Atomfall, Rebellion’s ambitious open-world survival game, is just around the corner. It promises an unparalleled level of player autonomy, ditching the traditional ‘quest system’ in favor of what Rebellion is calling a ‘lead’ mechanic. “You’re never told exactly what to do,” lead designer Ben Fisher told us. “There’s no structure in the game that formally tells you what the right and wrong answers are. Instead, there are lots of characters that have perspectives on the world.”

Set against the backdrop of the infamous Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England and played through a first-person perspective, Atomfall throws the player into a vast open world featuring a Quarantine Zone that can be freely explored. But for those expecting rows of empty houses and underwhelming vistas, you’re going to be in for a shock. Rebellion’s approach is that “every detail matters” in their take on an “open world” and thanks to the game’s somewhat modest “ballpark” 20-hour playthrough length, it has allowed the team to really focus on creating a world jam-packed with intricacies.

What to expect from Atomfall this March

“The game is five or six sandbox maps that are interconnected with a load of interiors you can explore,” said Fisher. “So, one of the things we had to discover was the right density so you’re not overwhelmed but also there’s something to find and something to interact with regularly enough. And we send you back and forth through locations you have already been to as well, so that has an influence on how much you populate locations”

He continued: “One of the things we had to define was how many interiors was an appropriate amount for a story that is, let’s say, a ballpark of about 20 hours – you don’t want to have 300 interiors that have got nothing in them. You want to make sure that every detail that you actually put into the game is supporting that overall story and remaining interesting as if it was a scene in a mini-series.”

Fisher explained the relationship between the detail in the world and the relationship with storytelling. “If you’ve got a limited amount of storytelling like that you want every single detail to be pulling its weight. It’s not about immersing the player by lulling them into repeated patterns, it’s about making sure every detail counts, so that’s the approach we took.”

Atomfall is set to release on March 27 on Xbox, PS5, and PC – with pre-orders available now on platforms such as Steam and Epic Games.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.