I have to say, this has been one of those games that has sat in my steam library for a long time without me touching it. I don't normally have the biggest amount of time to devote these days to an RPG, but had some time due to Covid/winter storms and gave it a shot and boy am I glad I did.

Let me start off with: this will not be everyone's bag. If you don't have the devoted love for older CRPGs like Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment, and especially of course the Fallout series, there may not be enough meat on the bone here to really make you excited. HOWEVER... if you have been looking for a proper turn based spiritual successor to Fallout 2 (nothing wrong with New Vegas in my book, but it is very much a different thing) you're looking at it IMO. Lots of games have tried (Underrail comes to mind) but they change the formula here and play with difficulty there and none of them quite got it for me personally. Atom RPG gets it. It's definitely difficult, especially if you run in without a thought to a bit of min maxing or on a harder difficulty. But it's not impossible, especially if you don't mind a few good ol' fashion 90's style save scums.

The people in it are fascinating, the world it makes equally so. If you found the 50s Americana of Fallout to be a fun play on Cold War feelings at their height in the US, this is a very similar thing but swapped to the other side of the Iron Curtain. The bombs fell in '86, it's 2005. There are still people who lived pre apocalypse about, and just about all of their personalities, the weird bits of folklore and rumors you pick up, the strange happenings you'll find, all tend to draw from both yes, standard post apocalyptic fare (rats of unusual size return) but also Russian folklore and Soviet culture. As a westerner, its fascinating as a sort of self parody/allusion to Russian culture of its own period, in the same way Fallout was of American culture.

tl;dr: Do you like Fallout 1 and especially 2? Can you forgive somewhat outdated mechanics, some wonky translations, sometimes sudden difficulty spikes, and a little slavjank? If so, this game will be one that keeps on giving.

Feels like a Russian remake of Fallout 1/2, set in Russia where the war started in the 1980's; a game made by people who really loved Fallout 1/2. I enjoyed it, large world to explore, a stronghold to claim, the most Soviet Union looking car ever made, quests with alternate paths and solutions. I'm not 100% on the idea that vodka cures radiation poisoining.

If you ever felt nostalgic about Fallout 2 but played that game to death, this is the game for you.

Highly recommended.

Some games just come out of nowhere and suddenly become a topic of conversation in many places. That said, there's barely any report from gaming outlets for Atom RPG, even though it has very positive Steam reviews. After being developed in more than a year in early access, the game has recently released earlier this month.

Basically, Atom is a RPG in the style of the old 2D Fallouts, which was made by Russians. Just like Fallout, Atom is set in a post-apocalyptic setting, but this time it sets in Russia instead of the US. Technologically, it's not as advanced as Fallout. It's set in early 2000 after the Third World War apocalypse in 1980s, so most weapons and armors are more modern than futuristic/sci-fi. Everything about gameplay is similar to the older Fallout games, including the top-down view, turn-based combat with AP system, the stats and perks, dialogue choices and checks, thievery, trading, an overworld map with random encounters for enemies & friendlies, lots of locations to visit, and more. Also, just like hardcore mode in Fallout games, this game also has survival elements like hunger, as well as injury and radiation sickness. And just like the classic Fallout games, ATOM doesn't hold your hand at all. At the start of the game, you’re thrown into the wasteland with some clothes and an empty water bottle. You literally have no weapon at all, and you have to think of away to survive while finish the job being given to you. In fact, I think it's a bit on the hardcore side, the game is totally unforgiving and you need to rely on constant saves.

The writing is fantastic and the devs didn't shy away from giving lots of references to other games, even other mediums like books and movies. The places feel alive with NPCs that have their own schedule, including sleep & daily activities. Regarding NPCs, there's one thing I notice, there are lots of scammers in the game. You can absolutely get scammed and lose money to some of them because they're so good at bluffing, it's ridiculously that good. The game has several 'factions' but there's no alignment system to them. There are several companions you can recruit, one of which is a bandit gang member. You recruit this companion, but there are consequences to this decision. Speaking of consequences, the game offers you a lot of decisions and its consequences. You can also have a base, upgrade it and recruit people to stay there. Items are also persistent, just like Fallout games. If you sell something to a trader, he'll keep it and you can rebuy many hours later. You can also store something in a cabinet and it'll stay there. Trading is one of my favorite aspects of the game. Each trader has their own pricing policy, so you'll want to trade with the 'good' ones. Out in the overworld, you can encounter caravan traders, and sometimes they have good stuff and bring lots of money. You can trade with them, or you can simply kill them for free stuff. But beware, this act also has its own consequences.

Overall, these are the game's traits:
* A completely non-linear, living world – every in-game location is available from the start. No invisible walls.
* No limits. The game will remain win-able even if the player decides to kill every single person in the game.
* 120+ hours of gameplay in a single full playthrough.
* Unique NPCs. Every single NPC out of 450+ has his own portrait and a unique branching dialogue.
* Many various ways of completing the game – diplomats, brawlers, gunners and grim survivalists will be able to complete the game in a way unique to them.
* The world changes depending on the player. And you do not have to wait until the title crawl to see those changes.
* More than 250 quests, from epic to fast and snappy.
* Around 90 locations – from new cities to old and forgotten high-tech ruins…
* 100 types of weapons, that will come in handy when fighting with 30+ mutant species and tens of human gangs, ranging from insane cultists to forest pirates.
* Up to 5 followers with unique stories and skills.
* A huge spectrum of peaceful activities. Hunt, fish, craft weapons and even drugs!
* An atmospheric soundtrack.

I followed the game since its early access phase, and I'm pleasantly surprised with the final product. The game is decently polished for a small indie team, well-optimized and no crash whatsoever. There are minor bugs and typos, but nothing gamebreaking. The main issue currently is balance and progression. The game starts very slowly; you can barely fight anything in early game, and you're forced to retreat most of the time. But after you reach the big city to recruit companions and gain better equipment, the game becomes way more manageable then. That said, the game is amazing and managed to secure its place in my top 10 GOTY of 2018. I highly recommend it to all Fallout fans out there, but beware, it's not for the faint-hearted.

Russian Fallout iz Good!

Start game, robbers approach, attempt to talk my way out of it and fail, get robbed and knocked out, what a way to start the game lol.

If you like the old fallout games (FO 1 and 2) then you will like this.
It's well made and looks good but the problem I have is that I can't figure out how to do some things and there's nothing telling me how, for instance I found a place where it says I can grow crops so I'm thinking I can plant this potato I just bought but that aint happenin, later on I'm in a bunker injured from fighting rats and bugs and thinking "How the hell do I use my first aid skill?", I've also found several containers that are locked but can't figure out how to use my lockpick skill to unlock them. I'm sure I'll figure these things out later, but it's frustrating not knowing how to use my skills.

Edit: If one of the devs sees this, I think it would be really great if you put in some kind of in game tutorials.

This review is not meant as a review, but rather as an aid to help you decide if you want to get this game or not.
To help you decide I would like to write down some observations that are important to me and perhaps to you.

I noticed that I tend to like role play games that allow me to take a group through a story. I think this is what connect such games as Dragon Age, State of Decay, Kotor, Survivalist, Mass Effect, Torment, Neverwinter Nights and Jade Empire. There are some odd ones out, such as Vampire the Masquerade and Fallout. Odd one's because you do not manage a group. The first I like because of the mood and the story. The later more because of the freedom it allows and also mood(especially the first Fallout games and New Vegas).

Now Atom RPG is told to be a successor of such games as Fallout and Baldur's Gate(!) and that claim somehow did not sit right with me. Now we could break all the various aspects of these games and compare them, but lets just go to the center issue: the writing. Both games have some stellar writing that elevates them. Atom doesn't. I understand that this is game with a limited budget, but alas it doesn't make the poor writing better because of it. Don't expect an engaging well worked out story line.

It doesn't help much either that the translation of the game from Russian is pretty bad at times. Atrocious is the word that springs to mind. The lack of budget means there is no good translation. Sometimes you find yourselves in a conversation responding in an idiotic manner that you take to be an sarcastic remark. It is isn't: you will find yourself suddenly attacked because the strange sentence was meant as insult. I would advice to save when engaging in conversations.

Now if you can get past the lack of good writing, then what can you expect?
The game looks and feels like an improved version of those early Fallout games in its mechanics. In addition it takes from Fallout the free roaming aspect. It also faithfully copies all the various aspects of the game such as how you character is created, the special system with its abilities(strength and so on), skills and perks(special advantages) and vats, the targeting system. In that the game is indeed a spiritual successor.
In addition it has a crafting system that allows you to make your own things and you can also trade and even develop a base and grow crops and more. And of course manage a small group of companions.

One additional aspect of this game is its background. This game is set after a nuclear war broke out in the end of the last century and it is set in Russia before the USSR fell apart. The later gives the game its own flavor. When you explore you will find much that is related to the Soviet Union such as weapons, gear, outfits, but also the background stories. I think this is possibly the most unique for me and makes the game standing out from others, like wasteland. The background creates its own mood.

There are, at times, also some special highlights, such as the circus where mutants make a living by performing.

However the game has also its share of issues. For one, the game is heavily relying on strength. Strength not only determines how much you can carry and how much damage you do in combat, it also determines what penalties you suffer when handling guns. If you happen to have low strength: woe unto thee.
The game also has no progression for characteristics. These are set at the start of the game and you do not get any more points. There is a way to reset your abilities by buying an hugely expensive potion(It always amazes me that game developers somehow what to limit gamers in resetting their characters) and sometimes you might find things that enhance them.
Next to that, a few quests are broken or so obscure(often because of the bad translation) that you have no idea where to go or what to do.
In addition I never bothered much with the crafting in the game. To craft items you need a certain skill level and a formula. The first means spending points on skills that are other than fighting skills and the later means you need to find them and then buy them. However, it often turns out that normal weapons work as well or better and are often easier to get.

Then there is the heavily combat oriented bias of the game. Fighting means you get points and loot. Other activities do not get you any reward except for the occasional quest related ones. It reminds me of a moment in Kotor where you can sneak past an adversary, but that doesn't give you any points.. So why bother with sneaking? Those who like that eventually get punished for it. Such is the fate of games like that.

I think the most problematic issue for me, next to the writing, is that Atom is unremarkable. The Soviet flavor makes the game stand out, but once you look past it the game has nothing remarkable or special to offer. It just copies over things from Fallout.

The later aspect is made worse by the fact that you will find yourself grinding at times. As you need some skills to explore some quests, you might find that you need another level of two to get the required amount of skill points. And then you find yourself forced to grind.


If these things do not bother you, then you might have fun with this game. It has a free roaming aspect to offer and some improved aspects of the Fallout games. And in a sense the mood is fallout with a Soviet flavor.
But if you prefer good writing, well done dialogue and next to roaming a game that allows you to truly develop your character then probably this isn't the game for you.

In any event:
Good luck!

A post-apocalyptic, isometric, top-down RPG reminiscent of Fallout where you play a Russian in Russia.

You are a member of the ATOM organisation, a secret arm of the military that’s been getting ready for the task of rebuilding the Soviet Empire since even before the war. A major in your organisation goes missing and you are sent into the wastelands to look for him.

Like early Fallouts, ATOM features a world with much to explore and discover. Dozens of quests litter the devastated landscape, many with variant solutions or outcomes. Dialogue choices are multiple-choice and change based on stat allocation and style. There’s a hunger system, radiation and poison, as well as resistances and cures.

Combat is grid-based and you have a limited number of action points to use, so it’s a good thing you have more of them than most monsters, because - despite your extensive military training - you are very bad at fighting early on.

Visually and system-wise the game is great. There’s an intricate skill system that not only has an effect on speech and combat, but on your actions in the game world.

THE GOOD
- Interesting story, with a lot of interesting side-stories
- Deep skill / Attribute system
- Items and weapons to craft

THE BAD
- Random encounters can be too hard for your level
- Rough start
- Inventory management


DISASTER | BAD | MEDIOCRE | OKAY | GOOD | GREAT | AMAZING | MASTERPIECE

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If there is a game I am glad I backed in Kickstarter, it's this one. Although the premise of an RPG inspired by Fallout drew me in, I think this game surpasses Fallout in many respects.

Instead of being a retro-futuristic game with a heavy 50s and 60s sci-fi aesthetic influence, and setting the game in a future so far removed from the war that it is almost a myth, this game goes for the speculative alternate history route and has the war start in the 80s and the game starts in the 2000s, in a remote region somewhere near central Asia, where there are still plenty of survivors with memories of the world before the war, and of their losses. In accordance to that, weapons date from the 1980s and earlier, with a unique Soviet flavour. Realistic setting design choices are always better than pulp sci-fi in my book, or at least not so trite.

The characters are written with a lot of charm, and many of them are references to writers and notable Russian cultural figures, but even if you do not get most of the references (I certainly don't!), they are still written with a lot of charm and care, especially the companions.

Quest resolution is not as straightforward as the usual fare: you can resolve situations in many ways, and either side of the conflict may not be what it seems (case in point would be one of the early quests where you can infiltrate, or side with, a bandit gang). Many conversations can be solved with either speech checks or choosing the correct answer, if you think you know what might sway a particular character. In short, this game gives you a lot of leeway in how to handle matters, and that's a huge bonus in my book.

The game has a good share of random non-combat encounters that help build the world, as many times you meet travelers you can trade with, or share stories and rumors (and they have done a great job with the rumors)

Regarding the graphics, they are good looking for a game of this kind. While they won't amaze you, they are rather serviceable, and they can be rendered decently with a low-end graphics card.

There is also crafting and base-building if that is important to you, though I haven't explored that aspect of the game thoroughly so I cannot elaborate.

This is a qualified recommendation – it’s not a game for everybody. It’s a hard core indie cRPG with a strong survival element which many may find too long-winded, fiddlesome and annoying. But if you are a fan of classic cRPGs and perhaps the sort of player that turns on survival mode in Fallout 4 or Skyrim and then adds extra hard core realism mods on top of that to make them worth playing then I would recommend a look at this game.

The game is a loving homage to the original Fallout 1 & 2 games with a generous slice of STALKER lore on the side. It’s ruleset is more a less a straight copy of FO1/2. So is it’s combat system. The story itself and setting is different of course, but there are still similarities in the structure of the narrative, quest design and character design. And it is very open ended and open world. Just like in FO1/2 you can definitely play this game your way, go where you want and do what you want.

This is not to say that the game doesn’t have problems and questionable design decisions, more than it’s fair share of them in fact (I’ll detail some below), but despite that I have not been able to put this game down from start to finish and the reason for that I would describe like this: Atom RPG somehow contrives to be worth a lot more than the sum of it’s parts. With all it’s jagged edges and annoyances it has no right to be as compelling a game experience as it is. Nevertheless, it is.

These are some of the things some players may bounce off of. YMMV:

1. There are no big shops in the game that will buy your loot for a decent price and have enough money to pay for it. You have to slog around waiting to meet random caravans and calling in on countless small traders to unload your stuff in small parcels. This works well in the early-mid game (immersion) but later gets to feel tedious and excessively time consuming. Grinding basically.

2. There is a constant struggle to find ammo for your weapons in sufficient quantity. Nobody, not even the main gun shop, will have more than a few rounds of even the most basic ammo in stock. Worse is that in general the better the weapon the rarer it’s ammo. Again this works well early-mid game but starts to grate hard later on.

3. There are a lot of random encounters, in fact 75%+ of your loot and XP comes from these. They are zoned into “difficulty controlled areas” across the map but nevertheless you will hit plenty of encounters early-mid game, even if you’re careful, that you have little to no chance of surviving and will have to reload quite frequently.

4. There is no hotkey to give you all the names of the numerous NPCs kicking around locations. In fact until you actually speak to them you don’t even know their names. Talking to all these NPCs and finding them if they relate to a quest you’re given can be a serious chore. It takes ages and not all of them are interesting. Most cRPGs label all NPCs and you can differentiate important ones from flavour ones by having a name rather that just “citizen” or “guard”. This game doesn’t and that can feel like too much “realism” sometimes.

5. The game follows exactly the FO1&2 system whereby your companions are under (*cough*) AI control, not yours. There is a system of sorts that allows you to set general orders for them and some specific orders in battle but it’s very clunky and often annoying. I would much rather the game allowed me to control my party and was rebalanced accordingly. IMO this is a mistake. Even if it’s what Fallout 1&2 did not everything about those games was good, and this is a prime example IMHO.

6. This is a zero hand holding game. No quest map markers. Precious little instructions in the journal. Skyrim it is not. ‘Nuff said.

One might be forgiven for thinking a list of problems like that would spell the kiss of death for a game, but as I said above this game is worth a lot more than the sum of it’s parts. It’s a tough survival-centric hard core cRPG and if you’ve played and beaten games like Pathfinder Kingmaker, Wasteland 2 and of course the original Fallout games then for all it’s faults I recommend giving it serious consideration.

ATOM RPG

If there was ever a game that was close to old legendary Fallout 1,2 this is it!
This is a game that was made by a small studio with a lot of love and dedication and you will feel it.

Graphic style is exactly what I was looking for when I was imagining Fallout 3 (Cause Fallout 1,2 are one of my most loved games). I simply love it. You have a nice isometric view with everything drawn with love and details. It is set in the 80's. World is not so destroyed as in Fallouts. There are more intact buildings. Villages and locations are believable. And there are really many of them and quite diverse. Also NPCs are nicely drawn with details and have good variability. Color palette is not so grim, but appropriately colorful. Not greenish or grayish tint on everything like in Fallout 3,4.
Sounds are really nice and few music motifs reminded me about some Fallout 2 locations.
HUD is resembling Fallout too, also using some same keyboard shortcuts.

Inventory is intuitive and great. You don't need to constantly scroll. You don't spend an awful lot of time in inventory either - unlike Fallout 3,4. All the items are nicely drawn, just too bad you can not zoom and see bigger pictures or details. Anything that you put on yourself you will see in game. You can wear things on body like armor, on head like hat or helmet, on face like glasses or clown red nose (+1 luck, - 1 charisma), on back like back pack or shield, one place for accessories like scanner or lockpicks or magnifying glass, two slots for hands. There are a lot of ways to increase certain attributes, like clothes, chems, alcohol. For example Hexagon has I think the only cap in the game which if put on head before reaching new lvl will grant you +3 skillp. You start the game with melee weapons and I used them for half of the game. It is possible to play like that, but you can obtain ranged weapons also quite soon. There is actually one quest about weapons delivery early in the game.

Attributes and skills are easy to understand and like. Attributes go to 10. I think the only exception was with Dexterity where you could go to 11, then get a special tattoo to raise it to 12 to obtain 1 extra action point. In Trudograd every skill has milepoints which when you reach the skill will be enriched with a really helpful feature. Not sure if it was part of the update here as well.
You also get Talent points and have a big three to spend it in. This is the only place you can get lost. They are divided into categories and you can go wild there and build whatever you like, there are many routes to victory. When I played the game some 2 years ago, there was a flaw in it - first talents cost 1, second 2, third 3 points and so forth...

Combat is executed in old school turn based fashion and it works like Swiss-clock, I never had a problem with it. Wonderfull. I also love the weapon system and the upgrades you can do to every single weapon. There are several drugs that can boost something at the expense of other things. Expensive (at least at start) stimpacks with no minus and home made painkillers with some minuses, like lowered attention and so on.
This game has the best shotgun mechanic I have ever seen. Engine calculates dmg for each pellet that hits the target. This way each pellet dmg is subtracted by amount of armor but there are so many of them and some do crits. So for soft targets they are devastating, but can be a problem also for high armor.

You can also have a home and do upgrades to make a base from it. Have a gunsmith to create some unfrequent ammunition. Obtain dumbbells and exercise to have your strength pumped for some time.

Time is ticking away and with it the life of people. Law-abiding citizens will stay on streets only thru day. Shifty characters will change locations and will come to their place only at night. While those that are in house or similarly indoor will be open 24/7. Shopers on streets and near stands will also go home at night.
There are several characters that you can have in party. I liked Hexagon and Fidel. Some are easy to obtain while others are kind of hidden.

Traveling is done simply by having a big map with discovered locations. You can just click where you want to go, or roam about and find something on your own. There are few random encounters. For example near Ghost City was it? There is a location with one to teeth armed guy who took it on him to destroy the nest of Demons (or devils?). There you can find the best helmet, armor and machine gun. After you kill the Demons of course. This equipment can also be bought in shops, but it is hard to find. I think there is a roll based on luck and one talent (to see better items at a shop) can influence it as well.

Quests: the core of all RPGs. Here this game shines like a star. The game has a lot of memorable quests. Really a lot. Like when you will be fixing a car for the mayor of one town. Then when he went to town to buy some stuff he, as an old time cop, will be seen by an old criminal who he put behind bars back then, the criminal will send a hit squad after him. While traveling through that area you will stumble on the wreck of his car, where with his last breaths will explain what happened. You will have the option to tell his daughter the truth or put him into a grave there at the spot. Your simple decision will have a far reaching outcome.
Or there is a criminal group called "Death" roaming the country, killing and plundering. In one town you will find an old criminal who created that group, but will today see the error of his old ways of killing and will ask you to find and kill them. Group has I think 4 leaders, so you will encounter 4 different groups while traveling. Each leader has a distinct original personality. These random encounters start with conversation, so you can not plan formation and tactics like usual. In the conversation you can achieve a few things. One you can persuade them about their wrong ways, two others will be possible to get a better position for combat. In the last one I could pump Constitution to pass burn tests and make such an impression to join them. If you do that forget about completing the game, cause you will be outcast and everyone will open fire when they see you. But it is possible to experience that in this game, which was not seen in games for the last 20 years.

There are many great quests, stories and NPCs to discover. You will feel decisions that you make. Some have profound effect on the world, some only little. Game has a lot of memorable moments. And if this is not a reason to buy this CRPG then what?

Now minuses.
Game uses a barter system, so when you have something really expensive you will either sell it a bit cheap in those few shops with a lot of money but high barter skill or barter it for 3-4 cheaper items that you can sell for money elsewhere. It makes selling stuff harder, more time consuming.
Weapons range is written as short or medium or long. Which sucks. It would be much better to put numbers there. You can have two weapons with Long and one will shoot further than the other. You can not make educated purchases based on that.

I think all lovers of old Fallout 1 and 2 will like this game.

ATOM RPG is basically Russian Fallout 2.5. It has the same non-linear structure, turn-based combat, skill checks, attributes, skills, traits/perks, irreverent writing, interesting locales and open-ended quest design. It has the same attention to detail and rewards you for being comprehensive. It's missing the talking head dialogue but given the budget, that's understandable. Simply put, if you enjoyed FO1 and 2, you'll like ATOM RPG.

That said, there are some flaws. RNG is everywhere. Lockpicking, pickpocketing and crafting are all based on chance, making save-scumming basically mandatory. It becomes less annoying as you put more points into each respective skill but it still seems unnecessary. They should have just done what New Vegas did and require specific levels per skill check instead of RNG. That way, you don't waste your time retrying failed checks. The UI was pretty clunky too. Lockpicking and pickpocketing are selected through a contextual menu that requires you to hold LMB. They should have just used hotkeys. Likewise, if you want to identify an item without picking it up, you have to use the same contextual menu. They should have just showed the item name when you mouse over it.

Nitpicks aside, ATOM RPG is a remarkable value. It's a 60+ hour CRPG with a $15 price tag. If you're a fan of the genre, this is a no-brainer, especially if you're an old-school Fallout fan.