Atlas Fallen

Atlas Fallen offers a lot of interesting things that many players will like. Although it does not innovate too much, it is convincing and fun to play.

Atlas Fallen does not invent the wheel, but it has a good level in almost all its sections, and bets on a charismatic fictional universe (with potential for a sequel). If you like hack and slash, action-RPGs or the rarities of the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation, here is one of the surprises of the year.

Atlas Fallen is an above-average action RPG with plenty of positive qualities. It’s fun to explore the gigantic open-world desert, the Wraiths are formidable and entertaining enemies to fight and the combat system is satisfying thanks to the risk-vs-reward Momentum Gauge mechanic. While the story is formulaic and some gameplay mechanics could use some ironing out, they don’t bog down the overall experience.

Atlas Fallen sees Deck13 make a mostly successful leap to a bright and bold semi-open world that's jam-packed full of excellent combat and some surprisingly slick platforming action. Yes the story is bland, the voice-acting is poor, there are some lock-on niggles and sand-surfing needs work, but ferocious battles, tons of swappable skills and well-designed Metroidvania and platforming elements more than make up for most of the failings here. This is the studio's best game to date for our money, and if you've played The Surge series you'll know that's saying something.

Atlas Fallen does some things right as a new franchise, the world that the team has made is interesting and begs to be explored, the story is for the most part extremely well told and as I said graphically the game looks great. But the unevenness of the combat just makes avoiding fights more common than facing enemies head on. Which is truly a shame because as I said above, I love action games and had high hopes that Atlas Fallen would stick the landing. I am hoping this is something that can be fixed with a patch, because I did enjoy skating around the sands and exploring the massive levels.

Atlas Fallen‘s core is solid — though combat still needs some work — but it seems a bit sparse. Much like the original Assassin’s Creed far before it, I hope Deck13 builds upon what they’ve started to create a far more enjoyable experience in a sequel. While we wait, though, there’s more than enough here to warrant a try.

Atlas Fallen continues Focus Entertainment's run of publishing enjoyable new IPs and features the type of fast-paced action-RPG experience you'd expect to see from Deck13 Interactive. While it seems to lack much in the way of exciting story-based side content, which ultimately upsets the pacing of the main story, there is no doubt that Atlas Fallen is a feast for the eyes and a sand-surfing ride filled with plenty of high-octane combat encounters.

Atlas Fallen is close to being damned good. It is let down by a lack of variety in enemy encounters, poor side quests, and dreadful writing. Still, the combat quickly becomes damned fun and with the option of co-op, it’s well worth checking out if you want some God of Crackdown-style action platforming adventures.

Atlas Fallen is an interesting twist to the soulslike formula Deck 13 embraced in the past. Its open world system works well and the combat it's dynamic and fun, but it turns repetitive. The story lacks attractive and is has some technical issues.

A little short on polish it might be, but there's no doubting Atlas Fallen's credentials as a decent slice of good (but not great) open-world fantasy action.

There are some fundamentally great things about Atlas Fallen, like its gorgeous desert landscapes and its super-satisfying sand sliding, plus combat that has a tonne of options and flows well. But its open world of interesting enemies suffers from a rinse-and-repeat approach, where what was exciting in hour two becomes boring and repetitive by hour eight. It’s not that it’s poorly made, but its mission structure and by-the-numbers narrative delivered in a boring way make for an adventure that is more generic than unique. Atlas Fallen is much like a mirage in its sandy desert setting; enticing at first, but a bit disappointing once you look closer and realise it’s not what you’d hoped.

Atlas Fallen echoes other mid-00s slashers with fun melee combat and cool ideas, trapped in a run-of-the-mill open world.

The more time I spent with Atlas Fallen, the more its cracks became harder to ignore. Its combat system is sorely lacking, the story is entirely uninteresting and poorly told, and the whole experience has an unpolished quality to it. Perhaps Deck13 ought to give the soulslike thing another go.