Atomfall Wicked Isle Review – An Island Misadventure

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The game “Atomfall” allows you to delve into a narrow slice of an alternate 1950s British history. The latest DLC, titled “Wicked Isle,” presents a fresh area for you to traverse. In our review of the “Atomfall Wicked Isle” DLC, we’ll discuss the positive aspects and areas that could use improvement in this new story expansion.

Earlier on, the game Atomfall restricted your movement within a “Quarantine Zone” divided into four areas and an interchangeable hub known as “The Interchange”. In this expansion pack, they’ve added Midsummer Isle, a compact island rich in history, new visual attractions, and regrettably, more recurring adversaries.

Sailing to a New Zone

As a curious adventurer, I stumbled upon an unusual quest while hanging around the docks of Wyndham Village: A boat captain named Bill Anderson needed my assistance in retrieving something valuable from Midsummer Isle. Little did I know that this seemingly ordinary task would unfold into an intriguing tale. What initially seemed like the world’s most peculiar beer run soon took a compelling turn.

In the realm of Atomfall, I find myself captivated by the Midsummer Isle, comparable in size to its fellow zones. As you might anticipate, it’s as richly populated as one would expect an island to be in a vibrant game world such as this. A sprinkle of notable landmarks adorn the map, including a couple of friendly merchants and an intriguing abandoned B.A.R.D. bunker waiting to be explored. And if you’re up for a challenge, there’s a fresh set of garden gnomes just begging to be smashed, offering a tantalizing achievement!

Among the numerous intriguing outdoor destinations and indoor areas brimming with things to discover, there are two spots – the Chemical Testing Facility Underground and the Abbey’s Secret Vault – that offer a hint of puzzle-solving challenges for your enjoyment.

There’s a certain freshness to discovering these new locales, but they don’t offer anything exceptionally thrilling. I had high hopes that the Wicked Isle DLC would introduce a unique gameplay element or an unexpected plot turn, but it fell short of my expectations.

Supply Shortages

In the Atomfall Wicked Isle DLC, I leapt straight in using an old save file, which meant I had a plentiful stockpile of ammo and top-tier weapons from the base game at my disposal. However, some of the same challenges that I encountered in the main game persisted in this expansion pack.

The storage capacity within the Pneumatic Tube currently only accommodates 100 items, which was quite underwhelming given that the Wicked Isle DLC adds numerous new items that could be useful down the line. As a collector, I would have appreciated an increase in storage space to accommodate my growing collection.

In many cases, you can quickly use up the majority of your ammunition while investigating some of the more challenging areas on the map.

As a dedicated enthusiast, I’ve discovered that having limited storage space often points towards a larger issue: merchants seldom stock enough of the items I frequently require. If I wish to amass a specific item, I find myself spending hours scouring different regions of the map, crossing my fingers and hoping to stumble upon all the necessary components.

Unfortunately, these new vendors don’t seem to stock a lot of ammunition. You might find yourself quickly using up most of your bullets while exploring challenging areas such as the Harvesting Caves or the Chemical Testing Bunker. This means you’ll likely have to spend another hour scouring the map to purchase more for your next important battle.

More of the Same

The DLC titled “Wicked Isle” offers fresh additions, introducing some novel crafting items, several new consumables, and around six new weapons for your use. Regrettably, these new elements predominantly provide more of the same type of content encountered in the main game.

We can initiate by discussing our adversaries. They fall into three primary categories: Abbey Druids, Lake Bandits, and Aquatic Ferals. Essentially, these opponents are variations of the typical enemy types you’ll face in the core game, excluding the Protocol soldiers. The antagonists don’t employ any novel strategies or tactics.

Engaging with the Beekeeper miniboss presented an entirely novel challenge, demanding a fresh approach to triumph.

The newly added DLC weapons aren’t exceptionally unique. You’ll find three types of knives, an enhanced bow that serves as an upgrade to the default bow, a large club with a poison effect, and a Blunderbuss that doesn’t allow for upgrades. Except for the Midsummer Bow, these weapons offer at most sidegrades in terms of power.

The Beekeeper miniboss fight wasn’t just a repetition, it was an entirely fresh encounter demanding unique strategies for victory. Additionally, I found it intriguing to delve into the island’s monks’ background through the visions triggered by consuming the Angel’s Essence, which intensified the sensation of accessing the “Angel’s” collective wisdom.

Atomfall Wicked Isle Review | Final Thoughts

As a devoted fan, I must admit that the Atomfall Wicked Isle DLC feels quite familiar. There aren’t any groundbreaking mechanics or jaw-dropping narrative twists to write home about. Instead, it offers a fresh locale with new characters and an abundance of the thrilling Atomfall gameplay that I’ve grown fond of in the main game.

The most frustrating aspect of this downloadable content, however, was the instances that seemed unnecessary or excessive. A particular task involved traversing to the extremities of three mainland territories to collect keys necessary to unlock a door, and this action was crucial for both of the new conclusions presented in the DLC expansion. The extensive traveling felt somewhat superfluous, giving off an impression of padding.

Spoilers follow – one ending essentially rehashes the classic plot point where a character grabs a fragment of the mysterious alien meteorite and flees, while another new conclusion seems like an adaptation of the scenario where a character merges with the alien fungus’ collective consciousness. It’s disappointing that they didn’t explore a different route for the story’s ending.

Overall, the Atomfall Wicked Isle DLC was acceptable but not exceptional. If you’re fond of roaming around mid-20th century British landscapes and crave additional areas to discover, then it might be worth your while. However, if that doesn’t spark your interest, it would be wise to hold off on purchasing it until you’re ready for a fresh gameplay experience in the future.

In this review, I’ve played Atomfall Wicked Isle for around 28 hours on my PC through Steam, having received the game key directly from the publisher. All the images used are snapshots taken during the course of my playthrough.

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2025-06-09 16:36