more untrusting of reviews than ever.
Maybe it’s because I force the series x with 120hz and VRR on. But it’s a lovely picture and smooth panning.
@Dalamar73 “I didn’t say he called me a liar. I just implied he was going to if he dared to post more evidence that ran contrary to my opinion.”
Don’t you understand that your opinion about Eurogamer’s coverage is not a fact, no matter how strongly you feel about it? It is an opinion that can be supported by facts, and is open for debate just like every other opinion.
@Westernwolf4 Definitely part of problem is not being stealthy enough. I don't like stealth. 😀 But I will try more sneaking before changing the difficulty. I really like the customisation options for difficulty so hopefully I can find one that suits me.
Nice to see folks talking about Atomfall & not arguing about random crap that has nothing to do with the actual article topic.
/sarcasm. 🙄
@Westernwolf4 Cheers for your reply. Sounds close to my expectations… and one of those games you have to play to get the feel of it. I’m liking AC Shadows a lot at the moment, but like all of the bigger AC games, I’ll soon tire of doing the same thing and need to switch to something else.
Uninstalled after first 5 minutes, so a 1 or 2
@Dalamar73 @themightyant I think Eurogamer picked a reviewer that would be more critical of KCD2, given the unilaterally positive pre-release press for the game. Does that denote bias? Maybe, but most journalistic entities do this to some capacity. The odds are always sort of stacked in the positive for FromSoft and Atlus games, for instance, because those games are typically reviewed by fans. But critics are just critics and the important thing is formulating your own opinion.
That said, I think it’s fine KCD2 got an iffy review from Eurogamer. As much as I can objectively understand how some would love the incredibly niche title, I don’t know anyone that actually liked it (in person, anyway). The Eurogamer review reminded me more of what my own personal friends said about the game.
As far as Atomfall goes, I’m hoping to try it over the weekend.
The audio completely stopped working within the first 5 minutes, like I walked away from the first room and left my ears behind.
I heard the combat wasn’t so great so I dialled down the survival and combat difficulty (leaving exploration on challenging with just the compass to maintain immersion) and I’m having a blast with it. However, as others have said, sometimes the sound just stops working, so I will bench it and wait for a patch. Still, the best GP addition this year so far for me!
Not got round to it yet but plan on doing so as soon as AC Shadows is out the way.
Playing on recommended difficulty.
Looks gorgeous, better than Avowed in my eyes.
Everything seems to work, haven't had anything more than loss of sound which is easy to fix (save, force close, open, load save) and only happened once.
It's brutal, for sure, but that's adding to the atmosphere.
I'm loving it, my only criticism is the prevalence of Cornish pasties in Cumbria, feels a little off.
Loving the initial exploration. It's a little clunky and I had the sound bug in the initial bunker, but I'm enjoying the breadcrumb nature of the investigations and I'm eager to see and play more.
It's a shame some posters have decided to get agrivated over a subjective opinion being expressed in the very forum for discussing subjective opinions. The moment they display open aggression they deserve to be ignored.
I really can’t judge yet, I’ve only played 30-45 minutes m, but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve played.
Not really interested in this game and too busy with other games. I wouldn't have time for Game Pass. Right now, I'm playing Indiana Jones and there are still several hours left, I still didn't complete Sniper Elite Resistance, which really enjoyed so far.
Than, Assassins Creed Shadows is already in the pipeline and also Atelier Yumia.
I'm playing Split Fiction with my wife between and I'm a fighting game liver and love to play Street Fighter 6 and WWE 2k25 on the Series X.
And time is my biggest enemy.😅
Gfx is really outdated like a 10 years old game. And that grey outerglow in every object is lookink so bad.
Controll is terrible. I dont know how Rebbellion made this inaccurate feel. It feels like PUBG in the first release edition.
Sound and Music are good. But somethimes when you go to another section the complete audio is stop working. 3 Restart need to fix this... ahh..... nice BUG
The story and the clues are so random so i have 10 main story mission and didint follow anything to copmlete. Most of the time im running in field and chek every mission to follow. Clueless Pointless mainline.
I dont know how it turns out, but REDFALL is better than this will ever be....
Tried and it and unistalled after about an hour it's got horrible input lag on Series S first group of enemies i ran into killed me repeatedly because my guy just stood there while they bashed his head in with a cricket bat. I didn't get on with Stalker 2 either so this type of game just isn't for me maybe but this definitely needs a few patches especially on the Series S.
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