I gave Atomfall a crack and I was pleasantly surprised. Not just because it looks lovely and seems to have totally ditched Ubisoft's "hunt-the-icon" approach to open worlds, but mainly because you're repeatedly engaged by scousers, people from North Wales and (of course) loads of people with a Cumbrian accent. I was fascinated to see what Americans made of it, but as far as I can tell they seem to be quite enjoying it too. It made me wonder what other obscure bits of the UK could be adapted into the survival horror genre. Fife springs to mind.
Now, I'm sure Atomfall is going to massively flop (as almost every game does these days) but it's lovely to see a developer try something a bit different. Can anyone else think of some games that take a well trodden genre and set it in a weird, real location? Grand Theft Auto: Newport or something….
I don't know if I'm enjoying Atomfall – it's very well made, clearly, and the atmosphere is immaculate – but ee, by gum it's stressful. Wandering about with three bullets in my rusty pistol, a couple of bandages and a cricket bat, I constantly feel in danger (an effective illusion, of course, as I'm playing on the easiest combat difficulty).
It's another cracking entry to GamePass, though. It's not been a great service for a while, but 2025 has been very strong so far.
I saw Atomfall described as W.A.N.K.E.R. - Shadow of Cumbria which I thought was perfect.
I like this trend of very British games creeping back in. Games like this and Thank Goodness You're Here must be absolutely impenetrable for Americans. It reminds me of the 8-bit days where you'd routinely get games like Everyone's a Wally or Jack the Nipper and they'd be like they'd stepped off the pages of Viz or the Beano. And now they're almost time capsules for a very specific 1980s sort of humour.
In terms of other recent-ish games, I really liked Everybody's Gone to the Rapture which is set in a fictional (and deserted) English village but it's very evocative and gets the details exactly right. I think Fallout: London was quite well received recently but I haven't played it myself. Isn't Watch Dogs: Legion set in London too?
I really liked Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
I read that at a glance as Everybody's Golf to the Rapture, and I'd definitely play that.
I saw Atomfall described as W.A.N.K.E.R. - Shadow of Cumbria which I thought was perfect.
I like this trend of very British games creeping back in. Games like this and Thank Goodness You're Here must be absolutely impenetrable for Americans. It reminds me of the 8-bit days where you'd routinely get games like Everyone's a Wally or Jack the Nipper and they'd be like they'd stepped off the pages of Viz or the Beano. And now they're almost time capsules for a very specific 1980s sort of humour.
In terms of other recent-ish games, I really liked Everybody's Gone to the Rapture which is set in a fictional (and deserted) English village but it's very evocative and gets the details exactly right. I think Fallout: London was quite well received recently but I haven't played it myself. Isn't Watch Dogs: Legion set in London too?
It's based in a strangely compressed London, yes. But then there's been The Getaway and other games, I'm sure, based in London. There's something quite dangerous about presenting Americans the UK without Tower bridge I think.
Forza Horizon 4 is Edinburgh and the North. And that was quite enjoyable with a wheel and pedals. Even if often I felt I was commuting to work back in the early 00s.
Everybody's Gone is pretty good, I forgot that. it's got strong Clockwork Orange vibes and is very odd.
I think Assassin's Creed Syndicate and Watch Dogs Legion might have shared a map, despite being set hundreds of years apart. Same studio of course, and both maps annoyingly ended one street before my old flat in Lambeth.
They also both portrayed Lambeth as a crime-ridden hellhole. Which is fair enough.
