Atomic Heart Reviews
Atomic Heart’s narrative lacks the gall to tackle any of its ideas thoroughly, and is made worse by having to endure it through the eyes of a tremendously unlikeable protagonist. Its moment-to-moment gameplay is passable at best, and a chore the rest. Though visually the game is beautiful, it’s not enough to distract from an otherwise hollow experience.
Atomic Heart could have been a great game. All the pieces are here to form a beautiful picture but it feels like these have been run through a blender, set on fire and then Sellotaped together to form a grotesque Frankenstein’s monster. Almost every facet of this game is underwhelming or broken in some way; if you’re expecting the next Bioshock you’re going to be very disappointed. This is closer to We Happy Few or Duke Nukem Forever. What a shame.
Mundfish threw everything but the kitchen sink at this one, and I wish most of it worked for it. Atomic Heart is good when you’re using the various guns which have been upgraded to your liking, and you get the time to explore these gorgeous and detailed environments with strong artistic direction. What’s not so good is that the protagonist is completely unlikable, the writing is cringey, and the combat encounters are either completely exhausting or totally worthless to engage in. A first-person shooter where it’s better to not fight seems to be missing the point. Atomic Heart is certainly an ambitious, gorgeous, but ultimately disappointing and flat first-person shooter that I cannot recommend.
Despite what is a promising combat formula as well as the supporting systems behind it when it comes to skills, crafting, and upgrades, there are also several equally frustrating aspects of it that hold the game back.
Atomic Heart's story, gameplay, and world design have promise, but the payoff is lacking across the board.
And no matter how good it looks, it doesn't make up for the bland characters, the annoying world design with a useless map I didn't mention, the immature and ridiculous script, the odd sexism and the sense that you're playing something you'll likely regret.
I'd be hard-pressed to say Atomic Heart is an outright bad game, and despite featuring some awful elements, there's clear quality in its gameplay mechanics, art direction, and encounters that highlight Mundfish's talent. Stories from before release painted the development as largely directionless, causing them to have to fashion it into something playable and structured near the end, and this seems evident in the final product. Mundfish bit off more than it could chew, leading to a lot of half-baked ideas that should have been scrapped and reigned in. It makes the game's greatest moments ultimately bittersweet, as deep down there is potential for something excellent.
Atomic Heart is an interesting approximation of better games that is slowed down by a tedious open world, messy writing, and jarring tonal shifts.
Atomic Heart is three times too big and beats erratically, but its more confident components prevent it from flatlining.
Atomic Heart has some fun combat and a soundtrack that absolutely slaps. Unfortunately, it's glitchy, has a terrible open world, becomes a slog in the late game, and has the most aggressively awful writing I've ever seen.
The mix of highbrow story concept and complex first person combat is certainly reminiscent of Bioshock, but this churlish homage has nowhere near the same nuance in terms of either plot or gameplay.
Atomic Heart is a messy video game with big ideas and a desperate need for refinement
Its plot is quite atrocious, and much of the exploration aspect feels tacked on without adding anything. The larger length than most games of its type doesn’t help it hold up, either. While the heart inside Atomic Heart beats, it’s more often than not with a very weak pulse.
Atomic Heart has an impressive command of aesthetics and occasionally gives you the tools to enjoy its world, but an unstable console build, unsatisfying systems and complete misfire of a script prevent these atoms from achieving the necessary fusion.
These are just some of the many signs that suggest the game was rushed past the finish line (including a reference to game crunch), but its problems run deeper than something that can be fixed with a couple of patches. The story isn’t explained well, the dialog is over the top, the tutorials don’t do their job, and the open world is just a boring place to be. While the combat and the linear facilities go some way to redeeming Atomic Heart, it’s not a game that I can faithfully recommend right now.
Things go horribly wrong and fall apart.
Even as the story of "Atomic Heart" fails to keep you engaged, it's well worth playing only to see what strange concepts and areas await.
While I struggled with defining Atomic Heart's identity, I think I can assume a few things about the game. Narratively, it wants to be comical even with its tragedy, but the main plot bets on the drama behind the main character's past and their personal relationships; as well as predictable and empty plot twists. Despite the comparisons with Bioshock, it doesn't step too close to the atmosphere or even the combat of the classic title. It tries to be itself, even though the inspirations are noticeable. Although I was enamored with the first trailers of Atomic Heart and dreamt of that "beyond Bioshock" title, with several websites reporting on development problems and the successive delays made me wary of it. In the end, I still enjoyed the game for what it offered, even after losing its charm due to its frustrations and disappointments.
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Despite some horrible misgivings for the plot and characters, I do sincerely see some of our favorite classic Shock-like formula, tried and true, if not with a few extra red stars on the cover. If you can poke past the horribly paced and presented story, tedious and sometimes painful character dialogue, and bad design ideas for the open-world aspect, I can sincerely say that there is some legitimate Shock-like qualities in the better parts of the gameplay and in the awe-striking art style, to say nothing of the incredible music. If you enjoyed any of Bioshock‘s selections, or Arkane’s 2016 Prey, consider giving this communist dystopia a chance to show how close it got to nailing that Shock-like formula, even if you wind up coming out hating the phrase “Crispy Critters” as much as I do.
In the end, the game is enjoyable for those willing to be patient and accept the game for what it is and hopefully, with a few more updates the full potential of the game will be achieved. The game is available on the Microsoft Game Pass and is worth a look.