"Survive the Fall: Exclusive First Look"

Before Bethesda transformed the series and Walton Goggins captivated audiences with his ghoul performance in the TV adaptation, Fallout was known for its isometric, bird's-eye view action RPG gameplay. This classic style seems to be the inspiration behind the upcoming game, Survive the Fall, at least based on my initial experience with it. This post-apocalyptic survival game builds directly on the original Fallout's framework, particularly evident in its detailed camp development system. With squad-based combat and scavenging at its core, Survive the Fall offers a fresh experience, although its somewhat static storytelling may hold back its full potential.

Unlike typical post-apocalyptic scenarios, the world of Survive the Fall was not destroyed by nuclear fallout but by a catastrophic comet strike reminiscent of the event that doomed the dinosaurs. This disaster left behind a crater that emits a toxic mist called Stasis. Survivors either shun this mist or harness its power, mutating into enhanced but less human forms. As you navigate through Survive the Fall, your squad of scavengers must forge alliances with various factions across three biomes, ranging from the Stasis-absorbing Shroomers to the enigmatic Sighted cult.

Engaging with Survive the Fall's numerous quest-givers, I quickly appreciated its squad-based mechanics. You can manage a party of up to three survivors as you explore the expansive national park setting. The game allows you to manually search for resources or delegate tasks to your AI companions, streamlining the scavenging process. Although the interface can get cluttered when interactive elements are close together, these instances were fortunately infrequent.

Combat in Survive the Fall emphasizes teamwork. Due to the scarcity of ammunition early in the game, I opted for stealth, approaching enemy encounters with strategies reminiscent of Commandos: Origins. This involved hiding, creating distractions, and executing silent takedowns, with my squad hiding the bodies. Environmental hazards, such as explosive barrels and dangling cargo, added depth to combat scenarios.

Survive the Fall - Preview Screens

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Clearing out enemy clusters was satisfying, but combat became challenging when stealth failed. Controller aiming felt imprecise, leading me to rely more on melee and dodging tactics. However, the ability to pause and direct my squad to focus on specific targets provided a strategic edge, similar to systems in Wasteland or Mutant Year Zero.

After intense scavenging and combat sessions, Survive the Fall shifts focus to base-building at your camp. Here, you can research documents to earn knowledge points, which unlock various technologies for crafting essential amenities and defenses. The depth of resource management and construction is impressive, promising hours of engaging settlement development.

Exploring beyond my base revealed a variety of intriguing locations, from repurposed crash sites to ghoul-infested farms. While the detailed environments were visually striking, some areas like the Mycorrhiza swamplands suffered from performance issues and occasional bugs. These technical hiccups, including getting stuck in menus, suggest that developer Angry Bulls Studio has some polishing to do before the game's release.

The absence of voice acting slightly diminishes the narrative impact, as interactions with characters are limited to on-screen text. While some characters, like the humorous Blooper with his "fart wind" quips, provided entertainment, most conversations felt functional, primarily serving to advance quests rather than deepen character connections.

As Survive the Fall is set to launch on PC in May, it holds significant promise for fans of survival-based action RPGs. With some refinement of its controls and performance, it could become a standout title in the genre, well worth the investment of your hard-earned bottlecaps.