Since 2020, Rebellion Developments has released games likeZombie Army 4: Dead War, Evil Genius 2: World Domination, Sniper Elite VR, Sniper Elite 5, Zombie Army VR, andSniper Elite: Resistance. Somewhere in all of that, Rebellion also began development onAtomfall, an upcoming action-survival game, as a “back burner” among its other titles. Rebellion is essentially synonymous with itsSniper Elitefranchise, and fans ofSniper Elitehave more reason to check outAtomfallthan just the fact the two come from the same developer.
Sniper Eliteis a tactical shooter franchise, whileAtomfallis an action-survival game set in an alternate timeline afterthe real-world Windscale Incident. The two, on the surface, don’t seem all that similar. Recently, however, Game Rant spoke with Rebellion’s head of design Ben Fisher about the learnings taken fromSniper Eliteand applied toAtomfall. There’s more to the relationship between the two than first meets the eye.
Sniper Elite, Atomfall, and Player Agency, Oh My
There are a few familiar technical aspects toSniper EliteandAtomfall. Both use Rebellion’s proprietary Asura engine, which allows the team at Rebellion to use all its knowledge and skill, while being quick and agile in its pipelines. Meanwhile, bothSniper Elite: ResistanceandAtomfalluse the same photogrammetry methods for assets, which Fisher said “adds to the level of immersion you have in the game world and the beautiful landscape.” But perhaps the most important distinction is how the team builds onSniper Elite’s sandbox approachin Atomfall.
Fisher explained thatSniper Elitedefines sandbox gaming for Rebellion, where the team gives players large, open maps to conquer, freedom regarding how they approach each mission, and the agency for each player to play they want to. It’s a defining element ofeachSniper Elitegame, with Fisher saying thatAtomfalltakes these learnings even further:
“We have taken these learnings and dialed this up a notch in Atomfall by increasing the scope of the sandbox and offering the player even more agency in the way they play the game. For example, it’s possible to complete the entire story without fighting absolutely anyone, but at the same time, you can also choose to wipe everyone out! Player choice and agency is hugely important to us.”
A modern criticism of a lot of game design elements today is that they are too handholdy and/or do not give players enough agency to figure things out on their own.Atomfallis not that.Atomfallembodies player agencyand represents Rebellion giving its players as much freedom as they want. While there are options for a more guided experience for those who want/need them,Atomfallis meant to be a definitive experience in player agency. And what’s more is that players will be able to check this out themselvesthanks to Xbox Game Pass.
