
Atomfall is the next major game to hit Xbox Game Pass in March 2025, arriving in just six days' time on March 27th, and the reviews have actually gone live pretty early - or at least, some of the reviews have gone live.
This is another of those situations where Xbox code seems to have been sent out quite late, so there are 23 PS5 reviews but only 2 for Xbox Series X, for example. We do have code here at Pure Xbox, but we want a little bit longer until we share our 'hands on' impressions of the game ahead of launch next week.
So, let's take a look at what the first reviews are saying about Xbox Game Pass title Atomfall so far:
GamesRadar (4.5/5)
"With a tightly designed world, and a level of player freedom rarely seen, Atomfall already represents some of the best offline adventuring 2025 has to offer. Best of all, it's keen to allow as many people as possible to join the party."
DualShockers (8.5/10)
"Immersive Sims are incredibly difficult to create, and Atomfall deserves heaps of praise for going against the grain and presenting an open-world format that bucks almost every established trend. "
Push Square (8/10)
"Atomfall commits to embodying everything it means to be British, and it comes out the other side all the better for it. The mystery at the heart of the alternate 1960s setting is gripping, forever teasing clues and solutions to a way out of its rural quarantine zone. Its combat systems and mechanics let the experience down, but Rebellion’s latest peaks when it makes you the countryside’s Inspector Gadget with a bunch of Leads to pursue and villagefolk to suspect."
IGN (8/10)
"In spite of some enemy behaviours that are occasionally less stable than a reactor in meltdown, Atomfall is a compelling, post-apocalyptic survival story that satisfyingly bends to your choices and discoveries no matter which direction you take."
TechRadar (3.5/5)
"Atomfall reimagines a jolly trip to the Lake District as a fight for survival, a unique idea that leaves a lasting impression. Not every decision you make feels like life and death but its British sensibilities and stunning visual design make up for those weaker points, delivering an engaging jaunt in the countryside… with guns."
Eurogamer (3/5)
"If you can get over a difficult start and fancy a lean take on the survival genre, Atomfall delivers an intriguing tale worth discovering."
Digital Trends (2.5/5)
"It’s an experimental sandbox that lets the studio break free from the franchise it has been focused on for the last decade and see what else it can do with its design chops. I can’t say that it comes together, as its limited scope doesn’t give any of its neat ideas enough room to breathe, but maybe it’s a necessity for survival."
As you can see, the scores are a bit all over the place for Atomfall, and it's resulted in an average of 76 on Metacritic as things stand. That's not a bad start, but Rebellion will be hoping it can get over the 80 mark by the end of next week!
Are these reviews convincing you to try out Atomfall? Talk to us about this one down below.
Comments 33
Digital Trends there "It’s an experimental sandbox that lets the studio break free from the franchise it has been focused on for the last decade" like the same studio never made Strange Brigade 😅
These are great scores and the thing most have in common is the British tone and the player freedom. I'm excited. But it's still waiting until after AC Shadows.
Looking forward to this hopefully it's good I'll be playing day 1
This was already my most hyped GamePass game but just reading the reviews I am confused to what actually is the game …. But that makes it even more interesting…
There's a pretty wide range of reviews, with some enjoying it far more than others. That makes it a perfect fit for Game Pass in many ways because you may not want to risk £55 on it just to find out if it's your jam, but with Game Pass you can give it a try risk free.
But one thing that all the reviews seem to agree is that it captures the essence of England and Englishness brilliantly. My favourite sound byte so far is:
Sounds like it’s one to maybe give them a couple of months to put a few updates/changes in place.
Need to finish kcd 2, got a free copy of Assassin's creed Shadows ...haven't started Avowed yet either. ..and now this. ....
Arghhhh to many games
I'll be giving this a go, gotta support my fellow British developers out there.
Sounds good to me, although at the rate I’m going, I won’t have finished KCD2 until autumn.
PC GAMER 62, did not see that coming. Never mind, still loving Avowed and glad I’m taking my time in this for me GOTY
It's a Rebellion game, and sounds like it's setting wouldn't be out of place in 2000AD. I doubt it could be further up my street. Can't wait.
@StylesT agree, way too many games. I haven’t finished Avowed…but want to play AC Shadows, Atelier Yumia or Kazan.
…but I also want to play Eternal Strands, yakuza pirate, mh wilds, Ender magnolia, Momodora moonlit farewell…probs more 🤣
Finishe Indy this week and set and prepped to start this one. Can’t wait
@Kaloudz I'm actually waiting for shadows to become cheaper even though I really want to play it at launch I'm forcing myself to wait for a sale, I'll be dodging spoilers like a crazed ninja lol. thankfully I'll have Atomfall ready just as I'm finishing up Avowed. Xbox is absolutely killing it as of late, Gamepass Ultimate is once again paying for itself in spades.
Hmm. Sounds like a neat game. But with so much to play, it definitely would have competed better for my time with some more enthusiastic write-ups.
@Master_Cthulhu70 Yeah I don't own it myself. I picked it up for £14.99 through Ubisoft Plus - a month is plenty of time to play it. Like you, I'll be all over Atomfall as soon as I am done. You just can't groan at GP can you? I think the reason most people moan is because MS announce big day one games months in advance, so that when that month comes round, people are laser focused on what else is coming and base their criticisms off that... Not me though, I think it's the best value the industry has ever offered, bar none!
@AlwaysPlaying
RPG shooter with a mystery horror/Chernobyl-lite story
@Kaloudz
They are literally giving us churners USD $70 day 1-5 games for around $15, lol, eventually they'll have to stop doing it this way
@TheGiraffe I don't think it works like that. I think the way it works is they pay (in this case, Rebellion) a set fee - likely a few million - to have it in the service for a year. It's not the same as swapping $15 for $70 - and given how much MS makes from overall subs - you can bet there will be a team that's keeping annual balance in favour of profit.
@Kaloudz
The profit loss is to Rebellion's would-be premium sales. The metric is to see how many GP day 1 game making studios go under from now on... remembering Redfall etc.
@Kaloudz
And Ubisoft cannibalising premium sales with Ub+ subs is going, going, gone?
@TheGiraffe I have game pass ultimate & I purchased Atomfall Deluxe edition. One does not preclude the other
I use game pass to try the games I am undecided on or unsure whether I will enjoy not as an alternative to buying games I am excited for.
Those are some impressive scores 😂 only the best for gamepass 😉 it seems.
@RiverGenie
This is the true supporter approach, I like it!, and sometimes do similarly, but sadly not typical for most people probably
@TheGiraffe Eh? Do you really think Rebellion would agree to a loss in revenue? The deal will be one that's beneficial to both sides of the spectrum - one that's likely charted by how well Rebellion's games have sold on the platform in the past.
As for Ubisoft Plus, I don't think that's anywhere near on the same scale as Game Pass - not even close. It's around the same price and you get much less in return (more so if you already have the majority of games from Ubisoft).
As for Redfall, that's a completely different story. That's more to do with a studio that wasn't pulling its weight by industry standards (commercially and critically not really making a "great" game in a decade). Studios cost hundreds of millions to run, and if they're not making a return - what would you do? MS is a business, not a charity.
I see the word survival a few times. Is this a crafting game like ark or minecraft? I didn't pick that up from the trailers I watched.
@Jenkinss Survival lite. You craft weapons & equipment from resources you find out in the world. No buildings or farms etc. You use food to provide buff & heal rather than for a hunger meter
Like most things in Atomfall this can be made easier or harder depending on your preference.
I'm looking forward to playing this. Hopefully it's better than Stalker 2 as found that not as good as expected
Was gna try this at some point beeno. Go but might have to jump on day one with decent reviews 😎 still got like 4 metroidvanias I'm doing n there's south of midnight expedition 33 n towerborne coming soon though 😅
@RiverGenie gracias muchacho
@Kaloudz
I think business leaders are capable of making bad decisions/predictions that lead to loss of money and closures and firings. Game pass is a subscription trend that isn't sustainable, I think. It's not popular enough, not like Netflix. You can't put new AAA games like Starfield or COD on Game pass. Atomfall, a AA game maybe OK. I know you disagree, but time will tell for Game pass.
Overall, I find the gaming industry almost comical, after spending lots of time looking at movie and tv industry happenings. Imagine going to the movies with a premium ticket and watching a half-finished half-edited half-acted movie and told to come back later for the final edit, lol!
@Kaloudz
e.g. Recommend you watch this to the end, he makes my point well, a popular youtuber in the space,
Ubisoft Keeps LYING About Assassin's Creed Shadows!
Smash JT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4EI3IeEfw
@TheGiraffe I think you're probably right on the first party sustainability, but that's very likely why they are releasing first party games on third party hardware. I think they're gearing up to find a route that best suits them and I don't think they'll be alone in it in the long run.
As for the Ubisoft bit, I think two million players is insane at launch week. (Well, not even half a week to be precise). I don't think that's something to scoff at at all. I'm playing it (as a sub) and I think it's the strongest entry in the RPG era.
@Kaloudz
I agree with all of what you said, they'll figure it out in the coming year or two. I'm curious to see what they do with the 2025/6 COD and Perfect Dark. They need like 100 million+ GP subbers (3x+ current number) to make those $300-500 million dollar day 1 games work.
For example, Netflix has 300 million subbers and Hollywood says no go to their previous $300 million dollar movie approach.
Re AC, sadly I only like sci-fi, as a trained scientist/tech-bro, so olden-times RPGs are just dull to me, same with high-fantasy.
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