A wasteland RPG built on classic CRPGs
ATOM RPG drops you into a Soviet Wasteland after 1986, when both the Soviet Union and the Western Bloc were wiped out in mutual nuclear bombings. You are one of the survivors, and your job is to explore what's left, carve out a place to live, and dig into a conspiracy aimed at finishing off the rest of life on Earth. The game draws directly on Fallout, Wasteland, System Shock, Deus Ex and Baldur's Gate, so expect isometric views, deep dialogue, and a world that reacts to how you built your character.
Character creation is the first real decision. The roleplaying system is inspired by GURPS, and each stat combination gives you a different experience: different dialogue options, different ways to finish quests, different approaches to problems. Skills run from lockpicking to gambling, and they matter in conversations as much as in combat.
Playing it with friends
ATOM RPG lists Online Co-op as a Steam feature, so you and your group can team up and work through the wasteland together. The core of play is still the CRPG loop: talk to NPCs, pick up quests, and decide how to solve them. Dozens of quests come with multiple solutions, which means a group can argue over the approach — talk your way past a problem, pick a lock, or go in with weapons drawn. Turn-based combat, inspired by Fallout 1 and 2, keeps fights readable when several people are weighing in on each turn.
Random encounters with the dwellers of the Soviet Wasteland add variety on the road: sometimes friendly, sometimes dangerous, and sometimes both at once. Having more people around helps when a fight breaks out unexpectedly.
What to know before you start
The world is open and nonlinear. You can follow the main thread toward the shadowy conspiracy, or spend your time elsewhere — the settlement built from the dust of the old world, the wilds where mutated creatures and savage bandits live, the secrets of an old military bunker, or fishing at a scenic pond. Nothing forces a single route.
Expect long, multiple-choice conversations that play out like real exchanges with unique NPCs, and expect your stats to change what those conversations offer. Survival and exploration tags are there for a reason: the wasteland is large, and wandering it is part of the game. Set aside real time for it, and let each player's build shape how the group handles what it finds.