Summary
One of the most curious games released in 2025 so far has been Rebellion’sAtomfall, a British post-apocalyptic adventure set in the Lake District. The game made a huge impact when it was announced and has made a splash after being released, leaving its mark on the post-apocalyptic gaming scene. It’s a title that shows clear influence from icons of the genre while also presenting something very new and unique. The game features an open world Lake District in an alternate timelinebased on the real-life Windscale Disaster of 1957. It has also become popular for its retro-futuristic aesthetic, its rich open world, and its range of memorable characters and peculiar anomalies. And, of course, many fans love the way it fully embraces its British setting.
Fans ofAtomfallmight find themselves curious about other great post-apocalyptic adventures to try. And as it happens, there are a lot of great options. The genre comes in many forms, from FPS to RPG, and there are many different types of apocalyptic scenarios. Here are some of thebest post-apocalyptic games that fans ofAtomfallmight enjoy.
The Farm 51’s ambitious FPS brings players into the real-life Chernobyl Exclusion zone as it is revisited by a survivor of the infamous disaster of 1986. Except, as withAtomfall, there turns out to be a lot more going on.Chernobylitecombines exploration, resource gathering, base construction, and team management as Igor searches the zone for his missing wife. And while not a full open world, each section of the zone is freely available for Igor to explore. Crafting and resource management are essential, with the player being able to develop their skills and gradually improve their base to get better equipment. And, of course, Igor also recruits allies that he can gain or lose favor with. Sometimes, that has devastating consequences, so he has to keep them fed, healthy, and comfortable, which is often easier said than done.
But a major thing aboutChernobyliteis the way it handles open-ended gameplay. A big part of the plot revolves around the titular substance having a temporal effect on the surrounding area, allowing Igor to play with the timeline. Throughout the game,Igor has to make tough calls that have lasting consequences, but he can also re-evaluate, re-experience, and even change those choices; a big part of the game involves finding the right combination of choices to get the best outcome.
Hideo Kojima’s weird post-apocalyptic adventure puts players in the shoes of a mailman during the Death Stranding? What’s the Death Stranding? Well, that’s a bit hard to explain, and it can be pretty confusing even with context. Suffice it to say, it’s a weird apocalyptic event that’s messed up the world. It’s easily one of the weirdest apocalyptic events that fiction has conceived. Kojima’s lore includes giant whale/squid hybrids that torment the countryside, people having their own extradimensional beaches when they die, psychic babies in tanks, and a literal dead man walking. But it also features an extremely detailed world to explore. As a postal worker, protagonist Sam Porter-Bridges gets to carefully plan routes to make deliveries, getting access to better resources and equipment as he progresses.
While it might not be a nuclear apocalypse,Death Strandingdoes offer a dangerous world full of peculiar anomalies and distinct characters. Aside from having to overcome rough terrain, Sam also has to deal with deadly entities known as “BTs,” timefall rain, and mail pirates who want to steal his cargo. And a big part of the story involves uncovering the history behind the Death Stranding, even if it’s not Sam himself doing the investigating. While there is less roleplay, the game does make a point of offering some engaging characters for its story and making sure that every potential destination feels unique.There is also a sequel coming this year, so it’s a good time to get acquainted with the madness before Kojima can spring something new on fans of the original.
Atomfallitself was often jokingly referred to as “BritishFallout” in the lead up to its release because of the obvious similarities. TheFalloutgames feature a retro-futuristic alternate timeline wherethe Cold War turned hot thanks to capitalism, and America was left an irradiated wasteland. Each game sees players exploring a different part of the United States, making decisions that shape the future of the world and the fates of other survivors. And, of course, players will quickly notice how it inspired a lot ofAtomfall’s encounters. The “outlaws” were probably inspired byFallout’s raiders. The “ferals” clearly take inspiration fromFallout’s feral ghouls. Even the idea of the game featuring competing factions, many of which tap into myths and history around the game’s setting, is very reminiscent of the various groups that can be encountered throughout theFalloutgames.
LikeAtomfall, one of the big characteristics ofFalloutis its open-ended gameplay. Players explore an open world and have to scavenge for resources while also interacting with various characters who have unique personalities. The games are designed to allow different ways of doing it. Players can roleplay or go for a full-on killing spree if they feel so inclined. Some of them even include similar mysteries and investigations, albeit perhaps with more clearly established objectives and quests.Fallout: New Vegasactually features an amnesiac protagonist trying to uncover the secrets of a post-apocalyptic Mojave Desert.
This belovedSkyrimmod-turned-indie game might seem like an odd choice, but it’s actually not that far off fromAtomfallon a structural and thematic level. In fact, it could even be argued to be post-apocalyptic (if not in the most conventional sense of the word) on the grounds that its entire plot hinges on the city being doomed, and this tragedy will be witnessed again and again by the player thanks to the game’s Groundhog Day Loop format.The Forgotten Citycenters around a modern-day adventurer who is unexpectedly whisked back to the days of Emperor Nero (specifically 64 AD, just after the Great Fire of Rome) and trapped in a mysterious city buried in a seemingly inescapable chasm. It also turns out the city is trapped under the “Golden Rule,” which punishes everyone if any individual commits a sin. The only problem is that nobody’s completely sure what is or isn’t considered a sin.
Similar toAtomfall, the game features a faceless protagonist thrown headfirst into a strange world where they have to get to the bottom of what’s really going on. They pretty much get free rein to explore the city, though the game also features a time loop where the day is reset any time the Golden Rule is broken. Interestingly, while the player can get a bow and (with the right background) a gun,the presence of the Golden Rule actually deters violence, making this a great fit for those more interested in the investigative and role-playing aspects ofAtomfall. LikeAtomfall, a lot ofThe Forgotten Citycenters around identifying and pursuing leads, uncovering secrets, and interacting with various characters. There is even an aspect where certain people turn out to be valuable allies, while others probably shouldn’t be trusted or may not be who they initially seem. Although, in a fun twist (thanks to the time loop), the untrustworthiness of some people can be turned to the player’s advantage.
One of the main codifiers of the FPS genre and a big influence on post-apocalyptic games in general, it wouldn’t be right to omit Valve’s iconic series. Sure, its graphics may show their age, and the gameplay might seem pretty basic compared to other entries, butHalf-Life’s DNA can be found in many great post-apocalyptic games. However, while the first game certainly made a splash, it isHalf-Life 2where the post-apocalyptic world really takes shape. By this point, Earth has been conquered by the multidimensional Combine Empire, who crushed all resistance in 7 hours and have spent the past 20 years ruling what’s left of humanity with an iron fist, leaving much of the planet an irradiated wasteland. That is, of course, until protagonist Gordon Freeman is mysteriously placed in just the right position to start a revolution.
NowHalf-Life 2is certainly a far more linear game than many of the otherpost-apocalyptic games likeAtomfall, but its impact is undeniable. This game set the template on which the more robust mechanics of later titles were built. PlayingHalf-Life 2now, players might even see seeds of it inAtomfall.
Guerrilla Games’Horizonseries boasts a detailed open world built out of a past catastrophe. It’s a situation that might seem weird at first, essentially serving as a bizarre world where humans live in hunter-gatherer tribes and hunt robots that behave like animals. Both games follow Aloy, an expert hunter who dedicates herself to finding answers about just what happened to human civilization. Fans ofAtomfallwill especially love the first game, which centers around Aloy’s quest for answers. Although she doesn’t have as much freedom as what’s offered inAtomfall, Aloy still needs to make decisions, gather information from other characters, and pursue leads. By the time she’s finished, she will uncover an elaborate history of the world both before and after the calamity. By the timeForbidden Westcomes around, she’s exploring leads on how to prevent it happening again.
The games also feature a few mechanics players might find familiar. Developing skills and scavenging resources are important aspects, and so is being able to trade. But one of the most notable aspects of the series isAloy having to fight giant robotswith limited resources. Players who enjoyed taking on the B.A.R.D. robots inAtomfallwill feel right at home hunting some of the deadly robots theHorizongames will throw at them, each of which has unique strengths and weaknesses and requires different strategies to defeat.
TheMetroseries has gained a decent fanbase for its portrayal of post-nuclear Russia, but it isExoduswhere the franchise really starts to find its footing. The first two games were fairly linear (albeit with some options for affecting parts of the story) and mostly took place in Moscow with an emphasis on its subway system.Exodusfeatures a much more varied range of locations. While perhaps more linear compared toAtomfall, the structure of Artyom and his companionsriding a train through a post-apocalyptic worldallows each chapter to take place in a mini-open world, each with its own story and characters. Many of them even turn out to have some interesting history regarding how they were shaped by the nuclear war, creating some very different environments.
LikeAtomfall,Metro: Exodusis designed to give the player lots of options for how they navigate each open world. They can focus on the main objectives or deal with optional side quests. Artyom can decide how aggressively he wants to solve problems. He can jump straight to violence or rely more on stealth and evasion. Most (if not all) of the game’s enemies can be dealt with non-lethally if he chooses, too. Of course, those choices also have consequences, since the body count can impact how things play out and even change the fates of certain characters.
This wacky RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, developers ofFallout: New Vegas, features a different kind of apocalypse. Specifically, it comes in the form of interstellar colonization gone wrong, with one unsettling reveal near the end adding an extra layer to the “post-apocalyptic” aspect. The player is a colonist who was meant to be traveling to a colony in another system but accidentally arrives 300 years late and discovers that it’s a total disaster. What was meant to be a new home for humanity has become a corporate dictatorship, where a small board of directors controls everything in the name of profit, from industry and entertainment to law enforcement. Unsurprisingly, it’s not a great world to be living in; just about everybody is stuck under the boot of someone else. Fortunately, the player is here to shake things up.
Much likeAtomfall, the player begins by acting as an “unknown variable” that shakes things up when they mysteriously wake up in this setting. While it’s not quite an open world, it does give the player room to explore several alien planets and interact with characters in ways that end up having a lasting impact. There are also various factions to contend with, not to mention options for who to work alongside. They can help the common people or sell out to the big corporations, or just go on a murder spree if they feel so inclined.
WhenAtomfallwas announced, it quickly became subject to jokes about it being the “BritishFallout,” but that’s not the only thing it was compared to. The other big series fans were quick to bring up was GSC’sS.T.A.L.K.E.R., and it’s not hard to see why. There’s definitely some influence from these games onAtomfall, right down to the similar setup of an alternate timeline stemming from a real-life nuclear disaster.Atomfallmight have changed things by using Windscale instead of the more famous Chernobyl Disaster, but the result is a similar exclusion zone full of weird anomalies and a total breakdown of social order. In fact, the first game,S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, actually has a similar premise toAtomfall, following an amnesiac who has to explore the zone and interact with other survivors with a long-term goal of reaching the power plant where everything started.
While it’s true that the series hasn’t aged perfectly, it does feature a lot of mechanics that will be familiar toAtomfallplayers. In particular, the games feature an open world with limited direction and an emphasis on crafting and scavenging. Those who don’t want to wrestle with the outdated graphics or getting it to run on a modern system are also in luck, because the series just got updated withS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl. This one takes everything players loved about the original games and brings it all into the modern age for a new audience.
