ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game

I dedicated five hours to achieving victory in the very first battle of the game. Following the save, there is a cutscene, succeeded by an unskippable waiting period and a dialogue sequence. Each time I reloaded or attempted again, I had to endure this process. Ultimately, I succeeded in winning, but that experience was more than sufficient for me in terms of the game...

ATOM RPG started out OK. There was a sense of "simplicity" in terms of overall/general quality. For example only 2-3 attack styles for each weapon, but that is expected since it is obviously a "Fallout like" game. This extends to most everything else however, such as only having 4 places to equip items (head, mask, armor slot, backpack). So what you get is basically a game made just like the original Fallout games, but made about two decades later. I do not see this as a positive or a negative thing, but I do think it's a missed opportunity to add more complexity to a game. The music and graphics were OK for the price of about $10. I didn't experience any bugs that I can recall, so that is good. For me, ATOM RPG is a failure because the developers took many ideas from other places and used them, not for hidden easter eggs or rare in-game references, but as actual game assets you constantly interact with. It contains so many constant reminders of other games, movies, pop culture, etc that it failed to create it's own identity first and I just want to go play those other games. Everything from the game menu where you see names of movies, to NPCs in the game who call themselves stalkers, to having the same monsters from Fallout (just a few examples). While playing this I kept being reminded of other games, and I just want to go play those since they have better quality, immersion/identity, and a better overall experience. ATOM RPG borrowed too much, too often, from other games. It's OK to have references to other things that exist (small items or hidden easter eggs), as long as the main game first creates it's own identity, then holds onto it. Would not recommend.

Clunky, tedious, bland, railroaded and nonsensical, yes, just like Fallout. From a couple of fights I ended up in in my playthrough until level six, the dev is obviously a fan of cutscene death. Be prepared for enemies to materialize in your path at which time you will pass the arbitrary skill-checks or be forced into a fight where you are many times outmatched. The last straw was one instance where you can actually watch your character walk to the designated spot where all three bandits have them in perfect range before initiating the skill-check dialog that you will either pass, pay your way out at the cost of everything you own or die. I uninstalled instead.

Bought it with "high hopes" (i'm a BIG fan of the Fallout series) but never got to play. Even though my system exceeded the requirements to play, i couldn't even get past the load screen. Was given several "workarounds" none of which worked so returned the game. Seriously, no one should have to run the guantlet just to start the game. I'll give it a year or two until the powers that be work the bugs out.

I was kiind of enjoying this game. It's no fallout though. What really sunk it for me was when I decided to look up recipes for crafting. Combine 2 golf balls, a matchstick, a paper bag and you have now made a bazooka. Not really but they are pretty much that silly.