The Atomfall Developers Knew It Would Be Compared to Fallout as Soon as It Was Revealed, Average Playthrough Around 25 Hours

At first glance, Atomfall might resemble a Fallout game—perhaps even a Fallout title set in post-apocalyptic England. It's a first-person, post-nuclear adventure (the name's a giveaway!), featuring an alternate history, much like Fallout. This resemblance isn't lost on Rebellion's art director, Ryan Greene.

Greene acknowledges the inevitable Fallout comparisons, stating, "Once you play the game, you realize it's not Fallout, but yes, we knew. One of our owners, Jason Kingsley, is a big Fallout fan, so parallels were bound to emerge. Any survival game set in a post-apocalypse will draw Fallout comparisons. They're great at what they do, and that's cool."

However, Atomfall is distinctly its own experience. IGN highlighted this last August, emphasizing Atomfall's unique qualities beyond a simple "British Fallout." Greene himself warns against the misleading nature of this comparison, stating, "Once you play it for a bit, you're like, 'Oh, this is its own thing for sure.' And, we're not Bethesda." Rebellion, the independent British studio behind the Sniper Elite franchise, has crafted an ambitious project, though not on the scale of an Elder Scrolls or Fallout.

"The reality is, this is our version 1.0 of a very successful franchise," Greene continues. "To be compared to those guys... thank you very much... We appreciate it, as they're a skillful team. "

Atomfall Screenshots

13 Images

A typical Atomfall playthrough, according to Greene, lasts around 25 hours. Completionists, however, can significantly extend this playtime. For gameplay insights, check out IGN's recent hands-on preview where Simon Cardy opted for a rather...violent approach.

Interestingly, the game accommodates a completely lethal playthrough. "You can kill anyone or everyone if you choose," Greene confirms. "That's fine. We have multiple endings; some would be inaccessible if you'd worked with those characters, but you'll find other routes to complete the game."

Atomfall deviates from traditional RPG quest structures. Instead of main and side quests, it features "a spider web of connected stories," as Greene explains. "Even if you sever one thread, you can usually find another leading to the overall mystery."

A pacifist playthrough is also possible, or at least, Greene is confident it is. "I've played for about nine hours, probably close to halfway, at a pretty fast dev play speed, and killed no one," he said. "I'm fairly certain you can do it, and there's no gating requiring you to kill anyone."