I’m deep into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but popped my head up to see that Atomfall announced their Wicked Isle DLC. It reminded me how much I enjoyed my Atomfall Choices and tracking down leads. Before I go any further down the rabbit hole, I came back to reflect on those choices.
Making it my Story with Atomfall Choices
In Atomfall, my decisions mattered. It’s an open world with choices of faction loyalties and moral choices. There were plenty of chances to trust and betray people that changed how I progressed through the game. I had to weigh not just the immediate benefits, but also the long term costs of my decisions.
Making my Atomfall Faction Choices
A big part of Atomfall‘s storytelling is the key factions with each personified by memorable NPCs who have their own agendas. None are all good or all bad, but some are definitely worse than others.
The Voice on the Telephone:
The voice with no face always contacted me via the red phones littered throughout the area maps. It provided cryptic instructions and was obsessed with repeating “Oberon Must Die”. I never saw the person on the other end of the phone and I’m still not sure if it was just a voice in the player character’s head.
Answering the phone and following most of those Atomfall choices unlocks a unique ending. It often felt like the simplest route, so I obeyed as long as it made sense. The times I disobeyed orders, the voice on the other end was not shy about expressing their disappointment.
Captain Sims:
As the leader of “Protocol”, Captain Sims’ storyline revolves around his military presence, trying to squash rebellion and find a way out of the zone. He’s a strictly by the book type of guy, who wanted me to inform on any rule breakers. I didn’t want to rat out good townfolk, so I just strung the Captain along.
It’s definitely a much easier time to have the military presence on my side. They still got upset when I tried to venture into restricted areas, but it was nice to walk freely elsewhere. It took some doing, but I was able to work with other factions without losing the Captain’s trust.
Dr. Garrow:
She is the stereotypical in-game scientist. Too smart for her own good. The tricky thing with her is she did not offer any help until after I broke her out of Captain Sim’s prison. In order to keep both sides strung along, I had to progress the story enough to open the backdoor into the prison side of the Interchange facility.
Opening up that path allowed me to break out Dr Garrow and then sneak out the back without the guards seeing me. She then thanked me by sending me on errands to fetch her research and finish opening up the Interchange.
Dr. Holder in Atomfall:
Siding with Dr. Holder offered a new option to take out Oberon. His research also helped me survive spore exposure longer. Like Dr. Garrow, he sent me on some errands for research and samples. The medical wing where he sent me was definitely dangerous, but worth visiting.
Not to spoil too much, but when the two doctors meet face to face again, it does not end well. First time through the Atomfall choices, I did end up following his path to the end. I definitely did not fully trust him, but he did seem to be the least evil at the time.
Joyce Tanner:
She can be found elsewhere in the world, but she just showed up at the Interchange as I progressed my story. Her task for me involved setting up radio towers to get a signal out. Working through the setups took me to interesting places. Her motives were obviously more than she was letting on. She had a spy vibe to her.
Mother Jago in Atomfall:
Aligned with the druidic order, Mother Jago first appeared to just be a harmless herbalist. Her true intention was to side with the natural world (and its primal forces). Her requests were centered around advancing nature and not civilization.
Each of these factions and NPCs have their own agendas and motivations. The choices I made changed the immediate storyline and who ultimately escaped with me.
Atomfall Choices for 6 Different Endings
To reach any of the endings, each requires a series of steps to align with the request of the various factions. While the main mission was to restore power to the Interchange by collecting five Atomic Batteries and unlocking all major doors, there are multiple paths to get there.
By following the requests of various factions up until a point of no turning back, I was able to make all endings available using a save an hour before the end. In general, I’d follow the faction’s story up until it butted up against the others, and then I’d shift to working with someone else. I’d make a manual save before I took an action likely to anger another faction.
For the details, look below and obviously there are spoilers.
The Voice on the Telephone Ending
- Requirements:
Restored power to the Interchange and followed the majority of the instructions of the telephone voice. Worth noting, it does not require obeying all. Oberon must die. - The Process:
After power was fully restored and the Interchange’s doors were open, I went to the Oberon Dig Site and destroyed it. I poisoned it using the sample from Dr. Holder’s research. The option to burn it is there, but took a bit more work when I was there to activate all charges. - Outcome:
After destroying Oberon, I returned to the bunker where I started the game. Gas knocked me out before a figure pulled me out of the zone. I still am not sure if the voice was a real person or the character’s imagination.
Captain Sims’ Atomfall Ending
- Requirements:
Captain Sims wanted me to inform on the town folk. At first, I chose not to, but one of them got lippy with me and ended up dead. I had no problem telling on him and also gave info on a murder I found in the church. That was enough for him to give me a military pass. The important part is I did not need to follow all his demands. He also wanted the Oberon site destroyed. - The Process:
Step one was to give him dirt on the people in the town. He was trying to root out the rebellion. That granted me a pass to their prison. He wanted me to interrogate Dr. Garrow and later fetch some radio parts. Feeding him what he thought was useful info and gathering those parts earned me a seat on his helicopter. I destroyed the Oberon site and he was able to call in his choppers. - Outcome:
Following the Captain’s instructions on those main things granted me his military helicopter exit. Destroying Oberon was not enough for him though. He activated the Atomfall protocol and cleansed the entire area with fire, people and all. Not a very positive ending.
Dr. Garrow’s Atomfall Ending
- Requirements:
I had to rescue her from Captain Sim’s prison first. I then had to find her research in the Robotics wing of the Interchange and Dam Data Store. In the end, I had to make sure not to destroy Oberon as to not ruin her research. She instead required a sample. It was also important to make sure Dr. Holder never found her. - The Process:
Instead of sneaking or fighting through guarded corridors, I snuck her out the back via the Interchange door I opened. Using her info, I made it to Robotics and acquired her research. She then sent me to Dam Data store to handle her data. Last, I then went to the Oberon site retrieved a sample and met her in Robotics. - Outcome:
Leaving Oberon alone definitely kept the current problems in place, but Dr. Garrow kept her promise to get me out. She helped me escape via a hidden exit behind her bookcase in her Robotics office. Not the worst ending, but felt a bit like doing a deal with the devil.
Dr. Holder’s Ending Choices
- Requirements:
This route is unlocked by aligning with the more covert operations of Dr. Holder found in the basement of the church. He needed his sample to craft a poison and then needed me to use it. - The Process:
He sent me to the Medical wing of the Interchange to fetch a sample he’d used to create the poison. I used it in the process of destroying Oberon. It’s worth saving before giving the sample, because after that conversation it will lock you our of the Dr. Garrow ending. - Outcome:
Aligning with Dr. Holder did not end well for Dr. Garrow. I don’t think she will finish her research. Using poison to destroy Oberon seemed like a more effective method. I was then able to escape with Dr. Holder via a secret escape hatch.
Joyce Tanner’s Ending
- Requirements:
After unlocking enough of the Interchange, Joyce Tanner found me. From there, she offered me a way out if I help helped her reactivate radio towers to call her people. When I thought that was enough, she also wanted me to collect a sample from the Oberon sight. Depending on whether I helped Dr. Holder or not, she wanted me to take care of him. - The Process:
I had to fetch access keys from bunkers and various facilities to access the radio tower locations. After activating them all, I headed to the Oberon site and fetched a sample to pay for my exit. Made it all the way to the helicopter before she asked I kill Dr. Holder. I took him out and came back. - Outcome:
After activating the radio towers and fetching the sample, Joyce sent me coordinates to meet her at. She kept her promise and had a helicopter waiting. An interesting twist though, I used Dr. Holder’s poison, so she demanded I kill him. Once I did satisfy all her requirements, she did get me out, but not before knocking my character out first.
Mother Jago’s Atomfall Ending Choices
- Requirements:
This plant lady did not want me to destroy Oberon, she wanted me to fetch a special serum to super charge it. She also wanted me to become one with nature and that didn’t end well for my character. - The Process:
She first sent me out to find her recipe book for a spore resistant serum in the Druid castle. Instead of sneaking my way in, I basically killed everyone. She then sent me to give an offering to nature and nature talked back. To not cut off other paths, I stalled on helping anymore. When I finished the other endings, I did circle back to use the supercharged serum at the Oberon site. - Outcome:
All the other factions did not appreciate me making the problems for them worse. I had to fight my way through them only to then sacrifice my life to become one with nature at Casterfell Castle. Probably the darkest of the endings.
Although chasing leads took some getting used to in the beginning, I loved investigating all Atomfall choices had to offer. It was a joy to try out all 6 endings and now I look forward to finding time for the Wicked Isle DLC.