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All Atomfall Playstyles Explained

Author: Unknown Author Update Time: 2025-03-26

Atomfall is a unique RPG that puts the type of experience you want to have largely in your hands. This starts with having you choose the playstyle that you want, and there are a variety of options. If you’re not sure what to pick, here’s a guide to help explain each playstyle.

All Playstyles in Atomfall and How They Work

As mentioned earlier, Atomfall is a game that prides itself on giving you the utmost freedom with how you want to play its story. When you first start a new save, the Playstyle menu will feature five different predetermined playstyle modes, based on the experience you’re looking for.

  • Sightseer – Described as a “low-pressure mode”, this playstyle is meant for those who want to focus primarily on the story and not worry about stressful combat or survival strategies. Exploration, Survival, and Combat are all set to ‘Assisted’ difficulty.
  • Investigator – This mode is for those who want to explore on their own without hints or HUD assistance while still keeping combat low-stress. Exploration is set to ‘Challenging’ difficulty while Survival is set to ‘Casual’ and Combat is kept at ‘Assisted’.
  • Brawler – This mode is for players who “enjoy combat” and don’t mind a challenge against enemies, while exploration and survival are more guided. Combat is set to ‘Challenging’ difficulty while Survival is ‘Casual’ and Exploration is kept at ‘Assisted’.
  • Survivor – The mode “recommended” by the devs, this one provides a balanced challenging experience across the board. Combat, Survival, and Exploration are all set to ‘Challenging’ difficulty.
  • Veteran – This is the most hardcore mode intended for players who want to truly test their skills in all areas. Combat, Survival, and Exploration are all set to ‘Intense’ difficulty.

When you experience the game for the first time, it can certainly be difficult to immediately know which playstyle is best for you. If you feel like the one you picked at the start is too stressful or too easy, you can change it without penalty.

Pause your game and then select ‘Options’. Under the ‘Game’ tab will be ‘Playstyle’ right at the top. Select it and then a menu will display to help re-customize your playstyle. You can toggle any of the three main categories (Combat, Survival, and Exploration) to a different difficulty. This will then adjust you to one of the other playstyles.

Or, if you want to edit your experience in greater detail, go to ‘Advanced Options’ which will take you through multiple aspects of each category.

Which Atomfall Playstyle Should You Start With?

Overall, Atomfall is designed to be a balanced experience that doesn’t push any extremes in terms of its gameplay. However, in the end, it all comes down to what you personally find the most enjoyable. The game gives you just about every liberty to choose what you want to be challenged or not challenged by.

If you want to choose from one of the five default playstyle options, the best one to start with is probably either Investigator or Brawler. These options can help test your comfort zone against the game’s combat and unique exploration system. From there, you can adjust your experience as needed.

However, the truly best option may be the customized playstyle. With it, you can tailor every aspect of gameplay to your personal style. From how enemies behave to the ease of exploring and bartering, any limits are up to you.

Also, there are no achievements/trophies tied to completing the game on certain difficulties. So there are no inherent penalties for changing your experience as often as you want.

That concludes all Atomfall playstyles explained. Be sure to check out our content for the game, including how to get a free Metal Detector early.