"Survive the Fall: Initial Preview Released"

Long before Bethesda took the reins of the series and Walton Goggins donned the ghoul make-up for his captivating performance in its adapted TV show, Fallout was an isometric action RPG viewed from a bird’s eye perspective. It's that classic style of wasteland-wandering that the upcoming Survive the Fall appears to be emulating, as evidenced by the first few hours of gameplay I experienced. This deadly post-apocalyptic tale of survival builds on the original Fallout's template – quite literally in the case of its robust camp development system – and its squad-based combat and scavenging help craft an experience that feels fresh, despite the somewhat static story presentation that hinders its full personality from shining through.

I quickly took a liking to Survive the Fall's squad-based setup as I embarked on various tasks assigned by its numerous quest-givers. Navigating your party of up to three survivors through the sprawling national park area that sets the stage for the story's beginning, you can manually search for resources like chemical compounds or chop down trees for lumber, or simply delegate these tasks to your AI companions. This division of labor feels more natural and speeds up the process of scavenging settlements. However, the interface can become cluttered with button prompts when interactive elements are too close together, though these instances are rare.

Combat in Survive the Fall is also team-oriented. Given the scarcity of rifle and shotgun ammunition in the early stages, I prioritized stealth in encounters with marauders and ghouls. Approaching enemy camps felt reminiscent of Commandos: Origins, as I hid in long grass, created distractions with thrown stones, and carefully navigated enemy vision cones before silently taking down foes and ordering my squad to dispose of the bodies. The game offers satisfying environmental hazards, such as explosive barrels and cargo pallets that can be strategically used to take out patrolling guards.

Survive the Fall - Preview Screens

14 ImagesClearing out clusters of cultists was satisfying, but combat could become cumbersome when my cover was blown and firearms were drawn. While a mouse and keyboard might offer more precision, using a controller made aiming with the lasersight challenging, often forcing me to rely on melee attacks and dodging to whittle down enemies in close quarters. Fortunately, the ability to pause action and direct squadmates to focus on specific targets – similar to systems in Wasteland or Mutant Year Zero – proved helpful, allowing me to manage engagements effectively.

After a day of battling mutants and gathering resources in the dangerous badlands, Survive the Fall transitions into a base-building management sim. Documents found in the world can be researched to earn knowledge points, which can then be used to unlock various crafting options in an extensive technology tree, from bunk beds and kitchen areas to water filtration systems and an armoury. Resources like timber can be transformed into planks for constructing structures such as plant boxes or gates to protect against nighttime raiders, while foraged herbs or meat from wolves and deer can be prepared into meals for your adventurers. There's considerable depth here, and I anticipate spending significant time turning my settlement from a dilapidated mess into a thriving haven in the final game.

Beyond my base, Survive the Fall offers a variety of intriguing locations to explore. From a crashed passenger plane converted into an enemy fort to a farmstead teeming with Stasis-infected ghouls, each area felt distinct and rewarding. However, the detailed environments, such as the luminescent mushroom clusters in the Mycorrhiza swamplands, sometimes led to performance issues, with a volatile framerate. I also encountered occasional game-breaking bugs that required me to quit and reload my save. Fortunately, with Survive the Fall set to release in another month, developer Angry Bulls Studio has time to refine its performance.

Survive the Fall offers a rich tapestry of distinct locales to explore in every direction. Unfortunately, the lack of voice-acted dialogue slightly detracts from the experience, as interactions with your squad and NPCs feel somewhat flat when limited to onscreen text. While some characters, like the quirky Blooper who humorously refers to the Stasis smog as "fart wind," provided moments of levity, many conversations primarily served to initiate the next fetch quest rather than deepen my understanding of the factions.

As Survive the Fall progresses, the bonds with characters might deepen, and we won't have to wait long to see. Set for a PC release this May, it's brimming with post-apocalyptic potential. If the current rough edges in controls and performance are smoothed out by then, this could well become a survival-based action RPG worthy of your hard-earned bottlecaps.