Atomfall – Best Controller Settings

Atomfall, a survival-action game inspired by real-world nuclear disasters, takes place five years after the Windscale nuclear disaster in northern England. Players navigate a fictional quarantine zone, scavenging for resources, crafting gear, negotiating with factions, and engaging in combat across a hauntingly reimagined British countryside filled with enigmatic characters, mysticism, cults, and rogue government operatives.

Since Atomfall is a single-player experience, optimizing your controller settings isn’t about gaining a competitive edge—it’s about enhancing comfort, responsiveness, and immersion. Whether you’re playing on PS5, Xbox, or Steam, adjusting sensitivity, button mapping, and dead zones can make interactions feel smoother and movement more intuitive. In this guide, we’ll break down the best controller settings to ensure a more natural and enjoyable gameplay experience.

Whether you're playing Atomfall on console or PC with a PS5 or Xbox controller, these settings will help you experience the game with greater comfort and control.

• Auto Save Frequency: 2 minutes or less

Setting the auto-save frequency to two minutes or less ensures you won’t lose significant progress if something goes wrong. This allows for a more flexible and stress-free experience, letting you take risks and experiment without the fear of backtracking too far. Made a mistake? Simply reload and try again.

• Look Sensitivity: 55%
• Aim Sensitivity: 25%
• Aim Assist: Strong
• Snap Aim: On

These settings allow you to strike the ideal mix between accurate aim and fast reactions, which makes gunfights easier to handle and more fluid.

• Show Traversal Indicators: On

This guarantees that you do not overlook secret locations frequently holding valuable treasure.

• Camera Shake: Off
• Motion Blur: Off

Camera shaking and motion blur can be confusing and give you a headache. Disabling them improves clarity, making fighting and moving easier on the eyes.

• Interaction Cues: On

Keeping interaction cues enabled ensures you won’t accidentally overlook important items or objectives. This makes looting more efficient and helps you navigate the world with ease.

Even at high settings, Atomfall offers excellent performance when playing PC games. The following settings are suggested for the optimal ratio of performance to visuals:

• Anti-Aliasing: Ultra
• Shadow Detail: Ultra
• Reflection Detail: Ultra
• Draw Distance: Ultra
• Texture Detail: Ultra
• Water Detail: Ultra
• Ambient Occlusion: On
• Screen Space Shadows: On
• Motion Blur: Off
• Tessellation: On
• Obscurance Fields: On

These settings will of course vary based on your PC. Since Atomfall is a single-player experience, prioritize graphical quality while maintaining a stable 60 FPS or higher for a smoother and more immersive experience.

In the quarantine zone, survival is never guaranteed. Craft weapons and essential gear to stay alive, use your metal detector to uncover hidden valuables, and scavenge abandoned homes for supplies. Trade with the people you encounter—or take what you need by force.

Atomfall’s world is an open-ended sandbox, allowing you to explore and adapt at your own pace. Every encounter and challenge can be approached in multiple ways, giving you the freedom to shape your journey. To help you get started, here are some key tips to make the most of your time in the quarantine zone.

The game offers five difficulty presets, allowing you to tailor the challenge of exploration, survival, and combat to your preference. These include the standard Survivor mode, the more demanding Veteran mode, the investigative-focused Investigator mode, the combat-heavy Brawler mode, and the relaxed Sightseer mode. Players can adjust these settings at any time through the Options panel, ensuring a gameplay experience that best suits their playstyle.

Atomfall assists players in navigating the Quarantine Zone puzzle by providing Leads—pieces of information gathered during your investigation. In Survivor difficulty, waypoints are not automatically added, but you can manually place markers to guide your journey. If you prefer a more structured approach, the Options menu allows you to adjust the Exploration settings for a more guided experience.

At the start of your journey, gather Leads as you explore the lush countryside of Slatten Dale. Chatty Nat can point you toward a trader named Molly, who’s always ready to share the latest gossip. Venture into Wyndham Village, where you’ll find a church, various stores, a bakery, and a tavern. During the quarantine, Wyndham is under the control of Protocol, a military force led by the ever-taunting Captain Sims, who often addresses the public at the bandstand. Pay a visit to Wyndham Village and immerse yourself in its atmosphere to uncover valuable Leads.

Throughout the game, you'll encounter a range of personalities and factions—some friendly, others far less so. When interacting with them, it's important to approach with caution, as many individuals are simply trying to survive. Use the "observe, plan, execute" method to carefully assess each situation before taking action. While challenging, it is possible to complete the game without resorting to violence, allowing you to navigate the Quarantine Zone through strategy and diplomacy.

As you explore Atomfall, you'll encounter a diverse range of characters—some with self-serving motives, others holding crucial Leads about the Windscale Atom Plant, and some simply looking to trade. Building trust and understanding requires careful listening and thoughtful consideration of their words and actions. Your choices, the Leads you choose to follow, and your confidence in navigating these interactions will ultimately shape the outcome of the game. Every decision you make matters in this complex, immersive world.

Resources are scarce in the Quarantine Zone, especially firearms and ammunition, so it’s crucial to search for essential supplies like food and weaponry. Finding guides and unlocking training boosters will help you identify the most valuable talents for your survival. Crafting tools and tonics is vital for healing, combat, and overall survival. Use pneumatic dispatch tubes to store items you won't need immediately, such as a shotgun with no ammunition. Keep your backpack stocked to ensure you always have the best tools and weapons at your disposal when you need them most.

Whether you're playing Atomfall on PS5, Xbox, or Steam, optimizing your controller settings can significantly enhance your gaming experience. Striking the right balance between dead zones, button mapping, and sensitivity is essential for maximizing performance in both combat and exploration. Experiment with these settings, adjust them to suit your playstyle, and navigate the post-apocalyptic world of Atomfall with precision and control.

To get a head start in Atomfall's quarantine zone, follow the tips outlined for efficient exploration and survival. Mastering your controller configuration will improve your aim, movement, reaction times, and overall combat effectiveness. Every player has a unique style, so feel free to make incremental adjustments over time to find the optimal setup for you. With consistent practice and fine-tuning, you'll elevate your gameplay, boosting your chances of survival and success in the unforgiving world of Atomfall. Stay adaptable, keep refining your settings, and enjoy the game to its fullest.