ATOM RPG — studio project ATOM Team, which employs developers from Russia and neighboring countries. Many people expected something like this from the game Fallout, but in reality it turned out to be a crazy comedy in the spirit of such games as "Dungeon Orderlies" And "Brotherhood and the Ring". Eh, I wish there was a voiceover from Goblin… But don’t take my irony for mockery – in fact, I, like many, got caught in the net ATOM RPG, like a hare in a snare. And it turned out to be very difficult to break out of this game, famously mixing the serious and the funny, if only for the sake of writing this review.
Everything secret becomes clear
Don’t be fooled by the starting tasks. Everything seems to be extremely serious here. We are placed in an alternative universe where in 1986 the USSR and the Western bloc were practically destroyed during a short-lived nuclear war. The player takes on the role of an agent of the secret organization ATOM, who is sent to the Soviet Wasteland in search of a special detachment that went here some time ago to explore the mysterious bunker No. 317.
And in the Wasteland, naturally, there are bandits, mutants, cities and villages suffering from them, caravan drivers, stalkers and the usual post-Soviet romance in the form of rusted ZIL trucks, propaganda posters, bottles of Stolichnaya (although there is also vodka) and video stores showing “Only old men go into battle”.
In the midst of all this, as expected, we need to gain trust, become one of our own, work for different groups (including bandits, religious cults and entire settlements), gain authority and look for other ATOM agents in order to finally find out what happened to the missing expedition.
I repeat, everything seems to be serious. One of the first tasks is related to the search for bandits who, as it turned out, killed and raped the daughter of a local peasant. And in this situation, we, working for a local authority who sent these bandits to collect the debt from the farmer, decide for ourselves what to do with the unfortunate father – leave him alone, kill him personally or hand him over to the “godfather”, in fact sentencing him to death.
High Security Comedy
However, soon the flywheel of the local Comedy Club and “Full House” begins to spin up in full swing. And now we already meet a girl in the circus of freaks talking to her own lustful vagina, we persuade other mutant circus performers to star in a porn film with the cutesy General Protivnoff (and you can also star in!), we expose a group of perverts hiding behind barbecue shops, play the lottery with Lenya Golubkov, listen to stories about the legendary mutant hunter Rivlin from Silesia. And we sympathize with the guy who, on the advice of “healer Veselovsky,” improved his dexterity, but now no one needs or is interested in him, because he “has no charisma”.
At that same bunker No. 317 you can meet Vitsin, Morgunov and Nikulin; one of our fellow party members is the writer Trudov, nicknamed Hexogen (a reference to the novel Alexandra Prokhanova), who, like grandfather Mazai, recruited his own army from hares. In the central city of the Wasteland, a strangely dressed “guest from the future” will approach us, who will ask us to quarrel between a couple of newlyweds so that they cannot give birth to a certain Ilya Kuznetsov – otherwise he will become a despot and tyrant. There, a Jewish bookseller will ask you to destroy the sect of book haters – to lure them out, you need to walk through the wastelands with the complete works Lenin in inventory.
Every second NPC here has some funny story in their bosom (like rumors about a real mouse kingdom under the arches of the local castle), the main role in which, as a rule, is played by alcohol and wild imagination, stimulated by this very alcohol. And every third is definitely a freak, crazy (naturally, due to alcohol), a Soviet pensioner – a veteran of the battles for the Berlin Wall. Or a representative of the Red Guard who claims that Lenin not a mushroom at all, but an essence, the essence of the greatest minds of humanity, reborn in his body.
And the plot itself ATOM RPG, telling https://gamesnotongamstop.co.uk/review/bubbles-bet/ about conspiracies and hypnotizing mushrooms – a frank parody of typical stories about secret societies, secret experiments and attempts to seize power by enslaving the brains of others.
Laughter prolongs life… and play
And so all the way – serious quests, clearing bunkers, helping drug addicts, hunting slave traders and maniacs who brutally kill women and children, ATOM RPG coexist with frankly comedic tasks. You can, of course, scold the authors and complain that in this way they are destroying the atmosphere of the post-apocalypse. Moreover, comedic situations and all these “Protivnoffa generals” are worked out at the level of a post in the topic “What funny quest would you come up with for Fallout» on the fan forum.
However, you don’t particularly want to scold – you understand that the authors were just having a blast, without thinking too much about how critics would react to it. And they came up with a very Russian, small-town joke game about sex, the USSR and vodka, which will never go beyond the borders of our Palestines, since they simply won’t notice that the portraits of some NPCs depict Agutin, Galustyan or Leonid Yakubovich. Or that the slave released from captivity is called Gyulchatai.
Therefore, I don’t really want to be a critic – I just want to relax and enjoy this sometimes truly hilarious circus, made in the format of a wild but vigorous cocktail of trash comedy, hangover tales and a classic post-apocalyptic RPG in the spirit of Fallout.
According to canon
These Fallout-traditions in ATOM RPG they come from everywhere, right down to the interface and color scheme – the authors don’t even hide it. Everything is extremely familiar: we travel around the global map (at first only on our own two feet, then we can get our own car), we “randomly” meet caravan leaders, other stalkers, bandits, we take part in turn-based battles, where turn points are calculated. And, of course, we upgrade our character by learning new skills and investing points in communication, hacking, pickpocketing, technology, crafting, survival, melee, and so on.
These indicators (as well as the level of development of the character’s basic characteristics) are constantly checked in numerous dialogues and quests. Strength allows you to threaten, charisma and communication – to convince (naturally, they are increased by drinking triple cologne), agility – to be the first to engage in battle, and so on. I don’t think there’s any need to explain how hacking and pickpocketing work. If the skill check is successful, you receive additional experience points.
Accordingly, quests can be completed in different ways. Buy a slave and make her your free swag-carrying tool, or let her go? Kill the leaders of two conflicting factions at the request of a third party or convince them to cooperate peacefully with each other? Persuade the mutant circus performers to leave the wasteland themselves or simply slaughter everyone? Seduce a woman – the leader of a religious cult, whom our employer wants to get rid of, lure her to a brothel and quietly kill her there? Or convince her to flee the city herself? Or sleep first and then kill?
By the way, often problems here are solved precisely by sex – it will be possible to convince, for example, the runaway daughter of a big boss to leave her boyfriend, appreciate a “real man” and return home. Although you can leave this couple alone and let her go.
Even at the end of this whole story, with developed communication skills, there is an option to avoid bloodshed. But even after the peaceful resolution of a quest, no one forbids you to attack any character and try to kill everyone (fortunately there is no karma here). IN ATOM RPG the spirit of freedom and non-linearity reigns – you can forget about the plot, freely explore the wasteland, attack caravans, go to brothels and casinos, place bets in dog fights and blackmail perverts or mutants from among those in power.
Making a Hero
However, your hero (or heroine) can just as quickly be sent to his forefathers. Especially at first, when the character is not much different from a homeless person and therefore is forced to dig through every trash can in search of materials for making a homemade gun, sharpening, “rose” or cartridges. Crafting is carried out according to found or purchased recipes, although no one bothers you to freely experiment with ingredients.
In addition to bandits, the wasteland itself poses a danger. The hero here constantly suffers from radiation, hunger and poisoning, so he has to carry around a bunch of supplies, medicines, alcohol, stimulants and other consumables that can temporarily improve some characteristics while reducing others. In this case, it is better to cook food over a fire after stopping – raw meat, for example, can cause poisoning. But brewed coffee, tea or herbal tea give bonuses without any penalties.
It becomes a little easier when you have partners (there may be several of them, not counting the dog). It’s just a pity that you can’t directly control them – they only allow you to distribute equipment and determine the line of conduct in battle. And the AI of our companions is frankly weak – they often shoot their allies in the back or run where they shouldn’t, forcing us to replay particularly difficult battles over and over again.
But imagine the feeling of deep satisfaction you experience when you finally defeat a large gang, get hold of good equipment, and sell the rest profitably to caravan masters or merchants in the city in order to buy something even cooler! Or when you manage to solve a riddle in an abandoned bunker (and puzzles happen quite often), crack a safe and get a very powerful experimental rifle for free. All ATOM RPG built on overcoming, surviving, accumulating, maturing and searching for cool swag – and with this constant challenge and expectation of joy from future hard-fought victories, she tenaciously holds in her arms.
The hero needs to be fed on time, and the car needs to be filled with gasoline. By the way, the map implements changing the time of day.
Certainly, ATOM RPG there is something to criticize for – for not the most convenient interface and inventory, for the weak AI of partners and a not very sophisticated combat system (maximum you can walk, shoot, get into your inventory and change the attack mode), in some places superficially developed – unlike the classics of the genre – quests. And there are bugs even after leaving Early Access.
But, despite everything, the game is addictive. This is the first example in my memory of a truly successful performance in the “Russian” genre Fallout». Yes, it’s hard to believe in this funny parody world, which mixes tragedy, trash and comedy without remorse, but for some reason I still really want to play. Why? For the same reason why you involuntarily smile when listening to another idiotic story, although you understand that it’s all nonsense. That is, there is no rational explanation, I just want to smile and play. Maybe the authors, like some of their heroes, have also zombified us? In any case, they did it very timely – when Bethesda, seems to have completely ruined the cult series, and before the release Wasteland 3 still wait and wait, it’s time to go into the wasteland ATOM RPG.
Pros: exciting gameplay; many quests that can be completed in different ways; an abundance of funny characters and situations; freedom to explore the world and roleplay; classic role-playing system; invigorating survival elements; constant challenge; atmospheric soundtrack, including wonderful Soviet songs.
Cons: weak AI of partners; not the most convenient interface; simple battle system; few interesting random events; dialogues are not voiced; not the most modern graphics; there are bugs.
