Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand

8/10

In 2024 an open world fantasy game set in a ruined world with a protagonist who gains magic powers from a mysterious armband and uses a novel way to get across the world quickly. No it's no Forspoken it's Atlas Fallen, a peak into a world where Forspoken was good. This is a brilliant game with lots of mechanical depth with many unique abilities you can swap out on the fly. Atlas Fallen encourages you to mix things up and you never feel stuck with your choices. Sand surfing is a blast and the enemies are interesting and varied.

Thumbs up for the action only as the writing and dialogue are atrocious. Voice acting is wooden, stiff, emotionless, and the dialogue between MC and NPCs is rudimentary. It's not good enough to stay in tune or care about the story. People that say Dragon Age Veilguard's writing is garbage either never played Atlas Fallen or DAV.

Action is pretty good, exploration is cool, the world is pretty and worth looking at while random wraiths attack you. Sand surfing is pretty cool too but not fast enough. Aerial dash is cool for long distance jump but the floating part of it is a detriment to combat. Let us cancel the float or make us HOLD the button down to float.

Combat is hit or miss. The small random wraiths are fodder and useful for learning to fight. I haven't encountered a constant supply of them to hone my skills but would love to. Early aerial larger wraiths are broken constantly summoning other wraiths, are out of reach mostly, and are a bit harder to parry or dodge with their multi attack combo. A level three crab summons earthquakes and tornadoes also which is ridiculous. A level two morpher turned into some crystal launching second phase fight because only a certain body part was killed. Speaking off, the killing of body parts to end fights could be awesome but so far there are way too many on larger wraiths at the early part of the game for this to be exciting. This makes fights way too long especially considering the BS attacks large wraiths have.

Upgrade system is super wonky with idols, essence, momentum, armor, fuse, this, that, other things in the early game. Takes a bit to figure out what is going on, but you're still gimped power wise while the wraiths are bigger and stronger than you. Momentum system is pretty cool if you're good at parrying or dodging, but like all games of these types lately you have an internal dodge cool down forcing you to tank damage or parry. High momentum means high damage taken so if you're an offensive minded player you'll get rocked hard until you can learn to parry. Parry isn't "that" hard to do in Atlas compared to other games but it's still not intuitive or interesting, especially with the busted key binding. Unless you can tweak the set up for your hands expect them to be twisted into pretzels during play time.

Part of me wants to uninstall because the game is clearly very uninspired but the world and actual action look and feel promising so I'll take time to learn and finish it.

This game has the worst camera control and target lock switch I've ever seen.

It has its flaws but still enjoyable.

After 100% completing Atlas Fallen, I think I can safely give it somewhere around a 7.5/10 out of 10.

PROS
-Build your own character with a decent creation system.
-Huge variety of ways to customize the abilities of your character.
-Sand surfing is pretty rad.
-Abilities and enemies are pleasing thematically and aesthetically.
-Can transmogrify your gear to various other armor sets and unlock a ton of different dyes to heavily customize your look.

CONS
-Optimization issues. I can get close to 150 FPS but the game has lots of minor stuttering despite that no matter what I did.
-The enemy targeting system doesn't feel quite as snappy or responsive as I would like.
-Lack of transparency. You don't feel like you fully understand what exactly many of the ability modifiers actually do. For example, you can equip a stone that says "Increase damage", but it doesn't tell you how much damage and there's no way to view it.
-One of the perks doesn't appear to work as intended. You can unlock the ability to detect treasures nearby and your gauntlet is supposed to react to their proximity. It doesn't.

NEUTRAL
-The game appears to want you to explore naturally for a lot of things like treasure instead of relying on the map. You can find vantage points that reveal the locations of things like treasure, but it doesn't actually place markers anywhere. If you're the type that likes to wander around and search every nook and cranny, this might be a plus. For me, it felt more like I was wasting a lot of time running in circles. I won't hold encouraging exploration against a game, just felt a bit more tedious than rewarding for me.
-Fairly simple story with relatively basic NPCs. I didn't find this to be a problem with it being such an action forward game though.

Got it on sale with no regrets.

Fun.

great game

fun combat. decent story i had a lot of fun playing this with my best friend, i give it a solid 7 out of 10

I guess the best way to describe this game is God of War in an open world experience. I loved the visuals, the story, the music, it was great. It takes around 15-17 hours to get through the story but it doesn't feel like it. I found myself accidentally staying up late running around the open world completing side quests and looking for chests. The game is worth the price and being able to go back and replay it only gets better with New Game Plus. Definitely give it a try.

Who doesn't want to skate in sand?
Jokes aside, taking away the layer of being generic looking and sometimes feeling this is surprisingly a very good game in all ways. Definitely deserves your attention especially when it comes to the DMC/Darksiders combat as well. And again dont you wanna skate in sand?

A decent game, story is alright and the voice actors were having a good time. Combat and movement weren't as fluid as I was hoping but it was still fun, not really a direct comparison but this game occupies the same place in my brain as darksiders

Awesome Hacker slasher games.

Action RPG that is a lot of fun to play. Writing and dialogue is not that bad. Story is also quite passable. Several progression systems in place - essence upgrades, armor upgrades, builds etc. Overall worth a playthrough.

I tried hard to like this game, and the reviews which were positive seemed honest. But after 4 hours I just can't get behind it. Traversal is cool at first but is too janky to make exploring feel fun and fair. Combat seems interesting at first but eventually becomes so frenetic and large-scale that you lose yourself on the screen and end up mashing buttons and staring at your health bar. The game throws so many customizable combat things at you you can't keep track of what's what and you end up not experimenting. It's just too hard to keep track of what's going on and what actually matters - not to mention fairly hard for a game that feels so out of control when you're fighting.

Deck13 could really make this mesh of God of War - Assassins Creed - Dark Souls a golden hybrid...
But it all feels AI generated... so nt.

dogshit puzzle design, dont get the game even with discount

I don't even know what to say about this one.

I'm not quite sure how you even ended up on my Steam Wishlist.

Na but it was decent still, not sure about the £35 price tag though!

Too many dogs, not enough hogs.

It's a great game, awesome work Deck13. I've seen that most of the reviews from the initial release said it was mediocre . But they elevated it with the new voice overs . I especially liked the lore, there's so much more that could have been fleshed out in the timeline. For some minor cons - need more weapons and armor.

fun game with a pretty good story and fantastic game play. genuinely believe this is a hidden gem.

Graphics - good
Gameplay - Great
Story - Good

Overall - Good game, worth a try.

From my point of view the game is quite good. It gives some DmC vibes with a mixture of Prince of Persia The Two Thrones. The mechanics are quite easy and the "spells" are easy to understand. You can create quite a lot mixes of combos and you can "craft" your own playstyle. The enemies are not that difficult, a classic dodge/parry gameplay.

Graphic is good (you dont need a space shuttle)
Audio not bad, the voices are good.
Naration/Quest line good
For the price the game is playable :)

Having a lot of fun. Promised myself gonna try and get 100% on the game (story/achivments etc...)

Its a 7.5/10 for my taste.

Hidden gem if gotten for $10-20.

Still, expect some jank and prepare to need some patience. But when it works it's really cool with some refreshing take on mechanics (as far as I know anyway).

The enjoyment factor went up in New Game+ and as I gained familiarity with the game mechanics and map layouts.

Coop doesn't work right. It doesn't save player 2's progress correctly. Total garbage.

Its a good game when its on Sale. Play it with a friend and have some fun :)

great game and story, love the New Game Plus as well as the Co-Op option. my only complaint is when you reach a lookout point to view the treasure in an area, it states to remember where they are and to Mark your Map.... however, when i open up my map, i cant mark the locations cause its not listed in the map.. you literally have to guesstamate where the hidden treasure is... other than that, great game! love the leveling of the weapons in the New Game Plus feature. wish it were a larger world or New DLC as the game mechanics and story line are Phenominal!!!

I'm enjoying the game so far besides some graphics stuttering issue. I hope its refined sequel made.

The game is poorly developed and is not a solid game in all aspects. Huge (physically) chracters and their armors, everything is overly big, when start swining weapons all screen is covered in weapon traces. There is no actual appeling story or storyline, no fun gameplay nothing fun about it. In 5 minutes all story is out there. Ohh, 'I remember air dashing', 'I just remembered who I was'.
In total complete trash. Complete waste of money.

Intriguing game. I wonder how the combat will progress, fun start.

Very 6/10 game for me.

When it comes to action combat and open world games, really the only thing that this game brings to the table is that moving around the world is fast, and fun. Just sand skating to get from one place to another and exploring things along the way, or occasionally getting into a fight was generally a fun time, and that's what kept me going until the end. Everything else about it is passable, but by no means exceptional. Art direction, environmental design, exploration, narrative quality, enemy design and variety, boss fights, combat, RPG elements.... all of that is just average. I pretty much saw all there was to see of this game's combat and mechanics about 10 hours in. I don't think this is Deck13's best work. It really felt like it was lacking the same level of passion that The Surge and The Surge 2 had, but they did finely polish the game and put together a cohesive story.

I give this game a very mild thumbs up because I did manage to play through all the way to the end, but just barely. The game reallllly drags things out in the third map/region of the game, and overall the game feels about 5 hours longer than it needs to be. The story was okay, and though I didn't get attached to any of the characters, I was interested enough in the story to play through and see it.

I'd recommend this game if you can get it on a sale. Best time to play this game is if you find yourself without other games to play/are waiting on a major release and don't want to start anything too time-consuming. Watch some videos of this game first, and if the moment to moment gameplay looks good to you, you'll probably like this game, and you're looking at a good 20-25 hour (maybe 30-40 with all side content/completionist) open world romp with fun movement, and passable exploration as well as combat.

I have only played for an hour and I just do not personally vibe with the game. The indicators seems a little too deceptive compared to when the enemies attack and that may just be me. The attack system feels a bit stiff and I get this strange feeling that there should be a lock on system or combat that flows more like Rocksteady's batman games. The tutorial feels a bit too stretched out as well, you get smacked around like a dough boy and you get limited tools with such a stiff combat system as said. Though I might just be coping.

I love the concept behind this game but the vibes are just not there. The game needed more time in the oven to be honest and should be given an overhaul. Maybe I will play more but I just feel bored even at the one hour mark.

Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand is a true hidden gem!

Gameplay

The core of Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand lies in its fluid and engaging combat system. Players wield the Gauntlet, an ancient artifact that allows for manipulation of sand to create powerful, shape-shifting weapons. Combat is both fast-paced and strategic, requiring timely dodges, counters, and a balance between aerial and ground attacks. The Momentum Gauge is an interesting mechanic as its building up as players land attacks, enhancing damage output, and unlocking powerful abilities but as momentum increases, defenses are lowered, making players more vulnerable to enemy strikes. The low enemy variety becomes a bit tedious towards the end of the game.

Story

Set in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by endless sands, players assume the role of a customizable protagonist who discovers the Gauntlet. The journey unfolds to uncover forgotten histories and challenge the oppressive rule of corrupted gods. While the narrative provides a framework for exploration and combat, it lacks depth and there are too few cut scenes and dialogue. Its a game that respects your time as it takes only 10-15 hours to complete the main campaign.

Battle system and customization

One of the standout features of Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand is the extensive customization available through Essence Stones. These collectibles allow you to tailor your combat abilities to suit your preferred playstyle. You can experiment with various combat strategies, such as unleashing devastating claw attacks or trading health for increased power. This system encourages experimentation and adds significant depth to character progression. I would have wanted more slots for essence stones as 3 active abilities are too few. There are too much auto attacks and less use of abilities than what I would have wanted.

Visuals and Performance

Visually, Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand presents a sprawling desert world filled with ancient ruins and formidable creatures. The game's graphics effectively capture the desolate beauty of its setting, with smooth performance on capable hardware. I understand that the setting of the game is to capture the sandy environment but the game would be better with more biomes than just sand.

Conclusion

Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand offers a compelling blend of dynamic combat, deep customization, and thoughtful quality of life improvements. While the narrative may not leave a lasting impression, the engaging gameplay and expansive world provide a satisfying AA experience for action RPG enthusiasts. This is a resident sleeper hit and I whish more people would find out about this game.

Games is good and good looking but i wish the fights with monters are better like in a god of war sence.

Overall a pretty decent combat system and fun build diversity near mid game +. Early the combat feels very limited.
Decent story, exploration was fun as the sand sliding (no sprint) felt like a fast mini game with certain upgrades.
The armour upgrade system is pretty cool, you need to upgrade everything for perks in a separate tree, however armour choices felt very build enabling and was fun to combo the forced choices for bonus with complementing skills/passives of my choice.
Wish there where more weapons, or upgrades to them. but each weapon and combo choices felt great.

Targeting can be clunky when fighting multiple enemies and would target off screen enemies instead of enemies in front of me. Attempting to manually aim your attacks feels very bad, seems like there is auto-targeting and it doesn't register character orientation properly or something.

100% of achievements at time of writing this review.

I went into this game without knowledge of the history of the game. I played 99% co-op (last 100% of map completion done solo) and had an absolute blast.

Tons of builds and different ways to approach battles. Free spec of abilities and perks makes it so you never feel bad for trying something new. Music is great. The enemy designs feel cool and not very samey.

Story is passable. It's not awful nor is it great. It's negligable if you just want to focus on gameplay.

Do I suggest doing 100% of map clearing? Yes actually. Tons of abilities I found from random map clearing that I wish I had before finishing the story. Thankfully any abilities you find in NG can be brought into NG+ which includes entire new systems and armors plus new level cap.

The DLC were not gamebreaking but nice if you want to give the dev's some extra dough since this game apperently didn't sell too well.

Some bugs such as enemies would spawn then despawn then respawn infinitely forcing a restart of the game. Overall nothing game breaking happened to me or my friend.

Overall a solid 9.7/10.

severely underrated game - difficult to start with but once you know and understand the mechanics, the game becomes more fun and easier to deal with. Not without it's flaws, bugs and annoyances but for the most parts - really enjoyable game - you'd be missing out if you didn't try this hidden gem of a game! finally finished the game after 30 hours of wandering around on the puzzles (and I have to admit, having to "cheat" my way using walkthroughs).

The final boss wasn't as tough as I would have expected it to be, but nonetheless satisfying to defeat :)

I've never played monster hunter before but I have read that this feels like it and I can probably guess why. There are parts that are repetitive but still challenge you to be on your toes at all times.

I've seen some trailers and reviews mentioning it's not really playable. Don't believe them. Maybe I was lucky to buy the game some time after it was released, but as far as I'm concerned, it's really a good game.
For such a long time i was looking for something that resembled fun, that i got playing Kingdoms of Amalur, and here it is.
There are less quests compared to other games, but that's NOT a bad thing, it's exactly as many as you would expect without absurd grinding.
Combat is enjoyable, and combinations of different effects makes it really challenging and fun exploring.
When the fights got too easy, I could just change difficulty anytime, and start enjoying thrill of fighting yet again.
Graphics are cute, and there are more good gameplay details than people on the internet would like to admit.

its actually a really fun co op game. lots of exploration, customization and just over all great game. I was vey pleased with the game.

Trash game. So many boring and poorly designed area's/systems.

if you want your hand held this is the game for you. pop up on how to jump? dont worry just close it and the game will tell you how to jump, learn about special attacks? dont worry the game will constantly remind you about special attacks everytime you get in a fight. dont fall off a cliff! the game will constantly remind you about falling off cliffs. even when you set the hint option to rarely it wont shut up

at 15 hours i beat the game. its a solid 5/10
one of the mechanics is supposed to let you see shards to upgrade your gauntlet. after the first time you use it it never highlights the pieces ever again so your blind until 80% of the game then you can magically see the highlights again

the game baits you with an open world map to explore, one of the later areas only lets you explore 50% of it till you complete the story missions to gain access to other half./ if you want a better idea of an open world game, go see just cause 3 that came out 10 years ago

Game is Really good really fun to play but... :) wanted to refund game because of performance issue game looks clunky and poorly optimized then i figure it out. If you are having performance issues (even if you got RTX 4090) do these thrust me i tried everything and come up with this solution and now game is buttery smooth.

Fullscreen : Disable
Resolution : What ever you are using
Vsync : Off
Frame Rate Limit : 60
Dynamic Resolution Factor : Off
All Graphic Quality to Very High

Do these and give this game a chance if you are playing Co-op it is more fun to play. Cheers!

I write this, broken hearted. This game was everything they didn't say.
It was perfect for me, the exact thing that I always want from games.
Sadly, I completed it. Thank you devs for blessing me with this game.

Just to list a few features here:
1. Feeling the power and escaping the real world.
2. Controlling and levelling up the power without any problematic level up mechanics like Goobisoft's or others.
3. Feeling the connect with the characters and the story.
4. And lastly, bringing back the feel of [PROTOTYPE] ;-;

Thank you, dear friend. May Nyaal guide your path and protect you.

Just bought this game a week ago and loving it. The 50% discount influenced the purchase but I would have paid a higher price for it. I would have liked if the fast travel was better (anvil to anvil is kind of annoying) and there were more weapons options. While I'm not a regular user of such a feature, a stealth option would have been nice. All in all, its a fun game.

Not a perfect game overall a fun game that is worth playing. The combat and movement system is unique and lot of fun. The start of the game is a bit dull but you soon get to the good parts.

very under rated game. wish they had more budget for another expansion.

Atlas Fallen has some fun moments, especially with its fast paced and flashy combat. It’s satisfying, but the difficulty doesn’t quite challenge enough, and the counter system feels clunky and unreliable.

The game stumbles in other areas too. Character customization is minimal and underwhelming, movement feels overly fast and awkward, and the targeting system is frustrating when fighting multiple enemies.

Co-op could have been a highlight, but bugs ruin the experience. At the fourth checkpoint, a glitch forced a full restart when one player entered the menu mid activation.

Atlas Fallen has potential but feels unpolished. Fun at times, but it doesn’t fully deliver.

Score: 6.5/10

Хорошая игра для побегать в коопе и пособирать ящички.

10/10 "ниток" через всю карту :)

I really like this game. The only problem I have with it is the combat is not nearly as fluid as it deserves. When I get hit I basically get laid out. And the timing for the parry flashes is a bit late.

The momentum system is a kool idea but even with a momentum based build it was a bit of a struggle sometimes to build it, which is odd for a system that wants you to swing back and forth like it does. This in turn tends to cause me to prefer sitting in it to keep my abilities up rather than using the shatter to clear it.

The enemy laser attacks are also a miss from me b/c I don't want to spend any part of the fighting running around. Everything about the combat feels like I should be zipping around, parrying, dodging, and smashing and the laser attacks were more of a distraction from that.

Also I didn't sand slide into the final boss arena and do a sick kick flip so I'm a little sad about that missed opportunity.

Overall the game is pretty fun and I hope the devs make more like it. Especially if they lean more into the fun part of the combat and less into w/e decisions reduced the pace of it. I could feel the intent of ferocity but wasn't quite getting the oomph I wanted from it.

It just isn't fun. I tried for about 2 hours to get into it and couldn't. Just like every other game I have tried in the last 2 or 3 years it is just uninteresting and repetitive. Got a refund and have no desire to ever see it again.

Enjoying the story. Loving the exploration and the combat. The combat system innovations deliver new challenges which keep the game at the right level of challenge whilst avoiding being tedious. Graphics are lovely and the freedom of movement the double jumps, gliding and sand surfing provide enable easy exploration which make the world a delight to discover.