Embark on a chilling adventure through the English countryside in Atomfall, a new survival-action game from Rebellion, the creators of Sniper Elite. During a recent hands-on session at a North London pub, I explored the game’s open-ended mission structure and haunting atmosphere. My experience took a dark turn as I unleashed chaos, wielding a cricket bat against everyone in sight, including an unsuspecting elderly woman. Here’s why I embraced the madness.

In Atomfall, every NPC is fair game, from minor characters to key quest figures. As I began the demo, I set out to test this freedom. Barely minutes into exploring the virtual Cumbrian landscape, I tripped an alarm, forcing me to dispatch three guards with the brutal swing of my cricket bat, now baptized in blood as my weapon of choice.

Later, I found a bow and arrow, perfect for my love of archery in games. With this new tool, I could handle both close and distant threats, giving my bat a break. Nearby, a towering wicker man loomed, a nod to the folk horror woven into Atomfall’s segmented open zones. Its eerie presence fueled the unsettling vibe of this irradiated corner of England, leaving me wondering: what catastrophe struck this quiet region?

My musings were cut short by a group of druids, likely tied to that wicker man. They became targets for my bow, dropping one by one. “I’m the king of archery!” my mind roared, before I snapped back to reality in the pub, still sober at 10 a.m.

The bow’s mechanics felt smooth, but Atomfall’s stamina system stood out. Instead of a standard stamina bar, a heart rate monitor tracks exertion. Sprinting too long spikes your pulse past 140 bpm, making aiming tricky during sudden combat. Later, I discovered a Bow Mastery manual, unlocking a perk to steady my aim despite a racing heart. While the skill tree isn’t overly intricate, it offers enough flexibility to shape your character’s abilities, whether you lean toward stealth or firepower.

Atomfall Screenshots

With only a trail of fallen druids to show for my efforts, I questioned my purpose in Casterfall Woods. Lacking clear direction, I followed a single clue: a note leading to Mother Jago, a herbalist near an old mine. Along the way, I spotted hints of a larger story—an eerie, colorful haze over a power plant, signaling Britain’s post-apocalyptic downfall. A ringing phone box delivered a cryptic warning to avoid the woods, but I was already too deep.

The path brimmed with subtle storytelling, like an abandoned boathouse rigged with alarms and marked with “get lost,” surrounded by skulls. Atomfall’s unsettling tone evokes Stalker more than Fallout, blending dread with exploration in its creepy, forested zones.

After another druid slaughter and looting their garden for herbs, I met Mother Jago at her tranquil allotment. Clad in a plum coat and a hat adorned with skulls and roses, she looked like a mystic Angela Lansbury. Yet her vague responses to my questions offered no clarity, echoing the cryptic dialogue of classic point-and-click adventures. Eventually, she promised key information in exchange for her herbalism book, held in a druid stronghold. With a new goal, I set off to retrieve it.

Atomfall’s open-ended design let me approach the castle freely. En route, I ambushed a druid patrol at a deserted petrol station. My grenade scattered them, but the AI’s lack of cunning made combat straightforward. Still, a nail bomb and some quick melee finished the job. While fun, the combat feels secondary to the game’s focus on unraveling its mysterious world.

Inside the castle’s outer walls, I found a locked hut with a note pointing to keys in the southeast. Atomfall skips objective markers, forcing you to navigate with your map and wits. Suspecting the hut held no book, I stormed the central keep, dispatching more druids but finding only crafting materials. The game’s elusive mission design frustrated yet intrigued me, rewarding persistence over hand-holding.

Following the note’s coordinates, I stumbled into a toxic plant creature’s lair, where bullets barely dented it. Using agile leaps, I grabbed the keys from a corpse and returned to the hut, only to find ammo and a perk point—no book. Venturing beneath the castle, I took down a High Priestess and her followers, uncovering an SMG, a poison bomb recipe, and an atomic battery hinting at a new questline. Still, no book.

Post-demo, I learned the book was in the castle, overlooked on a table I passed multiple times. Convinced it was a trick, I returned to Mother Jago and, in a fit of frustration, ended her life. Searching her body revealed a recipe to counter the toxic creature—likely the “valuable information” she’d promised. Too late now.

Rebellion’s developers estimate Atomfall’s story spans 25 hours, with a minimum of four to five. Another player’s demo tale—of a crashed helicopter and a region with robots and mutants—revealed the game’s varied paths. Atomfall’s obscure objectives may frustrate some, but its flexible narrative lets players craft unique stories in this irradiated world.

Bloodied from my rampage and the herbalist’s demise, I retreated to the pub, cricket bat in hand, to let the chaos settle, fully embracing Atomfall’s grim, immersive allure.