The release of Rebellion’sAtomfallis fast approaching, closing out what’s been a busy March 2025 release calendar with an intriguing game that builds upon the studio’sSniper Eliteseries. While bothAtomfallandSniper Eliteare historical games that emphasize player agency in their sandbox gameplay,Atomfallis distinctly its own thing thanks to its alternate history setting, incorporation of horror and mystery elements emblematic of Cold War-era fiction, and inclusion of survival mechanics in its moment-to-moment gameplay.Atomfall’s approach to delivering its survival gameplay elements presents exciting avenues for players as they navigate the isolated Cambria region and get to know its strange inhabitants.
In a recent Game Rant interview about all thingsAtomfall, Rebellion head of design Ben Fisher went into detail regarding the title’s gameplay elements, including how its incorporation of survival mechanics contributes to the game’s sense of tension, isolation, and danger.Atomfall’s northern English settingallows for plenty of variety in environmental biomes, each presenting the player with distinct challenges to overcome as they manage their health and heart rate, scavenge for supplies, and collect valuable materials for the game’s bartering system.
How Atomfall’s Survival Mechanics Impact Gameplay
Atomfall’ssurvival gameplay mechanicsare integral to the moment-to-moment experience, especially in terms of how the game encourages the player to experiment with different strategies. As it turns out, these mechanics were largely thanks toAtomfall’s setting. As Fisher notes,
“We wanted the deep areas of the quarantine zone, away from Wyndham, to feel like a feral and dangerous wilderness. Within this, resources and weapons are scarce, so players really need to search for and scavenge items throughout the terrain. Items you find will allow you to concoct antidotes needed to explore more dangerously irradiated areas, as well as create ingenuous weapons to tackle some of the more deadly enemies.”
While these mechanics are a core component ofAtomfall’s survival gameplay, Fisher points out that the game “can be played in several ways.” This includes players being free to take a complete pacifist route that avoids killing enemies in favor of the title’s investigative gameplay and Leads system; others might prefer a pure “survival action experience.” Still, scavenging for items to build weapons, concoct helpful antidotes, or have a store of valuables necessary for the game’s bartering system is one ofAtomfall’s core pillars, regardless of how players approach its combat and critical path.
Managing Heart Rate Is Key to Survival in Atomfall
RegardingAtomfall’s combat system, this is an area of the title where the incorporation of survival game mechanics has had an interesting impact. Along with keeping an eye on health, players must carefully manage the protagonist’s heart rate. Discussing the inclusion ofAtomfall’s heart rate monitoring, Fisher elaborates:
“Adding a heart rate that players need to manage alongside their health bar adds to the desperate sense that every combat situation is a fight for your life. We wanted these to feel like a real struggle where you use an array of weapons, some improvised and some not, to just try to find a way to make it through the encounter.”
When players attempt to engage enemies with an elevated heart rate, they will soon find that these encounters are much more difficult, with things like the ability to aim and effectively deal damage to enemies being limited all while being more vulnerable to enemy attacks. Combined withAtomfall’s scavenging, collecting, and crafting elements, managing the player’s health and heart rate adds an entire layer of survival mechanics to gameplay that helps differentiate the title from both Rebellion’s past games and otherpost-apocalyptic games.
