Summary
- Atomfall’s soundtrack evolves to reflect the unfolding mystery, offering a unique experience for players looking to be immersed in the world
- With a curated playlist, you can tailor your Atomfall experience with wartime, jazz, and rock & roll hits from the UK.
- This helps achieve the “British Fallout” experience that many expected from the game (whether they should or not is another matter).
When survival-action RPG Atomfall was first revealed, it drew immediate comparisons to the Fallout series. Players wake up in a quarantine zone bunker in the middle of England’s Lake District with no memory of how they got there and soon find themselves exploring an irradiated open world, fighting traveling bands of bandits, and trying to uncover the mysteries of a secret government bunker.
But I quickly noticed one glaring omission: the old-timey Fallout-esque radio stations that make any post-war open-world feel like home. So I fixed it.
Putting Together the Perfect Atomfall Soundtrack
Atmofall slowly escaped its “British Fallout” label once more gameplay details were revealed, and it was able to set itself apart with a unique leads story system and alternate take on the real-life Windscale nuclear disaster of 1957.
It’s easy to see why the comparisons were made, and playing through I found myself looking for hidden power armor locked away in secret cellars. But there are plenty of Fallout features you certainly won’t find it Atomfall. There are no Deathclaws, no synths (at least not that I found), no BlamCo Mac & Cheese and, most importantly, no radio to listen to while wandering the wasteland.
After running around quaint English towns and forests hunting down atomic batteries for days, the silence was starting to get to me. I missed those jazzy wartime tunes pumping through my Pip-Boy, so I decided to put together my own playlist for playing Atomfall.
Just like the U.S., the music scene in England in the 1940s and early 50s was full of songs with deep ties to World War II. Big bands released uptempo war anthems to support British troops while jazz crooners like the iconic Vera Lynn captured the hopeful and sentimental mood of the time with songs of longing.
Rock & roll started to seep into mainstream UK culture throughout the 50s, borrowing the styles of American stars like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, and there was also the rise of skiffle, a type of folk music that borrowed from many genres and often included improvised instruments.
To make the perfect playlist for the era, I had to include songs that represented all of these genres and movements. I also wanted to make sure to capture all the big notes that Fallout radio stations were always sure to include: direct wartime propaganda songs, the saddest songs about love that you’ve ever heard, and goofy jazz songs that make you scratch your head.
Vera Lynn’s “White Cliffs of Dover” and Sam Browne’s “There’ll Always Be an England” will make you feel like a true British hero while you try to hunt down access to the quarantined Windscale plant. Fun traveling bops like “Worried Man Blues” by Lonnie Donegan and “The Wayward Wind” by Jimmy Young will keep the tempo up while you walk from lead to lead, putting a little pep in your step while subtly reminding you that you’re in a bit of danger.
Then there’s a slew of just silly hits that were popular around the time, my favorite being “The Bee Song” by the comedic musical duo Arthur Askey and Kenneth Blain. You can certainly split up these sects if you prefer one genre over another, but I think a blend is key to the experience.
And if you were a fan of the classical radio stations in Fallout, I’d suggest checking this Spotify-curated playlist called Classically British, to add some tunes without it being as intrusive.
Adding My Playlist to the Game
Because I’ve used Spotify to create a playlist, you can simply add the playlist to your own Spotify account and then hit play while you traverse the exclusion zone. Better still, Spotify works in the background on PlayStation 5 and Xbox, and of course there’s a Windows app (plus a web app) if you’re playing on PC that you can easily control.
Alternatively, you can hit play and use any old speaker you have lying around. The effect is the same. Just be sure to adjust the game’s sound settings so that the music doesn’t clash.
Atomfall Has an Excellent Soundtrack, Too
Of course, Atomfall does have its own soundtrack that’s actually superb. Graham Gatheral, the game’s audio director, explained the evolving soundtrack in an interview with Game Rant: the music choices start off emphasizing a sense of normality and security but gets progressively stranger and disconcerting as you unravel the game’s mysteries.
“As the player ventures deeper and encounters more unsettling things, we introduce experimental elements (electronic textures, unorthodox time signatures, unconventional instruments) to reflect the unfolding weirdness and heighten the sense of mystery and unease that permeates Atomfall’s world,” he told Game Rant.
A changing soundtrack is certainly interesting, but the plot of Atomfall was creepy enough for me without the radio waging psychological warfare on me. I’ll stick to having a good time (not a long time—because of the atomic disaster) and try to find a little fun in the world instead.
As you’re sneaking into the Interchange and uncovering the source and purpose of Oberon, be sure to take a minute to enjoy yourself and listen to some new tunes. If you’re lucky, this playlist will have you feeling like you’re having a laugh with your mates at the pub over a pint instead of trying to escape almost certain death in a quarantine zone.
Atomfall is available on PC via Steam and Epic Games, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4. The easiest way to play is via Game Pass Ultimate.
