Fallout: New Vegas' 'large, interconnected story' where 'any character can die' is the best comparison for Atomfall's apocalyptic RPG structure

Atomfall, a British post-apocalyptic RPG inspired by Fallout: New Vegas, offers a tense and high-stakes survival experience with a unique blend of influences from games like Metro Exodus, Stalker, and the film Children of Men.

The developers behind the very British post-apocalyptic RPG Atomfall list Fallout: New Vegas as its closest analogue in the iconic series.

Speaking with GamesRadar+ at Gamescom, Atomfall creative director Ben Fisher explains that "Fallout is definitely" one of the inspirations behind the game, even if "there are a good range of games in the quarantine survival space." Atomfall is a "cocktail" of influences, he explains, but one game stands out even above the rest of the Fallout games.

"The closest Fallout analogue would be Fallout: New Vegas," he explains, "because it's one large interconnected story, because any character can die and the story progresses, and because the momentum of the game is driven by the player."

Despite the obvious influence of Fallout, however, Fisher says that "the main way that our game differs from the template of Fallout is that the survival always feels kind of tense and combat always feels like a high-stakes risk." He points to Alfonso Cuarón's 2006 adaptation of the dystopian novel Children of Men as "a reasonable point of tone reference," suggesting that while "there's no gung-ho combat, [but] it's always terrifying for everyone involved."

Of course, Fallout isn't the only dystopian RPG out there, and Fisher says that Atomfall has plenty of other influences to draw from, including Metro Exodus and its "desperate survival." Stalker was also a major reference point "because the game is very sparing with how much it guides the player," though that might be worrying news given Stalker 2's 100-hour play map.

Atomfall is releasing next March, but check out the other best FPS games you can play right now.