Should you free Doctor Garrow in Atomfall?

Deciding whether to free Doctor Garrow in Atomfall is a bit of a headscratcher. On one hand, this scientist says she can help you escape the zone and provide some answers about what the hell's going on. On the other hand, though, Captain Sims sent you to interrogate the rogue researcher and will, understandably, be a bit miffed if you up and decide to let her go.

That's not even mentioning how you're going to explain away opening a bunch of cells in the depths of a securely guarded military prison—a real headscratcher, as I said. Here I'll walk you through the consequences of freeing Dr. Garrow, as well as how Captain Sims will react when you arrive back at Wyndham Village.

Should you free Dr. Garrow in Atomfall?

The first and most immediate consequence of freeing Dr. Garrow and opening the cells in the lower level of Skethermoor Prison is that it effectively starts a riot. All the prison guards will turn hostile and start shooting at you and the prisoners, and you'll have to escape—I suggest moving quickly while they're distracted by the riot.

Doctor Garrow runs off into the Interchange, where you can find her later, so you don't need to worry about getting her out. The Protocol soldiers in the wider Skethermoor region also become unfriendly, so even if you escape the prison, you'll still have to get out of their camp as well and evade them as you make your way back to Wyndham Village or into the Interchange. These soldiers will continue to be hostile, so you might want to tie off any loose ends in the region first.

As you'd expect, Captain Sims—who sent you to interrogate Garrow—won't be best pleased and will ask what the hell happened. If you tell Sims that you freed Garrow he'll try to kill you as he and the soldiers in the village hall turn hostile. This prevents you from continuing to follow his lead and seeing his plans for the zone come to fruition.

However, you can lie to Captain Sims and he'll believe you, asking if Garrow told you anything. You can pick any option here and Sims will give you the next mission in his lead, recovering a stolen radio part from the druids in the Speaking Cave in Casterfell Woods. Meanwhile, you can find Garrow again in the hub of the Interchange, where she'll ask you to retrieve her research notes from the robotics facility, so continuing her lead.