Atomfall: Discover the open world of Rebellion 🌍🔥

Atomfall is a potential cult classic, but its technology remains distractingly previous-generation.

Known primarily for its Sniper Elite and Zombie Army series, British developer Rebellion is venturing into an open-world game this time, Atomfall. Based on the same in-house engine as its other projects and available on both last- and previous-gen consoles (as well as PC), it represents a significant shift for the studio, making it an interesting challenge for its Asura engine, which we last saw in 2022's Sniper Elite 5. 🎮

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Atomfall is its alternate history setting in Cumbria, where the player wakes up in a bunker near a quarantine area following a nuclear disaster. There are elements of the refined run-and-gun gameplay Rebellion has perfected, but with much more: survival elements, multiple paths, branching dialogue with NPCs, stealth, and investigation. It's a welcome leap into new territory, and comparisons can be made to Bethesda's Fallout series, though there are many differences here as well. 🚀

One notable technical change is that Atomfall divides its environment into sections, with loading screens between each one, although their areas remain quite large. From a distance, their landscapes are beautiful, but our tests have revealed some problem areas in their technical performance, which could be attributed to the decision to target both current and previous-gen consoles. We've tested the game on PS5 Pro, PS5, Series X, and Series S for this comparison, and while there are better and worse options on next-gen machines, the difference is noticeable. 🔍

Before we get into platform comparisons, it's worth discussing some of the less favorable elements of the game's technology. Texture quality is no longer impressive on last-gen systems, with low-resolution assets used for many surfaces. Screen-space reflections (SSR) are also distracting, with the technique used on console causing large bodies of water to flicker with player movement. And, to top it all off, the image quality It's not up to par, as the game's anti-aliasing method fails to resolve flickering and noise during any camera movement. ⚠️

It's clear that Atomfall was designed with scalability in mind for older consoles like PS4 and Xbox One, but does that guarantee a locked-down 60fps experience on the next-gen machines we're focusing on? What's the best platform to enjoy the game on? And does the PC version overcome the console limitations to deliver the definitive version of the game? 🤔

To start the comparisons, let's look at the internal resolutions per machine. PS5 and Series X are tied in pixel count, running between 1440p and 1800p, with similar visual settings. Xbox Series S, on the other hand, runs at a fixed 1080p, with cropping to SSR and tree LOD, while also being limited to 30fps. Official support for PS5 Pro allows the game run at higher resolutions on Sony's medium refresh rate, reaching up to native 4K, though dynamic scaling between 1440p and 4K is common in most scenarios. Aside from that, textures, shadows, and draw distances appear to be identical between both PS5 systems.

The issue of image quality is where Atomfall continues to disappoint, no matter which platform you choose. Sadly, scaling artifacts are an issue even in the best of cases on PS5 Pro, where the problem is slightly mitigated by rendering more pixels on average.

Anti-aliasing is enabled on all consoles, from Xbox Series S to PS5 Pro, but pixel crawling is surprisingly obvious throughout the frame in action. The lack of temporal TAA seems to be part of the problem here: player movement often generates stuttering episodes, especially on swaying grass or well-lit geometric edges. The upscaling process from resolutions as low as 1440p on PS5 or Series X doesn’t help either – and is quite evident on Series S with its typical 1080p. 📉

The PC version highlights the root of the problem. Looking at the PC version set to maximum, running on the best Ultra AA preset and in native 4K, there is still issues with pixel crawling and flickering. We don't see many modern open-world games launch without some form of TAA, and Atomfall makes it clear why this technique has proven so popular.

The only post-process anti-aliasing on offer here—presumably FXAA or SMAA—is simply not up to the task of tackling visually noisy areas on screen, even when presented with a fixed 4K frame. Untreated areas of refinement, such as foliage and mesh fences, are particularly jarring, and ultimately, Atomfall doesn't provide enough options on PC to truly clean up the image. 🖥️

In terms of visual options on PC, you can independently enable or disable multiple settings shadowing that are enabled on PS5 and Xbox Series: ambient occlusion (AO), screen-space shadows, and occlusion fields. AO is the most familiar option here, simulating diffuse shading on the ground and in the corners of the environment.

Screen-space shadows sound similar, but instead add contact shadows to the world, like those cast by sunlight. You'll notice additional shadows under rocks and an extra layer beneath grass. Occlusion fields are described by Rebellion as soft, ray-traced shadows around the player and NPCs, applying strictly to character models rather than the environment. ☀️

The problem on console is that combining all these shading options ends up giving the characters a heavy, dark silhouette. It feels like overkill and tends to look a bit odd. Fortunately, on PC there's some flexibility in how many of these shading techniques you combine, but on console you're limited to a heavily shaded look.

Moving on, there's an issue with reflections. The base PS5 and Series X both seem to be running on the PC's low or medium reflections settings, causing visible flickering when you move around nearby. It's striking, especially for a last-gen console release, and is one of the most distracting uses of SSR I've seen in a long time.

The good news for PC users is that the Ultra reflections setting mostly fixes that flickering, and even the High setting does a good job of preventing it. Of course, all of SSR's usual limitations remain, with occlusion artifacts and a drop in detail toward the edges of the screen. It's a standard, and it's a shame there's no effort to implement true RT reflections alongside its RT shadows option. However, the PC version does offer relief from one of the game's console issues.

In terms of in-world draw distances, PS5 and Series X are matching up well with the best PC presets. The only lingering issue is texture quality: on console we're getting the equivalent of the high preset, which falls short of the assets possible on the PC's ultra settings. It's not a radical difference, really, but maxing out the PC version again helps minimize the distraction of seeing certain objects or walls up close. 🏞️

PS5 Pro gets a resolution boost to 4K at its peak, which helps improve clarity in Atomfall's visually dense areas. PC remains the best and most consistent way to maintain 4K resolution.

There is an upside to playing on PS5, PS5 Pro, and Series X, as each runs at their target 60 frames per second. So far, every open-world battle and quick sprint through cities has been hitch-free in my testing. That only comes with the odd exception, where I noticed performance dropping to the low 50s when fighting a gang for an extended period. After dying, the area went back to playing at 60s again. I also had a system menu crash, oddly, after trying to consume food from my inventory. Generally speaking, though, PS5, PS5 Pro, and Series X are holding up well. 😊

A bigger frustration is the Series S version. Despite its cuts in resolution and settings, being limited to 30fps with V-sync results in a noticeable increase in input latency and visual responsiveness, and it's hard to recommend this version for those reasons. reasons – although its frame rate It's at least solid at that 30fps target.

In conclusion, Atomfall’s performance is mixed when judged purely by its technology, but it’s certainly an intriguing idea. The Lake District setting plays host to a paranoia-driven adventure, forcing you to conserve ammo, opt for stealth, and navigate your way through dialogue with NPCs. If that appeals to you, the PS5 and Series X versions offer a solid 60fps representation of the game, even if textures, reflections, and image quality are all trouble spots.

For the most crash-free experience of the game, the PC version offers solutions when working in configurations ultra, though maxing out its graphics menu only does so much. In terms of the options offered, Atomfall makes some surprising omissions: there are no modern anti-aliasing options like TAA, let alone FSR or DLSS, here. 🔧

Everything points to this being a game developed across generations, with previous-gen machines still very much a focus. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see if Rebellion's next effort fully commits to next-gen machines—and also, if Atomfall could be a good scalable fit for Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2. 🔄