Atlas Fallen: The Epic Sci-Fi Adventure You Can't Afford to Miss!

Deck13, a developer known for its work in the Soulslike genre, has taken a different direction with their latest release, Atlas Fallen. Departing from their previous games, which garnered a dedicated fan base, Atlas Fallen falls short in comparison. Drawing inspiration from titles like God of War and Darksiders, the game strives to create an engaging open world akin to Horizon Zero Dawn but fails to excel in any particular aspect. The combat system, while centered around parrying, becomes a repetitive cycle, and the overall experience feels lackluster and rushed. While there are some positive elements scattered throughout the game, they are overshadowed by the tedium and repetition prevalent in Deck13's attempt at a Metroidvania style game.

Admittedly, the premise and main story beats of Atlas Fallen leave a strong initial impression, with some substance to grab onto. At the core of the story lies the enslavement of a portion of humanity called the Unnamed by the malevolent Sun god Thelos. They are tasked with mining Essence, which has drained the planet and brought about destitution. To keep the Unnamed under control, roaming bands of Wraiths patrol the wastelands, terrorizing and devouring the majority of Atlas's inhabitants. The lore and world-building in Atlas Fallen are genuinely captivating, bolstered by intriguing morsels of information scattered throughout the game's numerous collectibles. However, when it comes to the actual writing and presentation of the main story, it manages to turn this promising premise into a lackluster affair.

Taking on the role of the Unnamed protagonist, also known as the Gauntlet Bearer, players swiftly witness a flurry of events unraveling in Atlas Fallen. The game's narrative seems to prioritize speeding through crucial story elements, catapulting the main character from slavery to discovering a powerful gauntlet housing a deity named Nyaal, ultimately leading them to garner immense respect within the world of Atlas - all within a mere few hours. With such a hurried pace, the plot's twists and turns lose their significance, leaving a sense of inadequacy or a feeling that certain parts of the story were omitted for unknown reasons.

Regrettably, a significant portion of Atlas Fallen's main storyline revolves around the player retrieving scattered pieces of the gauntlet before hastily reaching the conclusion. Nearly two-thirds of the central missions consist of navigating towards an objective, solving simplistic puzzles, and engaging in battles against formidable wraiths - all with the sole purpose of acquiring a gauntlet piece that unlocks new abilities. These newfound abilities range from mid-air dashes to the strength necessary for uprooting heavy objects, unveiling previously inaccessible areas. Repeating this process three times for each gauntlet piece, totaling four times, constitutes the bulk of the gameplay experience. As a result, it feels as though crucial segments of the game's narrative are missing or have been cut inexplicably.

Ultimately, Atlas Fallen succumbs to the notion of swiftly advancing to its conclusion, content with this hurried approach defining its story. However, players are likely to disengage from the main plotline well before the credits roll, due to subpar voice performances and an awkward presentation that notably detracts from the overall experience.

Focus Home Interactive and Deck13 consistently exceed expectations given their limited budget and resources. However, despite being a non-AAA production, Atlas Fallen falls short in terms of voice-acting and presentation, especially when compared to other premium games released this year. The majority of characters and NPCs lack emotion and depth, often seeming disconnected from the ongoing conversations. It appears as though the voice actors were unaware of the context and had to improvise. Most characters are one-dimensional, leaving the game devoid of any vitality or spirit. The only exception to this is Nyaal, the talking gauntlet.

In Atlas Fallen, most characters are dull and lifeless, but Nyaal stands out as yet another talking jewelry trope that serves only as comic relief and an excessive source of exposition. Nyaal's voice lines lack cohesion and tonal context, and his liveliness feels forced and artificial. The attempt to create a character similar to Jarvis from Iron Man falls flat, lacking the natural charisma associated with the character. Instead, Nyaal comes across as jarring.

Despite a lackluster story and poor performances, Atlas Fallen manages to maintain some level of interest due to its visually appealing art style and graphics. The expansive views that seem to stretch on for miles, combined with the pervasive oppressive atmosphere emanating from Thelos, create a captivating world. Deck13 successfully brings visual variety and compelling visuals to a game that could have easily been boring with its barren landscapes. However, it is worth noting that there is a lack of interesting activities to engage in while exploring Atlas.

Most side missions in Atlas Fallen mainly consist of fetch quests or Wraith hunting, offering little else in the meantime. Surprisingly, the game dedicates an entire category of side content known as "Errands," implying that Atlas is in need of some serious tidying up, with only the Gauntlet Bearer capable of doing so. Additionally, scattered throughout the game's four zones are a handful of puzzles. However, these puzzles often involve raising platforms to access new areas or lighting beacons under time constraints, only to bring the player back to the starting point. Unfortunately, the initial intrigue of these puzzles quickly diminishes, and the rewards they offer fail to justify the effort put into solving them. Ultimately, it is easy for players to breeze past most of what Atlas Fallen's open world has to offer without feeling like they are missing out on anything substantial.

Atlas Fallen falls short in its combat mechanics, where its potential quickly fades away, leaving a sense of boredom. The game initially introduces an intriguing "Momentum" feature, functioning as a meter that gradually fills up as players successfully strike enemies. The more momentum built, the more damage the player can inflict, but at the cost of stronger enemy attacks. Moreover, this meter has three tiers, each unlocking new bonuses and perks to aid players against Wraiths, ultimately allowing them to unleash a powerful ultimate move by cashing out all accumulated momentum.

On the surface, the momentum system appears to offer an enticing risk-reward dynamic, challenging players to find the optimal balance between damage dealt and received in order to excel in combat. However, in practice, it fails to deliver on this promise. Instead, the momentum mechanic makes the initial stages of combat underwhelming, as players deal significantly less damage than in tier three. Furthermore, when players do reach the highest tier, there is no incentive to cash out the momentum or fear enemy attacks, as most perks mitigate incoming damage. Ultimately, Atlas Fallen's unique combat approach feels unbalanced, lacking depth, and at times, even turning combat into a mundane task.

Atlas Fallen also has issues with artificial difficulty and a mechanically simple set of enemies that become monotonous quickly. The majority of Wraiths encountered by players follow a predictable pattern of a few easily anticipated attacks, repeating them like clockwork. After learning the initial strategies and adjusting timing for new foes, there isn't much to consider when battling most enemies throughout Atlas. Despite the existence of numerous unique Wraiths, many of the game's boss fights are merely amplified versions of the Wraiths already encountered in Atlas's overworld. As we approached the end of the game, it felt like we were simply going through the motions of the combat system rather than actively adapting strategies and thoughtfully approaching fights.

Furthermore, the combat in Atlas Fallen lacks fluidity and impact, rendering the attack mechanics feeble and unsatisfying due to the presence of sluggish enemies. It fails to deliver on its promise of providing an exhilarating experience where players can engage in seamless combat, gracefully parrying and attacking. Although there are occasional instances where everything aligns perfectly, these moments are so sparse that they hardly justify the effort required to reach them. Overall, combat feels like a monotonous routine that must be completed in order to advance to the next level of the game's Gauntlet, only to repeat the process all over again in the subsequent zone.

Despite its potential, Atlas Fallen falls short in every aspect it attempts to excel in, leaving players with an incomplete and lackluster experience. The storyline is generic and lacks depth, with voice acting that fails to captivate or evoke any emotion. Furthermore, the combat system loses its momentum long before reaching the end credits, leaving very few memorable moments throughout the game's duration. While it may boast stunning visuals and captivating world-building, delving beneath the surface of Atlas Fallen reveals a hollowness that permeates the entire experience.

In the mystical realm of Atlas Fallen, Deck13 presents a captivating desert landscape where ancient deities once roamed freely. Embodied with mighty gauntlets that possess the power to manipulate sand, valiant heroes gracefully glide across vast dunes, embarking on treacherous quests and vanquishing monstrous creatures. With its exhilarating combat dynamics and cooperative gameplay, Atlas Fallen emerges as an action-packed RPG that aims to surpass the accessibility of Deck13's previous endeavors, such as the renowned title, The Surge.

Atlas Fallen is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Game Rant was provided a PS5 code for the purposes of this review.