Atlas Fallen Review | Attack of the Fanboy

Atlas Fallen is a recreation that gives a hack-and-slash fashion of fight alongside semi-open world exploration. Its large deserts and overarching story present an aesthetic not seen by most titles right now, though a few of its options will nearly actually draw comparisons regardless. First impressions by most gamers may depart them apprehensive a few lackluster story that may hardly be ignored and characters that toe the road from forgettable to annoying. However in contrast to different trendy releases with related traits, Atlas Fallen manages to carve its personal id by focusing its efforts on the place it issues most.

The Sights and Sounds of Sand

Atlas Fallen has first rate sufficient sound design. Few instances does it really feel like the sport is lacking sound results. Every hit dealt to enemies is loud and clear, making each occasion of profitable injury really feel satisfying. The sport’s music sadly will get drowned out by the noises and common atmosphere, making it exhausting to recall any tracks enjoying in the course of the extra threatening encounters. There’s additionally a notable lack of sound for getting hit by enemy assaults, typically requiring gamers to maintain a relentless eye on their well being bar to understand simply how near demise they’re.

Visually, Atlas Fallen is okay. It goes for a sensible look shared by many Triple-A releases, however the recreation is marred by a couple of hiccups on PC. Decrease-end machines might be struggling to play in any respect with out turning settings all the way down to medium or low, even when choosing the performance-friendly DirectX 11 possibility. The sport appears good on larger settings, however with the fixed flood of tan-and-orange visuals, gamers can have seen many of the recreation’s best appears inside the first hour or two.

Coarse and Tough, however Not Irritating

The sand-filled world of Atlas Fallen doesn’t make for a lot selection in aesthetics outdoors of some notable places, however it’s nonetheless noticeably hand-crafted. Patches of inexperienced and ruins inside caves assist shake up the monotony of the sport’s limitless deserts. There are 4 main areas to discover, with two of them being pretty massive and the opposite two being completely large. The rewards for locating secrets and techniques can range between fantastically-useful objects and little greater than pocket change, however making the trouble to go off the crushed path is often worthwhile.

The principle journey of Atlas Fallen has the participant discovering a mysterious gauntlet housing a voice that grants them godlike powers. They use this gauntlet to free themselves and the individuals from an evil deity referred to as Thelos. A lot of the characters and story beats are pretty forgettable, providing little or no in the best way of attachment. However in contrast to related titles launched this yr, there’s fortunately an amazing lack of “quirky” dialogue or overly-complicated lore. Atlas Fallen’s story doesn’t attempt too exhausting to be humorous or thought-provoking, and it doesn’t must. What’s there may be serviceable, which means any pitfalls inside the story and characters are unlikely to show gamers away.

The largest pitfall of the story is the way it interacts with the gameplay. Whereas there are some nice concepts scattered all through, such because the Watcher’s fixed presence and the existence of Thelos worshipers, the sport doesn’t draw out their full potential. It’s enjoyable to interact with opposing NPCs that despise, concern, and respect the participant character, however it’s a disgrace that the one true foes in battle are the senseless sand-covered wraiths. Atlas Fallen is a reasonably quick recreation general, lasting round 8-10 hours story-wise, and this unimpressive size sadly hinders how a lot it may well experiment with extra enjoyable and distinctive gameplay components.

Which is very a disgrace, as a result of the gameplay itself is completely unbelievable.

Risks of the Dunes

For all of its pitfalls, from story to sound to visuals to options, Atlas Fallen excels in its base gameplay. The sport follows such a easy system with little greater than three foremost weapons, but it manages to make fights with these weapons an utter pleasure. That is partially because of the distinctive “momentum” characteristic that progressively makes assaults stronger because the participant fights extra successfully. Few different action-focused titles handle to incorporate a characteristic like this, and even fewer handle to do it in such an easy-to-access approach. It’s a relentless reward for these keen to enhance their abilities, which they’ll must do in the event that they need to survive.

One of many largest the reason why Atlas Fallen’s fight is so enjoyable is due to how a lot management gamers have. Motion is maybe the delight and pleasure of this recreation, each in fight and in fundamental exploration. Changing a typical dash with a slide on sand was maybe the neatest transfer the builders made, making it enjoyable to easily go from one place to a different even with the existence of quick journey. Aerial motion can also be top-notch, permitting gamers to sprint by the sky and proper their actions for unmatched precision. This extends closely into battles with the sport’s wraiths, making it unlikely that gamers will spend various seconds with their toes on the bottom.

Enemies in Atlas Fallen are simply as spectacular because the fight they’re designed round. Even minor enemies have a number of assaults, requiring consideration and care as gamers tackle the bigger boss-like wraiths later within the recreation. These foes really feel like true threats, with some even shelling out combos of their very own. Beating most of them requires nice information of the sport’s parry system, which is forgiving with out being an entire win-button. There are many different instruments gamers can use to surpass these enemies just like the quite a few Essence Stones at their disposal, permitting them to even the chances when in encounters with teams.

Despite its improbable gameplay, Atlas Fallen sadly suffers from points with the way it balances its encounters. The sport’s problem choice appears to do little greater than improve well being or injury taken, and virtually each struggle — from regular encounters to boss battles — includes a number of enemies. This may make later foes really feel like full injury sponges, particularly when sure bosses are protected by a protect saved up by different enemies. Every foe makes for a superbly enjoyable struggle by itself, so the entire lack of solo battles is simply an utter disappointment.

Ultimate Ideas

Atlas Fallen is just not a recreation freed from flaws. But it surely additionally acknowledges the truth that a recreation must be performed. Above all else, a recreation must be enjoyable to select up and revel in firsthand, and that occurs to be the one space the place Atlas Fallen really excels. That alone makes it way more worthwhile than lots of the different releases it competes with. Ought to the builders proceed to assist this title, both by common updates or a sequel that shatters its outdated flaws, Atlas Fallen will solely ever be a internet constructive on the business. It’d lack a memorable story or the highest-quality visuals, however it’s a first-rate instance of a recreation that builders must be making right now.

About The Creator

Marc has been a contract author for Attack of the Fanboy since 2022. He is most conversant in Nintendo franchises akin to Mario, Pokémon, and Kirby, however he is well-versed in action-packed titles like Monster Hunter and the Souls video games. With every article he publishes, Marc appears to enhance his abilities and make himself referred to as a top-quality author, offering useful ideas and data that others may unknowingly ignore.