Atomfall: Wicked Isle DLC [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

Wicked Isle doesn’t reinvent Atomfall, but as its first piece of DLC content, it doesn’t need to. It’s a solid expansion that extends the eerie charm of Rebellion’s alternate-history Britain with a new island full of strange cults, haunting environments, and a fresh dose of post-nuclear weirdness. It does have some imperfections, but it still manages to stand out as a fun excuse to dive back into one of 2025’s more distinctive open-world games.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Set on Midsummer Isle, a fog-drenched, isolated landmass floating in a lake, Wicked Isle introduces a new area roughly equivalent in size to one of the base game’s regions. You can access it early on via a quest in Wyndham Village, though returning players will need to roll back to a pre-endgame save in order to access the content – it brings some alternate endings to the main plot too, so it feels worthwhile to re-visit some events of the game again.

The narrative begins simply enough, with a boatman’s request for help tracking down a rare mead. However, it doesn’t take long for the quirky fetch quest to unfold into a deeper tale involving pagan cults, mutated enemies, and scientific remnants of the old world. While the central mystery doesn’t quite reach the emotional highs of the base game’s strongest arcs, it still offers enough mystical intrigue to keep players hooked in across its several hours of new content.

“It extends the core experience with more of what fans enjoyed: spooky British landscapes, oddball quests, and just enough mystery to make exploration rewarding.”

Midsummer Isle introduces new enemy types like the Aquatic Ferals – mutated water-dwellers – and the Abbey Druids – a more sinister cult offshoot. However, most foes are essentially re-skinned versions of base game archetypes, making their appearance a little superficial. Even the Lake Bandits behave identically to their land-based counterparts, so returning players might find some of the action-orientated sequences a little familiar in design. That being said, there are some standout encounters with some of the more unique mini-bosses of the game, which do add a welcome strategic wrinkle to the otherwise familiar combat encounters.

Combat itself is still a mixed bag, though. The addition of new weapons, like the powerful but short-ranged Blunderbuss and a poison-infused club, provides some momentary fun, but they don’t drastically shift the feel of each showdown – so much so that players that are deep into the main campaign may find little incentive to switch from their current loadouts. It’s fun to see some new additions to the game, but don’t expect them to bring a complete re-invention to the mechanics.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Thankfully, the vast majority of Wicked Isle plays to Atomfall’s biggest strengths – its world design, atmosphere, and fantastic sense of discovery. The island is dense with secrets, from the crumbling abbey complex to a mysterious research bunker and quirky side characters, with plenty of intriguing quests to delve into that play into the mysterious tone of the world perfectly. I certainly wanted to see everything that the DLC had to offer, whilst it also proved that there’s still so much more potential for the world of Atomfall. Sure, some quests could be a little by the numbers, but the overall quality is generally of a very high standard.

Visually, Wicked Isle continues to impress. The foggy moors, decrepit interiors, and bioluminescent anomalies look fantastic thanks to strong lighting effects and environmental design, whilst the audio work remains immersive, with creaking wood, distant cries, and garbled radio chatter enhancing the island’s tension. It looks and feels great, with the new locations a real treat to explore.

Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Rebellion
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
Website: https://atomfall.com/