ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game

What a ride. I just finished the final encounter and got the Choices slideshow. Having only briefly played Fallout 1 and never touched Fallout 2, I can say I love this game. Pros: Clever and intelligent writing Interesting scenarios Solid combat* Quality Camera and Environment controls Hilarious easter eggs Meaningful uses of character statistics and choice Cons: Unbalanced (mostly related to combat) No voice acting (budget restrictions, but I would have loved it) Some quests rely on RNG to progress (more on that later) It's a rare thing for me to become obsessed with a game; I typically hunt and peck among my library before settling. With this game I fell in love with the Soviet Wasteland and the Cadet. I couldn't wait to open it and learn one more connection and complete one more quest. It had me hooked in a way I've wanted for a long time. The writing is spectacular, with everyone you interact with (usually) having helpful or interesting things to say. Everyone is working to their own end, and you have the power to manipulate or be manipulated by those around you. I particularly loved the easter eggs, which are plentiful. This game has converted me into enjoying isometric titles, mostly with how easy the camera is to adjust and control, but mainly the fact you aren't limited to a single perspective and can rotate on ANY map. It helped a lot when the angles of buildings are in your way during fights. The mechanics are balanced to have every character spec Dexterity and follow the perk path to get Think like the Enemy and Praetorian. This limits what is viable to have as a character, and I hope in future titles (haven't played Trudograd yet) they allow for more mechanically varied characters to succeed in combat. The RNG wasn't as bad as other RPGs I've played, but it was jarring to be invested in thickening plots only to have the next thing I need to do is wait for a day and a half for a random encounter to show up. Play it. I hope you love this game too.

Don't own this game, but AtomTeam is a hard working dev studio with an office in Ukraine, which is going through a tumultuous time. Russian trolls are attempting to review bomb Ukrainian studios on GOG, so I'm doing my part to offset those 1 and 2 star reviews.

This game should be called Fallout 4 instead of Bethesda's red-blue garbage. It has you covered with everything - GURPS-alike system, true dialogues, lots of items to collect and places to visit, storyline and a dog companion of course. However, fonts could be better. Portraits of Soviet movie stars for NPCs is a very weird idea. Camera is a lil' bit awkward. In total, this is a great game and a sip of fresh air for all Fallout\Stalker\Metro fans. Worth every penny.

The game is ok but all of the stats and skills need a complete rework. As it is there are only a few ways to successfully have any chance of advancing through the game. The abilities tree skills are utterly worthless. You cannot have a viable playthrough with radical or varied builds like you can in fallout. You need to get an assault rifle and focus entirely on dexterity and guns. Also the quest system is beyond useless because there is no region map that you can look at to see where you have been or plan out where you need to go. They have a fairly large game but places are mostly empty with little to do. The crafting system is quickly superseded by purchasable gear. Of purchasable gear you will find little variety or usefulness. Character growth is painfully slow and combat is pretty boring. You dont have a lot of options is what the game pretty much boils down to. The dialogue and characters are unremarkable and again pretty boring. Exploration is boring and unrewarding as well. I still see a lot of potential here and if you liked the fallout series you may find ATOM interesting even though I didnt.

I Kickstarted this game, and have no regrets in this case. I certainly can't say that about every game. I've played the entire game from beginning to end in my other versions, and my next play through will use the GOG version (now that I have it). My first play through took more than 90 hours. I was expecting a successor to Fallout 1 and 2, and that's what I got. Not a clone, something very similar but different enough to stand alone. It is a little clunky in places, the AI can be a little stupid, and the game could really use a tutorial. Made me feel right at home. It is also funny, exotic, and complex. I would not advise a pure combat build for this game; you will need to use other skills. I found a lot of depth when I really explored. The developers are actually listening to feedback and suggestions, and putting out updates to improve the game. I would recommend Atom RPG to anyone with a classic CRPG itch.