Atlas Fallen Review
Budget hack and slash
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Platform: PS5 Xbox X|S PC
Reviewed on: PC
Developer: Deck13
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Release: August 10, 2023
Time Played: 16 Hours
Genre: Action RPG
ESRB: T
Atlas Fallen is your typical hack and slash full of monsters to fight and treasures to find. Now before you buy it, I would like to share with you a few of the mechanics involved with the game. I’ve put quite a few hours into the game and don’t really feel like it’s worth the asking price, but who knows you might think it sounds pretty good after hearing what I have to say, so without further ado, let’s get into it.
Where it begins:
You start out in a traveling caravan as a Nameless, basically a slave not worth getting a name. After some friction with the guards in charge your forced to search for something outside, away from the safety of the caravan in the wraith invested wilds. Out there you discover a talking gauntlet, after putting it on the gauntlet helps guide you forward providing advise and weapons to defend against the Wraiths ravaging the land.
Can the kids watch?:
The language is clean and there isn’t any blood to worry about in combat. I would say it’s alright for the kids to watch. It is a fighting game so there is a lot violence towards monsters through the majority of the game. There were some very rude people but no physical altercations toward them.
Gameplay:
Combat
Fighting was interesting in the fact that all of the techniques involved can be used simultaneously without taking a quick break, like healing, defending, and attacking could happen at the same time. Because of that the actual fighting didn’t feel like it moved very fast. I mean it does speed up as the game progresses but doesn’t get scary fast with everything you have to keep an eye on.
Weapons
In combat you can only use two of three weapons, and they aren’t all available from the start. The first weapon is a sand axe, followed by a sand dagger whip thing, and finally sandy fists. There is a primary equip and secondary with any weapon equipped wherever you like. Every weapon will have there own combos and will work well with each other. Easy enough to find what works and feels good for you.
Momentum
A big part of combat is the building of momentum denoted by a blue bar in the bottom left of the screen. Momentum is a double edged sword, as it grows your attack power increases, but you also incur more damage. With a lot of momentum your combos increase and start to move faster, and it offers the opportunity to spend all the momentum to use a shatter attack, basically your ultimate attack that does a lot of damage.
Parrying
One of the most important parts in combat would be parries, covering yourself in sand right before you get hit. A perfect parry will crystallize the enemies in place leaving them vulnerable to some free hits. Weaker foes only need one parry to crystallize while bigger enemies require a few more for full crystallization.
Idols
Idols will be the healing items you obtain. There are quite a few to choose from but only one can be equipped at a time. There will be so many charges you can use in combat, and it will slowly recharge as you attack. On use they will heal you either right away or over time, but they each have a unique passive that will help in combat, like increasing how fast it recharges or heals on shatter attacks.
Essence stones
Essence stones are used to customize skills and passives. They can be found from big enemies or quests, as well as crafted after finding the formulas and materials needed. Each stone will belong to one of three tiers and be equipped there on the momentum bar. As momentum is built it will unlock the stone on that section of the bar. Only so many can be equipped at once, but if you like a lot you can save up to three different sets to swap around anytime you like, as long as your not in combat.
Perks
Gaining perks in Atlas Fallen involves upgrading armor. It was odd wasting resources on armor I wasn’t even using, but perks make life a lot nicer. Some help with momentum or increase the odds of finding rare resources. Some even help you move faster wild sliding across the sands. There is a small tree so to speak that has to be followed before a perk is available, and if you end up spending points where you don’t like there is a free reset available.
Talking gauntlet
The voice in the gauntlet is an integral part of the overall story. They guide the protagonist and start up conversations every now and again. Most of the time it would talk about nearby points of interest or when its the perfect time to use my shatter attack, very helpful. But there were a lot of times the voice was pretty annoying, the main character even thought so sometimes.
Outro:
When I first started playing Atlas Fallen I wasn’t really enjoying it between the mechanics and weak voice acting. Somewhere in the middle, about five hours in I started to really enjoy it, but that flame of excitement quickly fizzled out near the end. Knowing that, let’s move forward with the rating.
Atlas Fallen didn’t look that great, moving around was good, but sometimes when people were talking during a cut scene their hair did not follow the movement of their head, that’s a two.
The story jumped right into the action with a little build up about the world. The biggest issue I had was the lack of character growth, the protagonist was suddenly a badass who could take on the world, it’s getting another two.
Gameplay was smooth for the most part. I ran into some issues with enemies stuck in a t pose and still attacking me, and a few crashes, I’m giving it a three.
Nope, absolutely not, I really don’t want to go back through any of this, that’s a one
Like I said earlier the fun didn’t start until quite a ways in and it quickly died off, I’m giving it a two.
All in all Atlas Fallen earned itself an average score of two. Meaning it goes down there on the bottom shelf. The game has its moments of enjoyment, but I wouldn’t say it’s worth full price. Definitely wait for a sale if you really want to try it out.