Atomfall's Survival Gameplay Features Explained

The release of Rebellion's Atomfall is fast approaching, closing out what's been a busy March 2025 release calendar with an intriguing game that builds upon the studio's Sniper Elite series. While both Atomfall and Sniper Elite are historical games that emphasize player agency in their sandbox gameplay, Atomfall is 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.

If Atomfall's 'Experimental' Mechanics Are a Hit, Fallout May Want to Keep a Close Eye on Them

Atomfall is taking a new approach to a post-apocalyptic story, and if one bold mechanic works well, Fallout may want to follow.

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By LB Beistad

How Atomfall's Survival Mechanics Impact Gameplay

Atomfall's survival gameplay mechanics are 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 to Atomfall'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 of Atomfall'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 of Atomfall's core pillars, regardless of how players approach its combat and critical path.

Managing Heart Rate Is Key to Survival in Atomfall

Regarding Atomfall'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 of Atomfall'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 try 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 with Atomfall'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 other post-apocalyptic games.