Atomic Heart has an unsteady measure .
Atomic Heart wears its Bioshock influence on its Russian uniform , combining substitute time with fascinating designs . regrettably , developer Mundfish has bite off more than they can program , andAtomic Heartfeels shallow compare to Bioshock ’s basis - soften entree into gaming . Many good ideas have made their direction into Atomic Heart , but the game need to be more polished and watch through on many of its mechanics .
Gameplay
Simply put , Atomic Heart is too ambitious for its good . While there are many good thought and endeavour at speech sound machinist , most feel underwhelming or half - baked . This is most obtrusive once you leave behind the first facility and emerge into the open world . The linear levels feel tight and fluid , filled with details that the undefended man lacks . There is almost no purpose in exploring the map , and a lack of fast travel makes beat anywhere take historic period . what is more , the map does not allow for you to place marker , picture very little entropy , and sometimes makes it impossible to see your positioning .
This follows into gameplay mechanism as well . scrap is just all right with a few fun instrument and weapons , but slug sponge enemies make even common foes a pain . The UI also makes shift between weapons difficult and tedious . Many opposition have magnanimous attacks or inviolable single that knock you down . This is debatable as the dodge does not feel good and leaves you stand still for a second after using it . And while many of your opponents ' attacks have free weight , your attacks finger weightless in comparison .
Another half - follow up auto-mechanic is mount , as you could not only lease go without throwing yourself in a commission . Vehicles are littered around the map , but they are so flimsy , and the route so clogged that using them is pointless . Stealth is also another pointless feature because of how perceptive robot are . Stealth killing are lengthy and postulate straightaway timing , or you must drop the enemy and fight them head - on . Overall , Atomic Heart has far too many ideas and mechanics to give each one right attention .
Score:2/5
Related : How to power the elevator in Atomic Heart – Passive security measures relay puzzle
Narrative
Another prospect of Atomic Heart ’s impuissance is its story and narrative . The reality is presented as an idealistic utopia , full of helpful robots that make aliveness easy . But we speedily see that a single individual can whoop into this system and turn the robots into murderbots , effectively killing thousands of people in a few mo . To make this bad , most of the damage is done by civilian robots and not existent combat machines . This leads the admirer , Agent P-3 , on a quest to situate things for his father - shape scientist with the help of his scientific talk baseball mitt , Charles .
Atomic Heart ’s ridiculousness could have been a satiric affirmation or provided a humorous irony , but instead , it feels like a job . It does n’t help that your character behave like a nestling with the mental acuteness of one , firing off quips one second and then notice on how horrible all the death is . The glove is n’t better , constantly delivering information at the most inopportune time , making it unmanageable to hear and keep up with what is being said .
As for the story itself , it teeters on absurd before diving headfirst into gimcrackery , especially in its endings . With numerous game twists and game holes , I could n’t bother to care about P-3 , Charles , or the whole of humanity . This alternate timeline Russian utopia could have research its base in a like vein as the Bioshock series , a Brobdingnagian inspiration for the biz , by showing the dystopian side of things . rather , we get a dull action - packed slog that tries to acquaint itself as thinking - provoking , humorous , and thrilling .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
Score:1/5
Related : Atomic Heart – Polygon Testing Grounds 2 Walkthrough
Pacing
Atomic Heart ’s pacing is all over the place . It is filled with extremely foresightful and tiresome chronological sequence , such as the tediously long presentation and elevator drive that take ages to complete . Many of the puzzle in the game were unnecessarily recollective and miss any real challenge to warrant their length other than the mechanics themselves being irksome .
This would n’t be regretful in and of itself , but Atomic Heart miss any real content besides the main story and the variousPolygon Testing Groundsscattered around the mapping . The side content consists of explore an empty map for sugar to advance and craftiness . So I was push to continue this red-hot - and - inhuman risky venture through Atomic Heart . This have the open populace disused , as the secret plan could simply have put you in a series of analogue levels to deliver a more impactful experience .
The Testing Grounds could almost be considered Atomic Heart ’s saving saving grace — but the mechanics prevent these challenges from being fun . Often Testing Grounds would have fun puzzles to solve ; a single error could cause you to begin all over , peculiarly if you did n’t preserve . I ran into bug that caused me to get stuck in a political platform , bouncing off or P-3 refusing to grab surmountable target , and more as I push through the game .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
Aesthetic
The strongest aspect of Atomic Heart , and probably the cause of interest from most players , is Atomic Heart ’s design . It features a stunning world and some of the most originative design in its robot . Bosses such as the Twins or Hedgie are incredibly designed , as are many of the more coarse robots you encounter . Going through the biz , I enjoyed let on raw machines to fight or some of the more unique weapons and baseball glove abilities . Atomic Heart ’s enemy design borders on being modern and horrifying , create a unequaled air .
Atomic Heart ’s exposed world is empty but not barren of wonder . flakey structures litter the apparent horizon and horizon , and unbalanced contraptions can be seen everywhere . This is juxtaposed against the normal sights of mundane life : farm animals wandering the streets , literal - life cars , and unconstipated houses . This combining of the outlandish and mundane makes Atomic Heart ’s world stand up out in its visuals , though it ’s a shame this could n’t carry over to its other aspects .
Score:5/5
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
Verdict – Atomic Heart is a clunky, but visually impressive FPS that fails to live up to the hype
Atomic Heart is admittedly an challenging labor by first - time developer Mundfish but ultimately does n’t live up to the hype . Time and time again , I asked myself why I was playing this game . At time , I would incur play , only to reach another segment and become frustrated . By taking on too much , Atomic Heart shoots itself in the foot . dispose the unnecessary open world , delicately - tuning some car-mechanic , and better the narrator would greatly improve Atomic Heart and make its delightful designs worth experience .
For more information on Atomic Heart , check outAtomic Heart – Polygon Testing Grounds 1 WalkthroughandAtomic Heart piece Noteson Pro Game Guides .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
