PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: 10TH AUGUST
By Chris Jackson
Set in a fantasy land filled with danger and mystery, Atlas Fallen – from The Surge developers Deck 13 – tasks players with liberating mankind from the oppresive rule of some particularly corrupt gods. Using shapeshifting weapons and sand-powered abilities, you’ll help the locals (who are often afflicted by some very peculiar accents) and slay countless sand-dwelling creatures across a semi-open world en route to achieving your goal. Besides following the main objectives, there are dozens of side quests and errands (fetch quests by any other name) to keep you going, along with smaller distractions like smashing statues, hunting for treasure chests (sometimes with help from the local wildlife), taking down colossal wraiths to clear foggy areas of the map, racing towards totems against the clock, and challenging yourself with very brief platforming sections. It’s an attractive world with plenty to do, but the rewards can unfortunately be a little underwhelming (more on that later).
So far, things might sound a little familiar, but Atlas Fallen sets itself apart from other action RPGs with its combat system. Your unnamed character is able to wield three weapons which all have their own single-button combo attacks. These link into a Momentum meter which is built up as you hit and defeat enemies. The gauge has three tiers, with your weapons growing in size and power as your momentum increases, and you’re able to add nearly a dozen upgradeable “essence stones” to the meter, giving you additional special moves and bestowing a variety of other effects upon your character when your momentum reaches each stone’s specific point on the gauge. You’ll deal more damage while your momentum is high but you’ll also take more damage from enemy attacks, so you constantly need to decide whether to expend some momentum to perform a lower-tier attack or risk saving it up for the bigger moves. It’s a fun mechanic, but tends to feel a little undercooked – more than 150 of these essence stones can be acquired throughout the game, but you’re likely to figure out which ones work best for you within the first couple of hours, leaving many of the game’s rewards feeling redundant as you’ll be given plenty of trinkets that you’ll have no use for.
Taking elements of big hitters like early God of War, Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, Atlas Fallen certainly has lofty ambitions. It succeeds in its world design and unique mechanics but doesn’t quite provide enough motivation for players to keep pushing forward. It’s certainly fun to travel around the land skating on sand and zipping through the air, and the combat is very well done indeed, but some underwhelming rewards, repetitive side content and the by-the-numbers story hold the overall package down somewhat. Having said that, if you’re after something light to pass the time with rather than really sink your teeth into, this may well hit the spot.
