Simply keeping on top of the steady release of “AAA” games is challenging enough these days, with a larger market than ever before and increasingly large studios trying to sate that demand. Unfortunately, that often means dozens of indie titles fly under the radar every month without the recognition they deserve. This feature aims to highlight some of those games that we’ve got around to playing but might not have reviewed.

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ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game (Xbox One/Xbox Series, PS4/5, Switch, PC)

ATOM RPG – developed by AtomTeam and published by AtentGames – finally arrived on consoles this year in a mostly polished form, after ages spent in early access and the arrival of major post-launch updates. Despite its PC roots it’s highly playable on console, looks good, runs well, and most quest bugs have been dealt with. That said, some interactions feel clunky or slow using a gamepad and combat remains far too RNG for my liking (as an example: burst-fire weapons + critical hits = instant death).

ATOM RPG is another post-apocalyptic CRPG from a diverse Eastern European team that aims to capture the classic Fallout vibe. What you get is an isometric adventure with a somewhat goofy central story (despite the grim setting and horrible people you encounter) that is heavily dependent on your starting character build and player choice, with tons of skill checks and brutal turn-based combat encounters.

I’ll admit, post-apocalyptical landscapes are becoming a tired trope but ATOM RPG still manages to look good on a budget.

How much you enjoy ATOM RPG will depend on your love for the classic CRPGs, or modern examples like Wasteland 3 or Encased. This is a game for those that want to agonise over which attributes to raise and which to sacrifice, carefully consider which skills they want to rely on, and then still ponder over the many “distinctions” (i.e. perks) that offer a mix of buffs and weaknesses. From there, it’s into the Wasteland – initially alone and underequipped – with 50-ish hours of methodical adventuring ahead of you for those that tackle everything on offer.

To ATOM RPG's credit, it (almost) always offers a way forward without combat and regardless of your abilities. However, this means permitting outcomes beyond your control that might become even less manageable further down the line. With the gift of the gab, the ability to hack or lockpick your way through old bunkers or a knack for murdering anyone who disagrees with your proposed solution, you’ll find yourself in a more favourable position to control outcomes. Ultimately, ATOM RPG is a game about biding your time, playing conservatively during the early- to mid-game, and slowly becoming powerful enough to dictate the path forward.


So many fights start like this and there’s no level-gating to save you from biting off more than you can chew.

When it comes to the flaws, technical ones like fiddly gamepad integration, reuse of assets and lack of voice-acting are easier to forgive given the budget pricing. However, ATOM RPG does have a high degree of RNG in combat and questionable writing. There are times you can choose to be a complete sociopath during quests – albeit usually with the intent of triggering violence – but that’s less problematic than the generic dialogue which can often end with callous responses to topics like abuse, disabilities, sexuality, and mutations. When it comes to combat you need to ration action points, target specific body parts and use the correct ammunition type. The problem is many encounters – both during the main quest or random battles while traversing the overworld – drop you on top of enemies, slugging it out at close-range and hoping you land the critical hits first.

Overall, ATOM RPG is a cheap, often janky but substantial CRPG. It’s a game for slow, methodical players who can bite their tongue when dealing with a bandit leader early on only for a tragic “friendly fire” accident to cut them down later during a power struggle (and later realise you should have picked the lesser evil). It’s a game where surviving a tough encounter might allow you to scavenge incredible gear you’d never afford, but there will always be the chance a burst of gunfire coupled with critical hits will blow your head off instantly on starting combat. Methodical, often frustrating, yet incredibly satisfying.


Deep Rock Galactic (PS4/5, Xbox One/Xbox Series, PC)

Despite growing up when multiplayer meant competitive modes in Unreal Tournament ‘99 and Quake III or alternating between physical and digital Mortal Kombat on the couch, co-operative multiplayer has always been my preference. With the current fixation on variations of battle royale modes, Deep Rock Galactic (developed by Ghost Ship Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing) remains an ever-evolving breath of fresh air. Despite going into Early Access at the start of 2018, constant updates and refinements have kept me and my mates coming back for years.

The premise was initially simple – an FPS/horde-shooter/mining hybrid. You’d enter a procedurally generated (and destructible) cave network by drop pod, push deeper to mine your quota of minerals, avoid hordes of hostile local fauna, trigger your extraction and reach the escape pod before a timer ran out. That basic template still holds for many of the game modes but you’ll now find yourself extracting alien eggs, setting up and defending pumping operations, pushing out from an armoured mining platform to recover rare gems or defending a mobile mining rig as it burrows towards its target.


Hanging out pre-mission, jamming to some unexpectedly awesome music. Thankfully, the synth-heavy electronic soundtrack is equally good during missions.

Despite that prospect of a dark and "samey" setting, the environments have seen massive overhauls in major updates which introduced greater variety, environmental hazards, new enemies and visual improvements. Sure, you’ll still spend plenty of time spelunking and shooting through dark caves, tossing out flares to light the way forward, but you’ll also encounter awe-inspiring caverns with radiant, radioactive crystals, pools of magma, icy fissures and potentially massive bugs.

By far the highlight of Deep Rock Galactic is the seamless co-op experience. Playing with friends is, of course, the best way to play. You all convene on your space station, discuss potential missions and assignments, waste credits on dwarven beer and a jukebox, before blasting off on a mission. Randoms can, of course, join your sessions if you want, drilling in by drop-pod to join the action. A simple laser tool allows you to coordinate, point out new tunnels, pinpoint a mineral deposit or tag enemies. There’s also a dedicated button for a dwarven warcry – usually “rock and stone!” – that’s perfect for greeting new miners, thanking someone for a revive, or cheering each other on during the panicked charge to the escape pod.


A diverse team is usually the best approach but you can’t go wrong with two Gunners if plenty of combat is expected.

There may only be four classes, but they come with several secondary weapons and skills - all of which can be further refined when upgraded (think trade-offs like weapon damage vs. clip size or armour strength vs. recharge rate). Each class has unique abilities that can make them vital to any team: the Driller tears through rock at record speed and roasts enemies with a flamethrower; the Scout is perfect for lighting up entire caverns with their flare gun and reaching out-of-the-way minerals with a grappling hook; the Gunner’s minigun is devastating in combat but they can also create ziplines for the team; the engineer’s grenade launcher is great for clustered enemies but their autonomous turrets are the highlight, allowing them to cover all angles when defending a point or create a chokepoint in tunnels.

There are far too many Early Access games that still release in a rough state, but Deep Rock Galactic is both a notable exception and it keeps evolving with new content and refinements post-launch. It’s an exceedingly well-polished co-operative experience with slick gameplay, multiple mission types and tweakable difficulty parameters that can provide a low-stress excuse for socialising or gruelling multi-hour gauntlet. It’s available at a budget price but has also remained on Xbox Game Pass – for PC and console – since before launch if you want to give it a go without committing.