ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game

That really will sum it up. The game will often use similar approach to just most F1, F2 mechanics ( sometimes with slightly altered names ). Humor is similar as well. There is some odd mysticism, survival, and, by law now, crafting ( though I honestly can't complain, because it actually fits a survival game ). The only reason I don't have it on GOG is because Steam had it first. If I knew it was coming, I would have waited. It is worth a try. 5 stars because I am biased.

The game has a lot of detail and good writing in it. I would say I had a lot of fun for the first ~75% of it. But last bit and the ending really left me bummed out. It took 3 tries until I built a character that works (focused on guns/smgs and speech) and went my merry way. I made mistakes when leveling up so I had to buy the respec potion you can get in one of the major cities. So it's too easy to make a character that can't handle the challenges ahead. I went with a speech focus because the writing for all the different npcs was so good, I wanted to get the most out of it. What really ruined it for me was, that even though my speech was so high and I passed the check with the final boss, I could not find a way to make him stand down. And because he pulverised me in one attack, the only option I had was to surrender to him and get a bad ending. I read that you need a high luck stat to win him over (unconfirmed). But if you do not know that during character creation you are kind of screwed.

Graphics aside, the entire engine is lifted straight from Fallout (even down to some Perks); so if you liked Fallout, this is more of it. I have not finished the entire plot, but what I've experienced I've enjoyed: it's a little less sci-fi / more soviet fatalism, with a few cringe-worthy moments ("I really like that guy, I'm afraid I might be gay; oh no, it's a woman dressed as a guy; phew!") but nothing outright weak or terrible. My only qualm is the translation. I'm pretty good at piecing meaning together, but there were moments where I had no idea what was being said or why.

This is a truly quality game. Many choices, LOTS of optional dialogue and quests and just small details that really help the immersion (which is everything!). I love it that there is not a single character I found who wouldn't have its own story and portrait. I just love playing this slowly. It is of the same or similar quality as Fallout 1 and 2 - which means, it's a masterpiece! In my personal opinion, this game is better than Wasteland 2 because Atom is more immersive (And serious, although not in any gloomy way). Just my opinion. I'm really broke right now and can't afford this game, but I will definitely buy it once it's on discount. Even though I believe even at its full price it is SUPER cheap. So much content and love for mere 15 bucks. I wish I could buy it immediately, but it is what it is. I also have to mention there are lots of really realistic details from the soviet era in this game. From small details like condensed milk tin can (exactly like it was back then) to subtle details such as very soviet-like old-people's characters (shy/closed, but good heart pouring out). I recognize these as I am from eastern europe. Well done developers! A must have for anyone who loved the classic isometric RPGs and any fan of good story and immersion.

Sadly this game is not the spiritual successor to Fallout. The dialog is all over the place and is mainly driven by skill checks rather than cleverly reading and replying. Most of the time it ends up in "you failed the skill check so this NPC has nothing to say to you. When you do get an NPC to say something useful, they often get the story out of order and talk about stuff that hasn't happened yet or treat you like something happened that you're supposed to know about. This has happened a lot to me. Encounters are frustrating because they pop up very frequently and you are constantly outgunned or outnumbered. The encounters don't make a lot of sense either, for example I was ambushed by some cultists in the middle of the desert and the encounter map was a whole town. I was ambushed by a bear twice while walking on a railroad near town and the encounter map was the middle of the desert. Some elements of the game just don't make sense. People will see you going through their belongings in a back room blocked by a curtain while they are facing the other direction in the opposite room. Half the time they care if you take something on their property and the other half they don't. The game doesn't do a good job of explaining things like toxicity or radiation either. You're left googling why your character is coughing, only to realize a tiny bit of text on the lower right of your screen says "radiated." Why isn't that listed on the character sheet? The game desperately tries to be an RPG by throwing the elements of an RPG together but it ends up being a confusing mess.