The action-adventure game Atlas Fallen was originally released and generally overlooked late in 2023. But now it has been updated, reworked and rebranded by its German gamemakers as Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand. And the game has a lot of frenetic desert-wraith battle action to offer.
You begin by choosing either a male or female champion, then sink your digital sandals into the hot sands of a ravaged, open-world realm that was once almost destroyed by a powerful entity called the Sun God Theos. Why that devastation happened is all but forgotten. But now, the cities of men have crumbled. And the land is plagued by wraiths, giant sand beasts and an ever-observing floating monolith in the sky called The Watcher.
However, your Unnamed battler has an advantage. He or she has discovered the Gauntlet: an ancient and powerful artifact that grants its wearer the ability to surf the sandy desert and strike down the monstrosities that live there. The Gauntlet is also possessed by a mysterious entity called Nyaal, a being that has lost its memories but promises to help us restore the artifact to its full power while guiding us in our quest to free this sand-blown domain.
But is Nyaal a heroic figure or a villain? As it regains its memories and destructive abilities, will it empower or enslave? And will you actually be able to free a downtrodden humanity? Those are questions that only the sands of an hourglass will reveal.
Atlas Fallen’s gameplay is divided between piecing together several different elements: uncovering the desert region’s forgotten story; unearthing treasures and relics; rebuilding the damaged Gauntlet; and swinging into an ongoing stream of creature battles.
Your hero grows in power and newfound abilities as he goes. Battles are heightened by something called a “momentum meter”: with each landed attack your Unnamed builds momentum, increasing damage and activating combat modifiers called essence stones. Those stones let you choose between a variety of special attacks or the ability to restore depleted health.
You’re also given an evolving set of attack and defense moves, and challenged to take down particularly huge wraiths and beasty foes by depleting individual health bars located on the creature’s various body parts.
Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand is a single-player or 2-player co-op game. But the game does not require an ongoing internet connection and can be played offline.
Players take on the role of a hero destined to liberate mankind from an oppressing evil.
Aesthetically, the game’s graphics are detailed, colorful and dynamic. Game mechanics are fluid and easy to pick up.
This is predominantly a battle-focused game, one that’s sometimes filled with frenetic battles against crowds of attacking monsters. (Players use huge axes, hammers, razor claws and magic blasts to attack foes.) The battles are not bloody, but players can encounter areas that hold fallen corpses and blood pools, along with red-spattered scenery.
Foul language is not prominent or frequent in this Middle Ages-esque game. That said, there are some scattered uses of the s-word and the word “d–n.”
The unfolding fantasy story narrates a clash between gods, and we see instances when that godlike power is unleashed.
Nyaal is a blue, glowing character who is seemingly naked. But there’s no defining anatomy revealed.
There’s a bit of content grit in this sand-swept action-RPG. But as a battler, this T-rated game generally keeps the action mess-free. It’s not squeaky clean. But it’s also a far cry from similar, M-rated titles, content-wise.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
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