ATOM is a postapocalyptic RPG you will most certainly enjoy if you liked old Fallout games. Even though the setting and the story are different, almost every game mechanic is the same like in Fallout 1 and 2, I for once had zero issues with that because Fallout 1 and 2 are among my favorite games ever. In this version of apocalypse the bombs fell in 1986 and for once we are not focused on the same old USA, now we are playing in a postapocalyptic Russian province where our character is set to find out what happened to one of the members of the secretive organization called ATOM. You will, however, for the most part of the game be doing side quest and exploring this dangerous and interesting new world.
This game is filled with modern references, for example you will get a chance to talk with a group of crazy crypto dudes, unfortunately I had to exile them from the capital city because they were talking nonsense, another example is a dude making money scamming people with the dead Lenin exhibit, you will find out later the secret what is really going on and it is quite funny, there are examples like this all over the game, it's like Fallout on Russian steroids.
When it comes to the character creation I tried to create balanced "jack of all trades" character and ended up with mixed results, early game was exceptionally hard if you don't invest some points into melee weapons, while in the late game melee weapons are not that strong, so you will need to have two or three different main combat stats in order to have a chance of surviving.
The main wasteland skills you will most certainly need are barter, survival and speechcraft. If you want to have points to spread out efficiently you will need to invest in intelligence, so plan accordingly. The game also has a perk system different than the Fallout one where every point you use will cost you more. Character progression is one of the best parts of the game and once you end up with decent amount of rubles (ingame money) you will be able to buy, scavenge or steal some of the stronger guns and armors which you can then use yourself or you can give them to your fateful companions.
Combat is turn based exactly like in Fallout games where you spend action points for movement and attacking, you will want to have a decent amount of Dexterity to be able to fire two times per round. The enemies come in all shapes and sizes, you will be fighting wasteland lunatics, bandits, mutated beasts, all sorts of flora and fauna with a dash of human insanity.
Some encounters can be resolved peacefully which brings me to another great part of the game, most of the quest can be resolved in many different ways, that fact makes ATOM very replayable, also considering this is a brand new game you will be doing many mistakes early on, you will be learning by trial and error, so creating a brand new character who knows what is what will be fun to do in the second run.
ATOM is a clear Fallout clone, the developers said it many times, Fallout was their huge inspiration and they are embracing it fully and so should we. This is a 15$ game on Steam, considering how much content is inside and how fun it is you will feel like the 15$ price is a steal of the century. Score: 95/100!