Atomfall, Rebellion Developments' upcoming FPS action survival title, will see fans trek through an idyllic portion of the British countryside with strange, dangerous undercurrents lurking below the scenic surface. Set during the early 1960s and taking inspiration from the real-life disaster that occurred at England’s Windscale nuclear power plant in 1957,Atomfallwill springboard from this into an alternate history five years following the incident. Featuring a mix of period sci-fi and folk horror elements, the details of what happened to the player’s character and their relationship with the quarantined area surrounding Windscale form the central core of its mystery.
Atomfall’s gameplaywill also play a major part in how its tale unfolds, and like the story itself promises to be, the road to how it arrived at this point had some interesting twists and turns. In an interview with Game Rant, Rebellion head of design Ben Fisher talked about how the studio approachedAtomfallfrom the onset. He detailed how it began in a much different direction from more open-world, choice-driven experience thatAtomfall’s final form took and why this change was ultimately for the best.
Atomfall Dev On Why it Pivoted From Being a Metroidvania
Atomfall Started as More of a Traditional Metroidvania
Fisher outlined the studio’s initial plans forAtomfall, stating that early on in development, it was envisioned as and structured much more closely to atypical Metroidvania game. Players would engage in many of the recognizable and expected mechanics of the genre, such as collecting an array of tools and acquiring various skills that provided additional ways to further explore and survive in the world.
Eventually, fans would have the necessary resources and knowledge to conclude the comparatively more linear story at the Windscale facility itself. But after working within this framework for a bit, Rebellion looked towards rethinking some of the restrictions that Metroidvanias can impose while expanding on some ofAtomfall’s other major designs.
Atomfall’s Move Away From Metroidvania Design Injected it With Greater Freedom
A few years into development, Fisher stated that the team then looked at everything in place and, though they were satisfied with what they had, asked themselves if they could go further regarding creativity, and if this creativity could extend from the developer’s side to the player’s for a more engaging and reactive experience. For example, potentially allowing players tokill any character inAtomfall:
We felt that, although this was a good game in its own right, we wanted to take a risk and really trust our creative pillars, so we asked the questions, “What happens if we unlock the progression and let you go anywhere? What if all the characters are optional? What if you can kill anyone? What if there are no quests at all?”
As Rebellion honed in on answering these, it resulted not only in transitioning away from its previous Metroidvania philosophy but in further iterations likeAtomfall’s Leads system, a more organic method of presenting its versions of quests. Fisher noted that this helped inform many of the other ingredients that went into finely balancingAtomfall’s nonlinear progression and varied choices, broadly guiding players through a branching narrative that still inexorably brings them to thehistorical Windscale Power Plant.
Although it may contain shades of its design origins in certain regards, Rebellion’s decision to go beyond its initial Metroidvania vision forAtomfallended up offering players a much greater degree of freedom and interesting ways to approach scenarios and encounters. By letting go of its adherence to thetraditional Metroidvania formula, Rebellion has more creative reign to experiment, which itaims to take full advantage of to impart the same to players whenAtomfallreleases on June 08, 2025.
Atomfall
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A survival-action game inspired by real-life events, Atomfall is set five years after the Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England.Explore the fictional quarantine zone, scavenge, craft, barter, fight and talk your way through a British countryside setting filled with bizarre characters, mysticism, cults, and rogue government agencies.From Rebellion, the studio behind Sniper Elite and Zombie Army, Atomfall will challenge you to solve the dark mystery of what really happened.Player Driven Mystery: Unravel a tapestry of interwoven narratives through exploration, conversation, investigation, and combat, where every choice you make has consequences.Explore this Green and Unpleasant Land: The picturesque British countryside, with rolling green hills, lush valleys, and rural villages belie the dangers that await you.Search, Scavage, Survive: You’ll need to scavenge for supplies, craft weapons and items, and fight desperately to make it out alive!Desperate Combat: With weapons and ammunition scarce, each frenetic engagement will see you blend marksmanship with vicious hand-to-hand combat. Manage your heart rate to hold a steady aim and ensure you have the energy you need to reach for your cricket bat and land the killer blow.Green and Unpleasant Land:The picturesque British countryside, with rolling green hills, lush valleys, and rural villages belie the dangers that await you. Navigate cult-controlled ruins, natural caves, nuclear bunkers and more as you explore this dense, foreboding world.Reimagining Windscale:A fictional reimagining of a real-world event, Atomfall draws from science fiction, folk horror, and Cold War influences to create a world that is eerily familiar yet completely alien.
