Atlas Fallen Reign of Sand Update Xbox Review

It’s been almost a year since Atlas Fallen launched and since then, developers Deck 13, who you might know from The Surge series of games, have been hard at work both updating and slightly reworking Atlas Fallen. The fruits of this labour are now available in the free Reign of Sands update.

The update is more than just a rework of the base game and additional mechanics, it’s a story DLC as well that includes a new quest line and area for you to sand surf through. By all considerations, it’s a pretty hefty update, but what does it do exactly?

For previous players, the most significant aspect will be the new story DLC, which is accessible if you have a save before the end. This new quest line throws you into the shoes of the god Nyaal who still seems to be missing some memories. Rifts have opened across Atlas that will take you directly to the ruptured Source, home of the gods. Here Nyaal will have to face his part in Atlas’s fall, while regaining all of his power.

Depending on where you are in the game, the quests are designed to get you to grips with the new features and story. I loaded up a save from just before the final boss but if you’re playing from the beginning, you will get access to them earlier.

Nyaal’s story will take you to the games new area, Source, which is the devastated home of the gods for a tale about Nyaal’s complicity in Atlas’s fall. Source will slowly open up to you from across the various portals in Atlas, with each taking you to a fight that unveils more of Nyaal’s forgotten memories while giving you three new abilities.

These manifest in the form of specific Sand Wraith attacks that you can use in combat. Two new boss fights are also here along with a new mechanic that lets you sand slide across manifesting paths while avoiding attacks in an attempt to break a boss shield. It’s a pretty cool mechanic that would have been nice to see in the main game originally.

The other quest is for the Gauntlet Bearer which pits you against increasing waves of enemies in various arenas for new rewards. The coveted rewards here, along with some cosmetic items, is the ability to summon Sand Wraiths in combat. It’s nowhere near as snazzy as Nyaal’s abilities, but those late game fights are quite challenging regardless of difficulty so any help is welcome.

New to the game as well are twenty-five new Essence Stones for combat, which include some Sand Wraith skills and a new corruption mechanic that can infect you in a fight and lower your health.

The developers have listed visual updates as well as part of the new update, but I can’t say that I noticed any difference myself. Atlas Fallen looked and ran great at launch, environmental pop-in aside when moving fast through the world, and it still looks and runs great with the Atlas Fallen Reign of Sand update. Combat was fantastic in the original game release and the new attack options bolster an already great and overflowing system full of customisation.

The other noticeable change is the re-recorded dialogue. Most noticeably for Nyaal who now sounds like a very tired Raziel. It’s a complete overhaul of the original voice acting. The beginning of the game has also received an overhaul to get you faster into the story. Gone are the quests that had you walking back and forth in the game’s opening area. You can still talk to the NPC’s there, but the quest line associated with it has been stripped out in favour of getting you to the gauntlet within the game’s first couple of minutes.

A NG+ has also been added to this update which, unless I’m missing something, may be bugged at the time of playing as, after completing the game from my previous save, I was plopped back into the game just before the last fight and there was no indication of a NG+ mode at all for me. Which left me to start a new game to check out the changes instead of rolling with my previous gear and skills.

The developers do advise starting a new game to get the best experience out of the new update and content.

When we originally reviewed Atlas Fallen, we scored it an 8, and said that these “sands are definitely worth surfing.” And that still stands up today. While I don’t feel like Atlas Fallen Reign of Sand dramatically changes up the game, it certainly refines and revitalises an already fantastic action RPG that, it seems, not many cottoned onto. It’s a great time to revisit it if you’ve played it already and if you haven’t played it at all, then now’s a good time to jump on in.

Atlas Fallen Reign of Sand Launch Trailer

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