Mundfish and Focus Entertainment are starting off 2023 with a hugely ambitious title and possibly a Game of the Year contender. Atomic Heart has been in development for over 5 years and it is Mundfish’s debut title. Mundfish has stated that they are looking to be one of the best game developers in the industry and seek to consistently push boundaries and create unprecedented worlds for gamers to explore. With this goal in mind, Atomic Heart is definitely a step in the right direction and showcases exquisite talent. Strap yourself in and let me tell you why you need to play Atomic Heart.

Story

The game is set in an alternate reality in 1955 where the USSR became victorious after World War II and was able to advance its science and technology exponentially. The USSR has built a flying utopia in the skies that truly showcases how advanced the country is compared to the rest of the world. Along with the heavenly land, the citizens are also accustomed to A.I. in their daily routine. Robots are everywhere and cater to the Russian people for their every need. It truly is a utopia…until it’s not.

You play as P3, a highly trained soviet special forces soldier, who witnesses the fall of the USSR A.I. technology. All of the robots turned against the citizens and went on a mass murdering spree. P3 is sent on a mission to stop this madness in its tracks and uncover the truth behind the sudden sabotage as well as his mysterious past.

The game does a great job displaying the beauty and horrific side of this supposed utopia. Atomic Heart slowly unravels its mysterious plot throughout its 20+ hour campaign and you soon realize that, at the surface, this utopia is not exactly what it seems. The story is told through cutscenes, audio logs, and the detailed environment. The narrative in Atomic Heart is vast and full of lore, one can spend double the play time by simply exploring all the game has to offer in just its story element.

Gameplay

This is where Atomic Heart shines, sings, and dominates. Right off the bat, there are clear inspirations to BioShock in this title, but to simply compare the two would be a disservice to both games. Each has its own style and originality that make them distinct from one another. Atomic Heart takes the double-handed combat to a pulsifying leap forward by introducing tough, fast, and elemental enemies. Each fight can be played out in a variety of ways and there are very few limitations as to what you can do in a skirmish. P3’s left-hand uses the Polymer Glove named Char-les that is also an A.I. This glove can be customized and upgraded with different skills such as telekenesis, frost, electricity, and other energy related feats. His right hand holds the weapon of choice, whether that be melee or guns.

The combat in Atomic Heart feels difficult at first since you start out with a fairly weak arsenal. Every hit counts and it is a bit slower-paced, just to get you used to the gameplay. I appreciated this approach because later on in the game it starts throwing everything at you at once! Atomic Heart is not afraid to punish the player with challenging enemies and scenarios, which I did enjoy once I was able to successfully eliminate the enemy. There is never a dull moment in this game. There is always something new or weird to uncover, lore to uncover, weapons to upgrade, new enemies to destroy, and new areas to discover.

Enemies consist of robots and mutants. Sure, the surface of this flying country is beautiful and vast, but the secret labs hidden underground are nothing but nightmare fuel. The mustachioed robots kick major martial arts ass and could give Keanu Reeves a run for his money. There are also tons of twisted experiments in these dungeon-esque underground labs that show off exactly what happens when science does not restrain itself to morality. I won’t give too much away since most of the mutants should be discovered when you playthrough it yourself, but the first mutant you meet is a person infected with a “sprout” seed which is essentially a parasitic plant. It takes over one’s body and uses the head as its new mouth, lovely isn’t it? These creatures act like the game’s version of zombies, eating flesh and running mindlessly at you. Thankfully they are susceptible to gunfire just like any other mindless zombie. The game is full of horrors hidden throughout the campaign and it is quite a ride. I must say, every location I entered always kept me on my toes, wondering what I might discover next and will it try to kill me. Never a dull moment.

Weapons can be upgraded and crafted at a shop by using resources that are found on dead enemies, as well as the environment. Some upgrades require blueprints to be found, which can be located in some of the game’s dungeons (underground labs). Almost all of them have a series of puzzles that must be solved and usually some baddies to gun down. Once cleared, you can reap all the precious resources and blueprints you found to take it back to the shop.

A few hours into the game, Atomic Heart really opens open to be a much bigger game. Big enough to require a car to be driven at times. You can choose to do the optional underground labs or just focus on the campaign missions but I highly suggest upgrading your weapons as much as you can. You will certainly need it.

The game’s difficulty is very refreshing. I would not compare it to Dark Souls or Elden Ring difficulty, but there is definitely a bit of a learning curve. This feels like a new world, and what I mean is that the game does not necessarily play like anything before it. Sure, one can compare some themes but the actual gameplay and combat feels unique. There is a bit of an RPG feel to it that forces players to understand the enemy’s weakness and look for ways to destroy it. Nothing is spelled out for you and it is completely up to the player and their wits to overcome each challenge along the way. I really enjoyed this aspect of the game and the fact that I knew the game was not going to hold my hand throughout this campaign. This felt very refreshing.

It is important to note that the game currently has 3 difficulty modes, easy normal, and hard. I was playing on normal and appreciated the challenge that the game provided, sometimes forcing me to backtrack, and collect some resources in order to upgrade my weapons and skills before attempting a boss for the sixth time. Loved it.

One gripe I had with the gameplay was the controls. They weren’t terrible but I wish there was an option to customize the gamepad controls. I did review this game on PS5 and currently I can confirm there is no way to change the controls for a gamepad, nor is there a sensitivity bar specifically for aiming down sights. Hopefully, these can be patched in a nearby update.

Audio and Visual

Atomic Heart pushes Unreal Engine 4 to its limits by showcasing a beautifully horrific setting. The visuals are astounding, especially when in the underground labs. The indoor corridors look photo-realistic at times and it is truly a breathtaking experience. The monstrosities that you encounter are all painstakingly detailed, even the innards of a sliced-up robotic humanoid exposing all of its circuitry. It is clear that the developers were not only talented but very passionate about this project.

Performance on PS5 is great with a solid 60 FPS (maybe more). I did not notice any dips in frames but the game did chug along for a very brief moment on rare occasions. This was typically during a cutscene and most likely due to a new area loading in the background. This did not frequently occur, nor did it hinder my experience but I thought it was worth a mention. The game does not feature any loading screens which is very impressive for such a detailed world.

The world is littered with environmental storytelling, whether it’s from propaganda posters of the USSR, scientists’ personal emails, or audio logs. All of these do a fantastic job of immersing the player in this alternate reality and drip-feeding clues as to what the hell is actually going on.

The voice acting is good, but unfortunately, I am not a fan of the protagonist P3. To me, it felt like the developers were trying too hard for him to be edgy, cool, and relatable. It turns out he is just an ass and an idiot. Some blatantly obvious story details fly completely over his head, maybe he is just blind to the truth but the majority of his lines just felt exaggerated. I thought the voice actor did a great job but the writing for P3 felt underwhelming. It is a shame since the majority of the cast is interesting and really moves the plot along. But it does damper things a bit when the star of the show is the one thing that is making the story feel like a Dead Pool wanna-be instead of a Stanley Kubrick masterpiece. The story teeters in both of these directions and I feel a more mature protagonist could have taken this story to even higher triumphs.

Replayability

Atomic Heart has 3 difficulty modes and an easy 40-hour run time for completionists seeking to complete all dungeon locations on the map and uncover secrets. For the quality that this game delivers on all levels, this is truly a great reason to dive back in. Even though the game allows you to reassign your skill points to test out different abilities, it also encourages you to try new strategies in every skirmish.

With the number of weapons, upgrades, unlocks, puzzles, and lore to discover in this game, I would be a fool to not say this game has replayability. With how vast the map is, you are more than likely going to encounter new discoveries on a second or third playthrough than on your first. Not only that, but without spoiling anything, the game does have multiple endings.

What It Could Have Done Better

Atomic Heart thrives in every aspect. I have a few minor complaints but this game is truly a blast and as soon as I am finished with this review I am hopping back on to play some more. I do wish that the settings for console were expanded a bit more. There are no graphical or performance options on PS5 which is odd since this seems to be a common feature in most modern games these days. Even though the game runs very good and is well-optimized for PS5, it would be nice to have more options. Also, the ability to customize controls would have been appreciated. It took me some time to get adjusted to the gamepad controls and the flexibility would have made my initial time with the game much smoother.

I was not a fan of the main character, P3. His writing just didn’t vibe well with me and the way he approached certain situations in the story just seemed frustrating at times. Maybe there is a language disconnect somewhere? If I could do it all over again, I think I would play the game with the Russian voice-over instead, maybe that will make things seem a bit more cohesive. I typically do not care if foul language is used in a game or movie, but the frequency and timing that it’s said by P3 just gets annoying after a while. Cheesy one-liners galore? No thanks.

Verdict

Atomic Heart is undoubtedly a Game Of The Year contender that was made by a passionate and talented team. This game has it all, heavy lore-enriched story, a mysterious and captivating world, freedom, and visceral combat! It lets you play how you want and it fully immerses you into this world by throwing everything at you at once. Just take your time and soak it all in because who knows when will be the next time a unique AAA game will release that feels unlike anything you have ever played.

Atomic Heart launches on February 21 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, and PC via Steam.