Atlas Fallen Co-Op Preview: Challenging Combat That's Even Better Together

Deck13, the studio behind Lords of the Fallen and The Surge, first unveiled the upcoming action RPG Atlas Fallen back in August 2022. Since then, we’ve seen exciting reveals and teasers of what’s to come from the sand-covered adventure. While the game as a whole is gearing up to be an appealing venture for RPG fans, its fleshed out co-op capabilities might gain the attention of an even wider audience. I had the chance to check out Atlas Fallen, and its co-op mode, in a recent preview.

What struck me within moments of starting the roughly two hour co-op demo was the sheer sense of scale you get from the environment. Towering structures in the distance across an expanse of desert, littered with ruins and curious landmarks. In the sky, an ominous and looming fortress home to gods and mysteries overlooks the world of Atlas. My preview may have been primarily to experience the game’s co-op elements, but I can’t say I wasn’t intrigued by what the story has to offer in its expanded world. Atlas Fallen isn’t a fully open-world game; it has massive open regions, filled with monsters, quests and more. It’s unclear just how many of these regions exist in the game, but I hope each one is as engaging as this early zone.

Atlas Fallen introduces itself with satisfaction in mind. From the start of the demo, I was able to drift through the expansive, sandy world, taking in the surrounding locales and landscapes. It’s an enjoyable way to roam around at a relatively speedy pace. There’s no stamina bar to worry about; I was surfing and sliding to my heart's content. Given free rein, I’d probably spend hours lost in the dunes in search of secrets. But thankfully, one of Deck13’s developers was on hand to guide me through, ensuring I didn’t leave without seeing the game’s highlights. 

Traversal feels very fluid, and movement mechanics are very seamlessly integrated into aspects of the world. You’re equipped with large jumps and multiple air-dashes, allowing you to move onto and across various structures that are seemingly out of reach. It might take a bit of puzzling to work out how best to reach some of the hidden secrets and collectibles, but in co-op two brains are certainly better than one. Raising platforms out of the sand, locating the perfect point to execute a series of dashes, all to claim a precious element that’ll help to upgrade your gameplay even more. With two active players, it felt as though there was plenty for each of us to uncover. 

Where co-op play really shines in Atlas Fallen is through its combat. It’s challenging in all the right ways, and adding in a second player doesn’t guarantee you an easy ride. Of the one region I was able to experience, there were plenty of tough enemies to test my (poor) skills against. These aren’t encounters imposed upon you by the story, either. Rather, gigantic monsters that can be optionally hunted down, if you’re feeling confident. Each formidable creature came with its own variety of attacks and defenses that, even with a dev as my co-op partner, saw me meet a tragic end more than once. Fortunately, with a friend in the fight, they were able to revive me and I was back hacking and slashing once more. 

Nailing down the combat is key, and while you might be forgiven in thinking that the hack and slash method will see you through, there’s far more to it. There are two weapons at a player’s disposal, roughly equaling heavy and fast attacks. But, depending on your build, you might end up with some longer range abilities or more devastating up-close attacks.

The abilities that you choose to slot become available through the game’s Momentum mechanic. It’s a bar that builds and charges the more you land attacks. As it builds, you’ll be able to activate the abilities you’ve slotted — these could be passive bonuses or active actionable skills. Naturally, as the meter builds you’ll be able to use your more powerful attacks. With the level of danger that some of these enemy encounters have, you’ll need to master the Momentum, alongside your regular attacks, to come away unscathed. As you roam around the world, you’ll find more slottable abilities, allowing you to customize your Momentum bar as you see fit.

What works great for co-op is that each player has their own Momentum bar and can fully customize their build just as they would if playing on their own. Two players could have very different styles of play, one focused on damage dealing another on defense for example, and bring them together for some synergized combat. 

Though my time with Atlas Fallen was brief, I was treated to something special. An engaging RPG with a world that seems eager to reveal to you just what it holds. A lot of care has gone into ensuring that it feels good to play, and never a chore. From the way you navigate the regions to how you tailor combat to your preference, it's all crafted for maximum enjoyment. The ability to drop into Atlas with a friend, with no hang ups or specific limitations, only serves to make Atlas Fallen that much more memorable. 

Atlas Fallen launches on August 10, 2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC.