We recently had a chance to spend a couple of hours exploring the gorgeous area around Wyndham Village during our hands-on Atomfall preview, and it was a blast. We’ll all have a chance to collect the Atomfall achievements later this month when Rebellion’s survival game leaves our list of upcoming Game Pass games to launch on Xbox Series X|S and PC — and it’s shaping up to be an awesome adventure!Atomfall is everything I wanted from a survival game set in BritainAtomfall is a first-person survival game from Sniper Elite developer RebellionRelease date: March 27, 2025Platforms: Xbox Series X|S and PCGame Pass tiers: Ultimate and PC Game PassBritish Fallout, Stalker-like, LA Noir-esque missions; Atomfall has been compared to a lot since Rebellion announced it last year. In reality, it’s a unique experience, with just enough sci-fi to give it a fantastical twist, but not too much for it not to feel grounded. It’s tough enough to appease survival fans, but not too hard for players new to the genre. My short time with the game gave me a lot of freedom, and while I died a fair bit as I attempted to work out what was going on, things quickly clicked for me, opening up a world of wonder and exploration that I really can’t wait to fully immerse myself in later this month.You play as an unknown character suffering from amnesia, who wakes up inside a quarantine zone in the British Lake District five years after the Windscale nuclear disaster. Upon starting my time with the preview, I felt exactly how I think an amnesiac would feel; I had no idea where I was, where I was meant to be going, and why the group of people 20 feet away had decided to kill me four times in a row before I worked out how to beat them to death with a cricket bat. It was a tough start to life, but I learned a valuable lesson: swing first, ask questions later. Outside of Wyndham Village, I only met two friendly people, one of which I’m still not sure I should trust. Everyone else wanted to smack, stab, and beat me to a pulp. Oh, and while we’re on the topic of untrustworthy people: a strange dude keeps calling those iconic red phone boxes we’ve seen in all the trailers to give cryptic advice, which, again, I’m not entirely sure should be trusted.While exploring the woodland, almost everyone I met wanted to attack me, while those that didn’t outright lunge for my throat were somewhat suspicious. First, there was Mother Jago, a herbalist who seemed nice enough but who gave off witch vibes. Shortly after speaking with her, the red phone box guy called to tell me she can’t be trusted (like I can trust the advice from a mystery voice on the phone), leading me to doubt both of them. I also met a lady called Prudence in a rundown manor who was clearly a little confused with the situation and kept talking about someone who works for her called Jenks — a mystery man who is nowhere to be seen. The grounds are littered with bodies too, and dotty old Prudence was adamant that I should stay out of the conservatory. My time with the game ended before I could find a way in, sadly, so that remains a mystery. Why can’t I go into the conservatory, Prudence? Jenks is definitely butchered back there, I know it!Untrustworthy locals aside, Atomfall is utterly gorgeous, and my short time with the game was spent exploring the British countryside in Casterfell Woods and Wyndham Village. With my only lead suggesting I find someone called Mother Jago at the Old Mine on the other side of the woods, I figured that was as good a spot as any to head to, giving me ample opportunity to see what I could find along the way. The woods are lush with greenery, flowers, and trickling streams, and stone buildings and pathways can be found scattered throughout — a familiar setting for someone like me who has spent the majority of their life in the countryside. Exploring these areas uncovers crafting materials in the form of herbs, cloth, glass, gunpowder, and the like, which you can use to craft throwables like bombs or resources like bandages and medicines when you find the recipes. One thing I noticed is that Rebellion has given the crafting materials a realistic feel, placing items like towels and pint glasses in natural locations, while chests or other containers might hold ammo and the like. It’s a small touch, but a welcome one. You can only hold so many crafting materials, though, so you’ll need to be trading them regularly or crafting items if you want to grab the majority of the stuff you find.Inventory management is one of the most challenging parts of the game, as you’re extremely limited. Your backpack has four large weapon slots for shotguns, cricket bats, lumberjack axes, and whatnot, plus 12 slots that hold everything from bandages and food to grenades and small weapons like hatchets and pistols. With no item stacking, it’ll be quite the juggling act for those of us who like to pilfer anything that isn’t nailed down. Much like crafting materials, ammo also has a separate storage container, so at least you won’t lose valuable space for that.Elsewhere in your bag of tricks, you’ll find a handy side panel showing items you can find nearby, as well as a torch and a metal detector, the latter of which will show up as an icon when you’re near some treasure. I found a couple of treasures while out and about, including a comic and a Training Manual, which you use to unlock skills once you’ve found some Training Stimulant. Throw in little notes that could be leads, puzzles, or just fun lore pieces, and every location feels like it could be hiding something new.Of course, while exploration is fun on its own, there are also dangers lurking everywhere, from human Druids to Ferals — a blue humanoid monster that lurks in the dark. At one point, I got into a fight with three humans and accidentally disturbed a mutated wasp nest with a nail bomb, causing a swarm of insects to attack everyone in sight. It was chaotic, fun, and took me a little too close to death (again) for my liking.While various firearms and bows are available, the majority of my time was spent wielding melee weapons as ammo is a scarce resource, although when I needed to use a gun or a bow, I was pleased to see that most of the time a headshot would kill my target. When brawling with melee weapons, you have to manage your heart rate, slowing down your swings and kicks to avoid becoming a lumbering, inaccurate mess. Both you and your enemies take damage hard, so every encounter is a dangerous one, although I believe there are difficulty settings to make life a little easier if you want it.There’s no clear cut quest system to be found here, with your main objective being to find a way out of the quarantine zone. As you explore the world, you come across potential leads, or people who will give you some information, but from what I’ve played so far, they just point you in a direction. There are no markers to follow, so you have to piece everything together yourself. I love this idea, as it feels like you really are solving a mystery, and makes Atomfall seem like an immersive adventure you can get lost in for hours without making any significant progress if that’s how you wanted to play.I barely scratched the surface during the preview, but everywhere I did manage to visit felt like it was bursting with secrets. Forgoing contemporary quests for a lead system offers you the freedom to explore the world as you wish, and with the classic British architecture offering a medieval vibe, there is a fantastical feeling to the world despite being set in the 60s. Between Druids yelling at you to stay away and soldiers randomly muttering, “If one more civvy gives me cheek I’ll top the b***ard,” it’s hard to know who to trust in Rebellion’s world. It’s a bit like a huge game of Cluedo, piling one mystery on top of another to make an intriguing story of your own creation. While most previews give you a rough idea about what’s happening in a game, I came away from Atomfall feeling none the wiser about its mysteries, and I’m itching to dig for more clues.All I know is that I don’t trust anyone I’ve met so far. This world offers a picturesque adventure full of anomalies, and I can’t wait to dive even deeper into its mysterious world.Atomfall launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC on March 27, dropping straight into Game Pass and potentially shaking up our list of the best Game Pass games. Are you looking forward to playing Rebellion’s upcoming survival game? Drop a comment below and let us know!
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