Atomic Hearts Review: A stunning but Flawed Russian Experiment with a Killer Soundtrack
When I first loaded up Atomic Heart, I was excited to dive into the world of this strange Russian experiment, but after playing it, I am left feeling confused. On the one hand, the game is pretty fun, but it suffers from a variety of issues such as a damn average story, an annoying protagonist, and more, oh and you can't sprint in the game. What a terrible vodka-influenced decision, regardless, enough complaining about the lack of certain features, let's get started.
LACK OF FOV SLIDER IN 2023 IS A CRIME
OKAY I LIED, A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLAINING IS NEEDED, because this game has a SEVERE lack of a field of view (FOV) slider. It's the year 2023, people. This should be a standard feature in all games and it normally is…EXCEPT IN ATOMIC HEART.
It's a crime to release a game without a FOV slider; who decided this wasn't worth the extra bit of progaming?
THE BEAUTY
Now that those two negatives are out of the way, let's talk about how Atomic Heart looks. Now that those two negatives are out of the way, let's talk about how Atomic Heart looks. It's absolutely stunning.
The beautiful visuals take your breath away the moment you enter the game. The attention to detail is incredible, from the lighting to the textures to the sexy ro- I MEAN SCARY ROBOTS, this game is truly AAA in terms of visuals. The developers clearly put a lot of love and care into the game's aesthetics, perhaps a bit too much considering there wasn’t enough time left to IMPLEMENT A FOV SLIDER. (Okay okay I’ll stop…)
CHARLES
The humor at the beginning of the game, with your glove named Charles, is quite fun and a nice lighthearted addition, as I honestly enjoyed the starting conversations as they set the tone for the game, which is equal parts bizarre and entertaining, it's just a shame that the dialogue between the two becomes repetitive and annoying after a while as the charisma erodes.
OH SO SMOOTH
The game is fantastically optimized. I was able to play the game on ultra without any lag or performance issues, despite having a fairly average PC. The game's developers did an excellent job of making it run smoothly, which is especially impressive given the game's stunning visuals.
I WISH I HAD A PET LIZARD
However, no matter how well-optimized the game is, sadly a bug-filled mess. During my playthrough, I encountered enough bugs to keep a whole lizard population fed for a week, ranging from enemies not attacking me to getting stuck in places to audio not playing or playing for too long. These issues detracted significantly from the overall experience.
BYE BYE ROBOT HEAD
The combat in Atomic Heart is quite satisfying. I love chopping off robot arms and heads and honestly it feels amazing to blast holes through your metal enemies as if they were butter.
The controls are responsive and the mechanics are smooth. It's clear that the developers worked hard to make the combat as visceral and exciting as possible.
UPGRADES
The upgrades are cool, like we have a nice selection of them, perhaps a bit weird that a pervy fridge is required for them, but overall not bad, except that most of them straight up aren't that useful. It's nice to have the option to upgrade your character, but I never really felt like I actually got stronger from most of the upgrades.
blah blah blah
The dialogue in Atomic Heart feels unnatural at times. It's like watching aliens try to act like humans and communicate with one another. The voice acting is eh,, kinda decent, but the writing is honestly just akward and on the level of a typical 15-year-old redditor at times, a lot of times.
STORY
The story concept is unique, a world in which the USSR is an empire of robots, but the execution is rather sloppy and not well thought out and feels like a pure medium for the gameplay at times.
However, there is an insane amount of lore scattered throughout the game, allowing you to really delve into the story and learn more about the world; it's just a shame that most of it isn’t that interesting to read.
GIMME YA METAL SCRAPS
The looting system in Atomic Heart is rewarding and unique, and it allows you to scavenge quickly enough to avoid it becoming tedious. This is noteworthy because the game is centered on scavenging and crafting, which is, fortunately, a headache-free experience thanks to your little glove companion.
SOUNDTRACK
The game's soundtrack is absolutely incredible at all times. Every song is distinct and original, and it greatly enhances the overall experience. The music fits the game's atmosphere and tone perfectly, hell I’d be okay with listening to it in my spare time.
ATMOSPHERE:
Atmosphere is one of the most crucial aspects of any game, and Atomic Heart has its moments of brilliance in this department. Some moments can be extremely immersive, such as hearing a lullaby being sung in the distance while exploring a dark and creepy hallway.
But at other times, the atmosphere is non-existent, leaving you feeling as if you're passing through a russian McDonald's drunkenly at 2 a.m. (Or whatever the Russian equivalent of McDonald's is at the time.)
Conclusion
To summarize, Atomic Heart is a game with a lot of potential, but it falls short in a lot of ways. The lack of a sprint mechanic and a FOV slider are both annoying oversights, and the dialogue and story can be awkward and poorly executed.
The game's visuals and soundtrack, on the other hand, are truly stunning, and the looting system and combat mechanics are quite satisfying.
At last, Atomic Heart is a game worth playing if you want to chop up robots in a soviet-dominated world, but I'd recommend waiting for a sale or trying it out on Game Pass instead of committing to a full-price purchase if you’re a story-focused person.
I'd give it a 7.2 out of 10 overall.