Before Bethesda took over the reins of the series and Walton Goggins donned the ghoul makeup for the captivating TV adaptation, Fallout was an isometric action RPG, viewed from a bird’s eye perspective. This classic style of wasteland exploration is what the upcoming game, Survive the Fall, seems to be emulating, based on my first few hours of gameplay. This post-apocalyptic survival tale builds on the original Fallout's framework, particularly with its robust camp development system. The game's squad-based combat and scavenging mechanics offer a fresh experience, though the somewhat static story presentation keeps its full personality from shining through.
Unlike many other post-apocalyptic settings, the ruined world of Survive the Fall wasn’t caused by nuclear fallout. Instead, a catastrophic comet strike wiped out a significant portion of humanity and left a toxic mist called Stasis leaking from the impact crater. Survivors either avoid this deadly mist or harness its power, mutating into stronger forms at the cost of their humanity. Throughout the game, your squad of scavengers must build alliances with various factions scattered across its three biomes to survive and thrive, ranging from the Stasis-dependent Shroomers to the enigmatic cult known as the Sighted.
I quickly grew fond of Survive the Fall's squad-based setup as I tackled numerous quests. Navigating your party of up to three survivors through the expansive national park that sets the stage for the story's beginning, you can either manually search for resources like chemical compounds or chop down trees for lumber, or simply delegate these tasks to your team members. This approach not only feels more natural but also speeds up the process of scavenging each settlement. The only minor issue was occasional clutter from button prompts when interactive elements were closely grouped, but these instances were rare.
Combat in Survive the Fall is also team-oriented. Given the scarcity of rifle and shotgun ammunition in the early game, I prioritized stealth, treating each enemy camp infiltration like a strategic operation similar to Commandos: Origins. I used tactics such as hiding in long grass, throwing stones for distractions, and quietly eliminating foes before instructing my squad to dispose of the bodies. Environmental hazards like explosive barrels and dangling cargo pallets added satisfying layers to the combat, which could be triggered with well-timed shots.
Survive the Fall - Preview Screens
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Clearing out enemy camps felt rewarding, but when stealth failed and combat turned chaotic, the controls felt somewhat clunky with a controller. I imagine a mouse and keyboard would provide more precision, but with a controller, aiming was challenging, leading me to rely heavily on melee attacks and dodging. Fortunately, the ability to pause the action and direct my squad to focus on specific targets, similar to systems in Wasteland or Mutant Year Zero, helped manage encounters effectively.
After a day spent combating mutants and gathering loot in the game's dangerous badlands, Survive the Fall transitions into a base-building management sim. Documents found during exploration can be researched to gain knowledge points, which are then invested in a comprehensive technology tree. This allows you to craft everything from bunk beds and kitchen areas to water filtration systems and an armory. Resources like timber can be transformed into planks to build structures such as plant boxes or protective gates, while foraged herbs and meat from hunted animals can be turned into meals for your expedition team. The depth of the base-building mechanics suggests a lot of potential for transforming your settlement from a dilapidated mess to a thriving community.
Beyond the base, Survive the Fall offers a variety of intriguing locations to explore, from a crashed passenger plane turned enemy fort to a farmstead overrun with Stasis-infected ghouls. While the game's detailed environments, like the luminescent mushroom clusters in the Mycorrhiza swamplands, are visually stunning, they sometimes caused performance issues, such as framerate drops. Additionally, occasional game-breaking bugs forced me to reload my save a few times, particularly when stuck in inventory or building menus. With the game's release approaching, developer Angry Bulls Studio has time to further optimize performance.
Interacting with the game's squad and NPCs via onscreen text felt somewhat flat, though the quirky character Blooper, who referred to the Stasis smog as "fart wind," provided some humor. Conversations often served merely to initiate the next quest rather than deepening my connection with the characters or factions.
As Survive the Fall is set to release on PC this May, there's hope that the bonds with characters will grow stronger throughout the full game. If Angry Bulls Studio can smooth out the rough edges in controls and performance, this survival-based action RPG has the potential to be a worthy addition to the genre, deserving of your hard-earned bottlecaps.