The player character in 'Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand', returning to familiar sands for more adventures.

Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand Impressions

6 minutes read
128 Views

Originally released in August 2023, Atlas Fallen is a quality game from Deck 13. It was an experience that combines sand-surfing open-world mechanics, deep ability & armor systems, and a combat system inspired by classics like the original God of War titles.

Deck 13 and Focus Home Entertainment released a substantial update, called Reign of Sand that directly addresses many issues fans and critics pointed out during the original release. Lords of Gaming was allowed to experience an update, with Lord Flame and myself putting several hours into the updated version of Atlas Fallen.

What Does Reign of Sand Offer?

The update does a lot to enhance the original release of Atlas Fallen. One major change is the voice acting, with the male and female protagonists (alongside the talking gauntlet that accompanies you) receiving new voices for the roles. Most notably, Final Fantasy XVI’s Ben Staar voices the male character.

Another major addition is a new zone, specifically built for the physical form of your gauntlet companion. They play similarly to your player character but have unique combat abilities while sand-surfing during combat encounters. This new zone can be accessible across the main campaign by finding portals leading to the new realm, or you can tackle it as post-game content.

New enemy types are added to the game, though the toughest ones are added to New Game Plus. They add much-needed variety to combat, which already was quite strong in the base game.

The biggest change with this update is how the game begins, featuring a completely different opening. Atlas Fallen now quickly thrusts you into the thick of things, giving you the gauntlet faster and unlocking your multi-dash abilities faster. It makes exploration, one of the strongest aspects of Atlas Fallen, easier for people to engage with from the start.

Lord Flame’s Impressions

While I played the update, I was joined by fellow editor Lord Flame, who had the following to say about Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand.

A new realm for players new and old to explore, called 'Corruption Breaches', spread across the vast open world in Atlas Fallen.

Originally when it came to Atlas Fallen, I deferred to YouTubers ACG’s review for the game as it launched in a very stacked year, and just did not have the time nor funds to play it. I feel it would have been a disservice to the developers to buy something and never experience it, albeit bad or good it was depending on who played it. So, fast-forwarding to this year and getting through two sets of similar tutorials I think could have just been condensed into one dedicated segment of the game later, and Atlas Fallen with all of the improvements they made has been something I am very much enjoying.

The game has a spectacle combat system similar to what people would expect in the older God of War games. With a system that has you stripping certain boss-like foes of parts not unlike the Monster Hunter series, it all comes together with this open-world exploration that isn’t too open. But has a lot of verticality and free-flowing movement that feels so good to play, especially with a friend.

Some co-op issues seem to be tied to story progression. I had to expedite my experience with the story just to test it out with a friend, and after it worked, that play session lived up to every expectation I thought it would. But when it came to trying co-op again, we could not get it to work as when you play with someone, the progress earned is shared, but you can not revert to an earlier point in the story. Meaning, that it might be best to make a separate save for co-op runs if you are itching to experience the story. The story seems untouched but the voice actors were changed for both male and female roles. Ben Starr, known for Final Fantasy XVI and the upcoming Warframe: 1999 plays the male, and his raspy voice delivering in a stern tone matches the feeling of the main character being betrayed and left to mysterious powers. 

The combat and enemies feel very fine-tuned to deliver a fair experience that never removes the challenge of what to expect playing solo. Playing in co-op allowed us to experiment with different weapons and builds, letting us play to our strengths and take down giant sand crabs and serpents how we wanted to. The customization system in the menus felt overwhelming and confusing. However, taking it one step at a time helped. I was using a dagger that also functions as a whip to grapple onto enemies much more entertaining while my Lord Soinc took full advantage of the fist weapons that felt as cool as some of the combat segments in Asura’s Wrath. 

While the game could benefit from having a demo so recommending it could be easier to do, the game is very much worth looking into further. Some of the vistas are stunning, the vertical exploration is amazing and the sand surfing just felt very cool.

Lord Sonic’s Impressions

My take on my experience playing the update was quite positive, enjoying the extensive platforming mechanics. As a huge fan of 3D platformers, playing something similar to one while having sand surfing and dash mechanics was enjoyable.

The level design invites exploration and letting players have access to most of their abilities so early on is a great decision made with this update. In addition, the combat system greatly appealed to my classic God of War fan mentality.

Some of the exciting combat encounters the player can experience in 'Atlas Fallen'. The player character is using an axe-like weapon to fight a massive two-horned sand beast.

Being able to use heavy attacks with a sand fist and attacking from a distance using a Blades of Chaos-esc Sand Whip was engaging. The various abilities I unlocked, like summoning a sand storm or having my whip violently stab enemies far away, were enjoyable to execute.

I also quite enjoyed the armor customization, being able to use transmog to have the best-looking armor while using the best stats. My only major issue was co-op connection issues, as I had a hard time connecting to Flame’s game sometimes. Also worth noting, is that you can carry on progression from co-op sessions. However, if your co-op partner is earlier in the game, you need to replay sections you might’ve experienced in a solo session.

Closing Thoughts

Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand is a fantastic, free update to an already great experience. The gameplay refinements, new content, and early-game progression systems get minor reworking; it all helps enhance the overall experience.

You can experience Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. In addition, the game as of this writing is currently playable on Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC. So now is a perfect time to jump into sand-surfing adventures!

Review Copies on PlayStation 5 were provided by the publisher for coverage

Robert Kellett

Lover of video games of most kinds and passionate writer wanting to make a difference. My favorite franchises include Sonic, Zelda, Ratchet & Clank and Persona.