Sand psychic action from The Surge developer, Atlas Fallen 2023.08.03 19:10 Game Mecca Reporter Kim Hyung-jong
▲ Representative image of Atlas Fallen (photo source: Focus Entertainment official website)
Deck 13, known for The Surge series and Lord Of The Fallen, was praised for its part-breaking elements, soul-like style, and intense action. This time, this deck 13 returns to Atlas Fallen, a new open world RPG that is different from the linear soul-like style that has been shown before. The game will be released on August 11th. At the time of its first release, it was considered one of the most anticipated works for its beautiful desert background and dynamic action. Now that the release is approaching, let’s see what kind of game it will be.
▲ Atlas Fallen gameplay video (video source: Deck 13 official YouTube channel)
Atlas, the desert world destroyed by the corrupt sun god
Atlas Fallen is set in Atlas, a desert where civilization was destroyed by a cataclysm. The scenery is beautiful, but it has a sad story. Talos, the corrupt sun god, dominated mankind by absorbing life energy called Essence, and the earth dried up and became a desert. Because of the power of the gods, only a few who were loyal to the gods enjoyed affluent lives, and the rest live as nameless slaves.
The protagonist was born as a nameless slave in Atlas. While exploring the desert, he is sucked into a strange space, where he finds a gauntlet with the power to control sand. He can experience the process of becoming a ‘bearer of the gauntlet’ who uses this power, leading his slaves and causing a revolution against Talos.
In Atlas, various characters such as slaves and nobles appear, and each region has its own story and faction. Through the game introduction video, we were able to confirm the fighter and soldier camps that protect the Empress, but it is presumed to be a hostile force as the main character appeared as a being against God. In addition to this, there are several towns and cities where other characters live in Atlas, and you can perform side quests by receiving requests from residents. In addition, online co-op play is supported, so you can play the entire campaign with your friends, including story progression and exploration.
▲ Talos, the sun god (Photo source: Capture from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube channel) ▲ The main character who found the gauntlet (Photo source: Capture from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube channel) ▲ Worshiper of the god Talos (Photo source: Capture from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube channel)
Sand psychic action using gauntlets
The key to Atlas Fallen play is speedy movement using the gauntlet. First of all, you can use the gauntlet’s movement ability to explore different areas of the desert. Using psychic powers, you can run fast through the sand, and you can jump and dash in the air. In the game, there are also puzzles that are solved using this movement ability.
Combat is also conducted using weapons made from gauntlets. It is a method of strengthening by attaching sand to the original weapon. There are various types of weapons such as the ax Dune Cleaver, the whip Sandwhip, and the fist weapon Knuckle Dust, and the basic is a fast but weak weak attack and a rather slow but high attack power. In addition, the light attack and heavy attack buttons can activate various combat skills.
▲ Sand surfing using gauntlet magic (Photo source: Capture from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube) ▲ Ax and whip that can be made with sand (Photo source: Capture from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube)
The battle pursues a speedy development without blockage as a whole. First of all, there is no consumption gauge like stamina, so you can use attacks or combat skills continuously. In addition, you can evade attacks with air jumps or dashes, or defend against enemy attacks with techniques that harden your body. All attacks and movements can be used in the air, allowing more freedom of action.
In addition, Momentum, a special gauge that accumulates during battle, is added to double the sense of speed. As momentum accumulates, defense decreases, but character attack power increases, and special attacks and powerful range attacks can be used.
▲ Momentum Gauge (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube) ▲ Attack distance increases and becomes stronger (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube)
In addition, when the momentum value increases, the weapon created by the gauntlet evolves, and when filled to the maximum, you can use the powerful special move ‘Shattering’. The special move also has a different form for each weapon, and the ax Dune Cleaver covers the ax with momentum energy to make it into a huge hammer, then slams it down to inflict wide-area damage.
You can also use Essence Stone, a skill that is divided into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd tiers depending on the amount of momentum gauge required. Essence Stones are composed of active and passive for each tier, and up to 3 can be freely equipped. Passive skills are automatically activated when the momentum gauge is full, and provide various buffs such as raising defense or increasing attack power. Active skills have a cooldown, Tier 1 can be used without a Momentum Gauge, and Tier 3 skills are powerful, but the Momentum Gauge must be filled up to 2 slots. It is also possible to fight using various attacks, such as calling a sandstorm using skills, spinning a whirlwind, or throwing grenades.
▲ Powerful shattering attack (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube) ▲ Various Essence Stone skills (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube) ▲ Active skill that slows down the enemy (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube)
Hunt the huge enemy ‘Sand Wraith’ and get loot
The main enemy the protagonist encounters while exploring the desert is the ‘Wraith’, which is born from sand. They range from small wolves to huge wolf marauders, giant scorpion spikers, and dragon tailwipers. Small enemies have low HP and simple patterns, so you can easily deal with them, but huge enemies with separate names have various attack patterns and have high overall combat power. In addition, there are special objects that attack the player and absorb the momentum gauge.
There are parts destruction and weaknesses that can be used when dealing with these giant specters. The huge enemy’s body is divided into several parts, and when the health of each part is reduced, it is destroyed. In addition, there are weak points with low joints or defense, so if you attack these areas, you can inflict higher damage.
If you destroy parts here, you can get more loot. You can acquire various essence stones, idols, strengthening materials, and armor as loot. Armor can be freely dyed for each part, and there are also decorative items that change the appearance. Then, the reinforcing materials are fused and used to craft or enhance the Essence Stone skill.
▲ Marauder, the giant wolf specter (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube) ▲ Enemy parts are visible (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube) ▲ Remains of loot from the hunt (Photo source: Captured from Focus Interactive’s official YouTube)
Atlas Fallen will be released on PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on August 11, and supports Korean.
