Install or Uninstall – Atomfall on PC Game Pass

In early 2024, I came across Atomfall’s trailer and found it intriguing. When it was announced as one of the many day-one releases on PC Game Pass, I knew I’d end up downloading it. This post-apocalyptic survival game looked right up my alley—it gave off The Last of Us vibes, with what seemed to be resource-conscious combat, where every bullet counts and crafting the right item at the right moment could mean life or death. 

That was the promise, at least.

Should You Install or Uninstall Atomfall on PC Game Pass?

I was hoping for a bit of survival tinkering, tension, and just enough narrative mystery to pull me in. I downloaded the game, booted it up, and after two hours, I felt eager to play more. A strong start. But by the second session, things went downhill. My interest waned the longer I played.

The First Few Hours

The early moments definitely hooked me. The mystery surrounding the power plant and its effect on nearby towns and my character’s role in the overall narrative intrigued me. Looking back, though, it was a slow burn. Once the narrative set its foundation, I began exploring—scavenging for materials, using them to fend off radioactive creatures and thugs.

Whether I was tossing Molotovs, taking down enemies silently, or throwing knives at patrolling foes, the gameplay loop started off fun… but lost its edge by the third hour. It never made me feel like I was making impactful or risky decisions.

Playing on normal difficulty, I never felt threatened. I always had enough resources to handle every encounter, which made me think too much exploring ruined one aspect of the game. So, I tweaked the settings to make things more challenging, hoping it would reignite the tension. While I found a decent balance eventually, the game’s world, though full of explorable locations, rarely rewarded my curiosity. Points of interest too often felt like empty distractions.

As I kept playing, the combat began to feel stale. Gunplay lacked any real weight or satisfaction, and loot became repetitive and underwhelming. Without progression or meaningful discovery, both exploration and fighting struggled to work like a unified team to keep me engaged.

The Turning Point

The quest system didn't help. Most objectives revolve around piecing together clues from notes or conversations, breadcrumbs that lead to a bunker, a hidden stash, or some other underwhelming “discovery.” The problem? These quests rarely paid off in a way that felt worth the effort.

Even as I pushed into more segmented areas of the map, exploration continued to feel hollow. Atomfall ties skill progression to finding certain items in the world, but it just wasn’t enough. Each new area lacked a satisfying narrative or gameplay payoff. As I write this, I’m having a hard time remembering one character in the game. Despite the game’s solid visuals, its structure failed to hook me a second time.

I never thought I’d grow disinterested so quickly in a game that seemed like a good fit on paper. But by hour five, I was going through the motions.

Verdict – Uninstall

I uninstalled after six hours. Atomfall had an intriguing start, but its simplistic gunplay, dull exploration, and underwhelming narrative beats couldn’t keep me invested. The difficulty sliders are a nice touch—letting players fine-tune things like enemy strength or item scarcity—but even with adjustments, nothing motivated me to boot it up a third time.