Embark on a gritty adventure through a ravaged English countryside in Atomfall, a new survival-action game from Rebellion, the creators of Sniper Elite. During a recent hands-on session at a North London pub, I explored Atomfall’s open-ended mission design and haunting atmosphere over a pint. My playthrough took a dark turn as I unleashed chaos, wielding a cricket bat against everyone in sight, including an unsuspecting elderly woman. Here’s why I embraced the madness.

In Atomfall, every NPC is fair game, from minor foes to key quest characters. As I began the demo, I set out to test this freedom. Within minutes of roaming the virtual Cumbria, I triggered a tripwire, alerting three guards. My response? A brutal takedown with a cricket bat, its wooden heft now stained with blood, marking it as my weapon of choice.

Later, I scavenged a bow and arrow, perfect for my love of archery in games. With the bat retired, I was ready for varied combat. Nearby, a towering wicker man loomed, a chilling nod to the game’s folk horror roots. This unsettling vibe permeates Atomfall’s open zones, fueling the mystery of what catastrophe struck this irradiated corner of England.

My musings were cut short by a group of druids, likely tied to the wicker man. They became targets for my bow, dropping one by one. “I’m the deadliest archer in Cumbria,” I thought, snapping back to reality in the pub. It was only 10 a.m., and I hadn’t touched my drink.

The bow’s mechanics felt smooth, but Atomfall’s stamina system stood out. Instead of a typical stamina bar, a heart rate monitor tracks exertion. Sprinting spikes your pulse past 140 bpm, making aiming trickier in combat. I later found a Bow Mastery manual, unlocking a perk to steady my aim despite a racing heart. While the skill tree isn’t overly complex, it offers enough flexibility to shape your playstyle, whether stealth or brute force.

Atomfall screenshots

With a trail of defeated druids behind me, I questioned my purpose. Wandering Casterfall Woods yielded no clear goal, so I followed a quest note to Mother Jago, a herbalist near an old mine. Along the way, a glowing, toxic haze over a power plant hinted at the apocalypse’s cause. A ringing phone box delivered an eerie warning to avoid the woods—too late for that.

The path brimmed with subtle storytelling, like an abandoned boathouse rigged with alarms and marked with “get lost” graffiti, surrounded by skulls. Atomfall’s unsettling tone, more akin to Stalker than Fallout, kept me on edge as tranquil forests shifted to eerie zones.

After dispatching more druids and looting their garden for herbs, I met Mother Jago at her quaint allotment. Her cryptic responses to my questions echoed classic point-and-click adventures, offering little clarity. She tasked me with retrieving her herbalism book, held in a druid stronghold. With a new objective, I set off across the map.

Atomfall’s open-ended design let me approach the castle freely. Near an old petrol station, I ambushed a druid patrol with a grenade, sparking a chaotic skirmish. The AI lacked cunning, but the visceral combat—blood, bones, and nail bombs—was thrilling. Still, Atomfall’s fights feel secondary to its core: unraveling the world’s secrets.

Inside the castle’s walls, I found a locked hut with a note pointing to map coordinates southeast. Atomfall skips objective markers, forcing you to navigate manually. Suspecting the book wasn’t in the hut, I stormed the castle’s main keep, clubbing druids but finding no book. The game’s cryptic design frustrated yet intrigued me, rewarding exploration over hand-holding.

Following the coordinates, I encountered a toxic plant creature that quickly killed me. Reloading, I dodged it with agile jumps, grabbing keys from a corpse. Back at the hut, I found ammo and a perk point—but no book. Venturing into the castle’s depths, I slew the High Priestess, looted an SMG and poison bomb recipe, and uncovered a new questline. Still, the book eluded me.

Post-demo, I learned the book was on a table I’d overlooked. Convinced it was a trick, I returned to Mother Jago and, in my character’s descent into chaos, killed her. Searching her body revealed a recipe to counter the poison creature—likely the “valuable information” she’d promised. A quicker resolution might have saved lives.

Rebellion’s developers estimate Atomfall’s story spans 4–5 hours at minimum, with most players needing 25 hours. My demo companion’s entirely different adventure—featuring a crashed helicopter and robotic foes—showed the game’s depth. Atomfall’s vague objectives may frustrate some, but its open-ended plot lets players craft unique stories in a perilous, irradiated world.

With blood on my hands from Mother Jago’s death, I retreated to the pub, cricket bat in tow, to let the chaos settle. Atomfall’s mysteries and freedom promise a gripping, unpredictable journey.