"Atomfall Compared to Fallout; 25-Hour Playthrough"

At first glance, you might mistake Atomfall for a Fallout-style game, perhaps even envisioning it as an *actual* Fallout game set in a post-apocalyptic England rather than America. Atomfall shares similarities with Fallout; it's a first-person, post-nuclear game with an alternate history design. However, Ryan Greene, art director at developer Rebellion, acknowledges the inevitable comparisons but emphasizes that Atomfall is a unique experience.

“Once you play the game, you realize it's not Fallout, but yes, we knew,” Greene told IGN. He added that one of Rebellion's owners, Jason Kingsley, is a big Fallout fan, which naturally led to some parallels. Yet, Greene insists that these similarities are superficial. “Once you play it for a bit, you're like, oh, this is its own thing for sure,” he remarked, highlighting that Rebellion, the independent British studio behind the Sniper Elite series, has crafted an ambitious game that stands apart from the likes of Elder Scrolls or Fallout.

Greene also noted the scale of Atomfall, stating, “The reality is, here’s this very successful franchise and we're version 1.0. To be compared to those guys… thank you very much… Yes, we appreciate it because that’s a skillful team that's making that stuff.” An average playthrough of Atomfall is estimated to be around 25 hours, with completionists able to extend their gameplay significantly.

For those curious about the gameplay, IGN's recent hands-on preview with Simon Cardy showcased the game's flexibility. Players can choose to go through the entire game killing everyone, as Cardy did, or opt for a non-violent approach. Greene confirmed, “You can kill anyone or everyone if you choose. That's fine. We have multiple finishes to the game, so some of those would shut down if you were supposed to work with them throughout, but you'll find multiple other routes to finish the game and achieve a result.”

Atomfall doesn't follow the traditional RPG structure with main and side quests. Instead, Greene describes it as “a spider web of connected story.” He explained, “So even if you sever one thread, you can usually find another thread that leads you back to the overall mystery.” Additionally, Greene is “fairly certain” that players can complete the game without killing anyone, having played through nine hours without any violence himself.