Atomic Heart

After being founded in 2017, Mundfish is making a strong first impression with its debut game, Atomic Heart. This single-player first-person shooter ...

Although I found the robotic enemies to be creepy and formidable foes, I wish there was a bit more variety in enemy type. Outside of controversial themes and a lack of enemy variety, it’s hard to point out any glaring issues with Atomic Heart. This review is based on a PS5 copy of Atomic Heart provided by the publisher. There is also detailed dismemberment, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I got a laugh out of hacking the limbs off of enemies after clearing a room. I was continuously impressed by the various puzzles that Mundfish threw at me as I attempted to open doors and disarm security systems. In addition to melee and ranged weapons, Major P-3 is equipped with a Polymer glove that lets him harness electricity and telekinesis powers. Shooting feels impactful, and there are a variety of weapons to be discovered and crafted, each with its own unique feel. The tunes give a cinematic feel to battles, and make the quiet moments eerier. You have to constantly be moving and dodging in order to avoid the aggressive robotic enemies, and there are quick-time events that will trigger when your character is grappled or on the brink of death. Atomic Heart puts players in the shoes of Major P-3, a Soviet intelligence agent tasked with getting to the bottom of what caused the USSR’s robot companions to lash out and wage war against their human creators. There’s a wide range of music featured, and it only improves the experience whenever it kicks in. Atomic Heart reminded me a lot of the Bioshock franchise with its alternate historical setting.

Atomic Heart is a first-person action-adventure shooter developed by Mundfish. The shooting, puzzles, and political thriller narrative bring back good ...

Most of the puzzles are locks that require timing to a beat or rearranging dots to unlock, but the real challenge is clearing the area thoroughly to buy yourself enough time to open the door. Protagonist P-3 constantly berates the circumstances he’s in for being lame, annoying, and unimaginative, like repeatedly being sent on fetch quests to retrieve a number of items, his AI companion never shutting up, and things being too conveniently inconvenient. In present-day 1955, the USSR attempts to launch a new device that will allow humans to control robots with their mind, but the plan is sabotaged, causing all robots to turn on the humans. That being said, Atomic Heart often feels like it’s flexing for the sake of flexing, causing the gameplay or story to falter at times, but it manages a positive impression in the end. The boss fights are a spectacle to behold, but even those are easily dealt with by getting in close and chopping away at their legs. The shooting, puzzles, and political thriller narrative bring back good memories of 7th generation FPS big-hitters like BioShock and Call of Duty: Black Ops while using the 9th generation tech to push the gameplay and cinematics to another level.

The saying goes "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". That's at least initially how I felt about Atomic Heart. It had all the trappings of my ...

As a collective effort, you’re going to lose yourself in the narrative, setting, and what’s going on. This isn’t just my favorite game of this year, it might be one of my favorites of the decade. I had one other issue where I clipped into a box and got stuck, and that was the only one I had to restart. There were tons of sprouts and mutants heading my way, and I was able to use the mass telekinesis power to lift most of them in the air and slam them down, killing almost every one of them instantly. Select your weapon, find the thing you want to upgrade, and spend the items necessary to do so. The weaponry you use is decently varied, and the best part is that the system doesn’t feel bloated. You get a few moments to compose yourself and make your way to a pod that will airlift you to the base, but yet again the robots come after you, and after a crash landing you have to pick yourself up and get a move on. Another thing that keeps you engaged is the combat, and it’s a blast. I think some of it is the lifeless, dead-eyed look you get out of them. Because of his work, robots now fill the streets of Russia, taking on the jobs no one wants to do and introducing a new renaissance. It had all the trappings of my kind of game, from setting to gameplay and more, and I’ve wanted so badly for it to be good. It’s a fair comparison too, even with my opinion that Bioshock might be one of the few legitimate 100/100 games in existence.

Developer Mundfish's first-person shooter about a KGB agent in Soviet Russia features fun combat against robots and monsters on Xbox Game Pass — but to what ...

While there is a Detective Mode to highlight useful objects, using it forces P3 to move at a snail’s pace, and the items lose their glow the moment you exit the mode. It can all feel a bit simple: a brutal retro shooter with inventory management and crafting and a macho lead character. For a game where melee is encouraged, it’s far too difficult to clock incoming projectiles or flanking enemies. Melee weapons and guns must be built at crafting stations, after scavenging the environment for bits and bobs. And the crumbling Soviet setting, while glorified in the context of the story, seems to have been built spectacularly for an equally spectacular collapse. Divining what the game intends to say (or doesn’t) about society or culture is particularly challenging, considering its creation. But as I barrel into the core of Atomic Heart, I wonder whether this game is what it appears to be — or if it’s something much more interesting. Indeed, Mundfish’s relationship to the Russian state remains [murky](https://www.eurogamer.net/questions-remain-over-atomic-heart-developers-russian-origins). But as I journey deeper, it helps my curiosity that the characters themselves are likable enough. P3’s main job is overseeing security for various facilities run by Sechenov and the government. The game begins with spectacle, peacocking its world, its aesthetics, its technology. Like those utopias, Atomic Heart’s Soviet nation is failing, under leaders plagued by the Icarus complex in which grand ideas come to naught.

Today marks the embargo date for Atomic Heart, the bizarre new sci-fi game from Mundfish, which has attracted some manner of controversy given its ...

With an incomprehensible storyline, weightless combat, and frustrating first-person platforming, Atomic Heart is left to stand in the shadow of the video games that so clearly inspired it.” [Twinfinite (4/10)](https://twinfinite.net/2023/02/atomic-heart-review-missing-more-than-a-beat/): “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. [GamesRadar (5/10)](https://www.gamesradar.com/atomic-heart-review/): “Atomic Heart has a lot of big ideas, but it doesn't do a good enough job with the basics. And my friend Skillup gives it a big old “Do Not Recommend.” This isn’t just my favorite game of this year, it might be one of my favorites of the decade.” In the broader context of the video game landscape where GOTY contenders hit above 90, studios get bonuses at 85+ and anything under a 60 is an utter disaster, I would declare these scores “fine.” Today marks the embargo date for Atomic Heart, the bizarre new sci-fi game from Mundfish, which has attracted some manner of controversy given its connections to Russia.

Atomic Heart will not include its highly promo'd ray tracing features in the PC version at launch. RT effects will instead come in a later patch.

I’ve asked Mundfish if they have a separate date in mind for the ray tracing update, and have contacted Nvidia for a statement as well. More positively, it already looks great without ray tracing, and it does at least have fully functioning DLSS support, including for the new [DLSS 3](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/dlss-3-how-it-works-how-it-performs-and-when-you-should-use-it). From an [Nvidia tech demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5e-GVEqL9A) back to in 2019 to an [RTX-branded trailer](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/atomic-hearts-latest-trailer-shows-off-its-ray-tracing-chops) released just last month, this souped-up lighting and reflection tech has been a key piston in propelling the Soviet sci-fi FPS’ hype train. I guess it’s better than them being cancelled outright but still, how strange that a game with an Nvidia-approved ray tracing demo four years ago won’t have even a toned-down version of those features ready for when the world can actually play it. [Atomic Heart](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/games/atomic-heart)’s long development cycle has provided ample opportunities to show off the power of [ray tracing](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/confirmed-ray-tracing-and-dlss-games). I noticed the lack of ray tracing options in the review build we received last week, and got in touch with the game's press relations team to check if I was missing something, or if they were due to be added via update.

URSS uchronique et robots sanguinaires : voilà le cocktail enthousiasmant d'Atomic Heart, le FPS le plus attendu de ce début d'année.

Atomic Heart, de son côté, pioche avec ferveur dans la littérature d’Isaac Asimov (en particulier Le Cycle des robots), tout en convoquant son pendant plus occidental, Philip K. Les développeurs ajoutent ainsi une nervosité à la Doom, ce qui est soutenu par la présence du compositeur Mick Gordon, qui ramène ses guitares électriques et ses riffs rock’n’roll à cette mixture déjà bien fun. Autant dire que passées les premières heures enthousiasmantes de cette surprise longuement attendue, on a envie de retourner dans son univers débridé pour en connaître les tenants et aboutissants. Or, il est passionnant de voir comment le jeu vidéo s’accapare plus qu’aucun autre médium les interrogations d’une Europe de l’Est qui continue de se poser la question de son avenir, ou de ce qu’il aurait pu être en fonction des événements de la Guerre froide. Ce n’est d’ailleurs pas un hasard si le design très épuré des androïdes du jeu rappelle ceux du film I, Robot, qui se réappropriait déjà les livres d’Asimov. s’inspire de Stalker : Pique-nique au bord du chemin d’Arcadi et Boris Strougatski (lui-même adapté au cinéma par Andrei Tarkovski). Et dès l’introduction du jeu, qui présente le lancement en fanfare du Kollectiv 2.0 (le réseau connectant les robots entre eux), notre avatar est plongé dans les rues idylliques de cette société parfaite. Néanmoins, les lourdes pertes humaines ont précipité le développement des robots, afin que les métiers ouvriers et rébarbatifs ne soient plus confiés à la population, qui a pu se consacrer à l’art et aux sciences. Forcément, la visite d’une société alternative utopique soudainement mise à mal n’est pas sans rappeler la saga BioShock, prouvant d’ailleurs à quel point le jeu vidéo est devenu spécialiste dans des narrations qui se racontent par l’espace, par des lieux qu'il faut déchiffrer. On y ressent une histoire, un héritage culturel, mais aussi une modernisation qui s'y greffe pour renforcer le versant uchronique de cet univers. Metro 2033 et ses suites adaptent directement les romans de Dmitri Gloukhovski, tandis que S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Pour autant, il serait réducteur de ne voir en Atomic Heart qu’une resucée des jeux de Ken Levine.

You'd be forgiven for getting stumped right at the start of this first-person shooter, out now for PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows PC. How to use the scanner in ...

For instance, during the “Made in the USSR” mission, you have to find the “voice, the symbol, and the sprout of the Motherland.” Activating the scanner will highlight the three items — a radio, a hammer, and a plant — you need to progress. If you hold the scanner over a specific enemy, you’ll be able to see a list of their resistances and weaknesses, plus a rundown of the loot they’ll drop when defeated. Whatever struggles you’re having while learning how to use the scanner, know that it’s not a bug (probably).

Atomic Heart is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Mundfish, a Russian game development studio. We got an early look - here is the ...

The enemy variety is limited, and after a while, the combat encounters can start to feel a bit too familiar. The game features a blend of retro-futuristic design and Soviet-era aesthetics, creating a truly unique and captivating world. The game also features a captivating story, with several twists and turns to keep players engaged. One of the strengths of Atomic Heart's enemy design is that each type of enemy requires a slightly different strategy to defeat. The game features RPG elements, allowing the player to level up and upgrade their abilities. The player can use a variety of weapons, including guns, melee weapons, and even their fists.

You'll spend a lot of time collecting resources throughout your adventure to upgrade weapons, craft much-needed healing items, and even invest in skill trees ...

Power Amplifier can be found in the Shok skill tree. Morning Exercise can be found in the Character skill tree. This will come in handy most against higher-health enemies, but it’s worth having in general, as you should be using Shok as often as you can anyways. Resistor Malfunction can also be found in the Shok skill tree. In this guide, we’ll tell you the best skills to buy first to make things a bit easier on you in the opening hours. You’ll spend a lot of time collecting resources throughout your adventure to upgrade weapons, craft much-needed healing items, and even invest in skill trees that will grant you a variety of new abilities and enhance the ones you already have.

Once you reach the surface, you'll have to contend with even more enemies. Robots respawn constantly due to deployed repair drones, and cameras can raise the ...

- After unlocking the door, you can then travel to the HAWK Relay and hack it. Disabling enemies and security in an area is very useful, especially this early in the game. She’ll give you an upgrade to your hacking ability and a blueprint. - Use a camera with a view on the HAWK Relay. - Follow the line and look for a tower. By located security towers, you can find and unlock HAWK Relays, which can be hacked to disable every robot in a large area.

A prominent Nvidia RTX showpiece, the long-awaited Atomic Heart, launches on PC without any ray tracing graphics options whatsoever.

[reviews of Atomic Heart](https://gamerant.com/atomic-heart-review/) haven't been all that positive. [Atomic Heart supports DLSS at launch](https://gamerant.com/atomic-heart-denuvo-drm-dlss/), however. [Atomic Heart showed off 4K RTX gameplay](https://gamerant.com/atomic-heart-4k-rtx-gameplay/), hyping its graphics as one of its most exciting features. The lack of ray tracing is sure to disappoint some players, but the feature's prominence in pre-release materials comes as a bit of a guarantee that it should eventually be made available in-game. While the game is bound to find an audience with its Bioshock-like combat and plenty of content — according to the early reviews — some of the features that PC players might've been eagerly anticipating won't be available on day one. While the game has had a long and troubled production, having initially been announced back in 2018, its remarkable graphics have always been one of its most notable features, and developer Mundfish even collaborated with Nvidia to produce in-engine RTX showpieces years ago.

The scanner in Atomic Heart is a useful tool that can help you locate items and move you along in the game, but how do you use the item?

[Best skills to upgrade in Atomic Heart](https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/best-skills-to-upgrade-in-atomic-heart-2064668/) [How to access Polygon Testing Ground chambers in Atomic Heart](https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/how-to-access-polygon-testing-ground-chambers-in-atomic-heart-2064147/) [Best guns & melee weapons to use in Atomic Heart](https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/best-guns-melee-weapons-to-use-in-atomic-heart-2064341/) [Is Atomic Heart open-world?](https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/is-atomic-heart-open-world-2025781/) [Does Atomic Heart have microtransactions?](https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/does-atomic-heart-have-microtransactions-2055162/) But it’s not entirely clear how to use it, so let’s quickly show you how to use it.

Atomic Heart Review: The first game from Mundfish wears its influences on its sleeve, but can it forge its own identity?

You can take your time and hoof it from place to place on foot, fighting robots and avoiding sensors along the way, but the game will supply you with poorly-controlled jalopies that hasten travel time. However, given how unlikely such a monumental change like that would be, Atomic Heart is destined to be a one-and-done type of experience. It’s a rather basic tale of people in power trying to tighten their control of the world with P-3 standing in the middle. It’s a nice addition, but I honestly don’t have much reason to return to Atomic Heart other than to gawk at its architecture. Once you get outside and into the fresh air, you can feel the developer padding the game time again with an open world that connects all the different stations that make up Facility 3826. In the early hours, the bloat can be seen by all the keys you need to fetch to open doors. Robots, built with a substance known as Polymer that has been the backbone of the Soviet’s successes, have lost control and killed most of the workers at the facility. While that combination might sound ripe for experimentation, the anemic nature of the glove skills can be a real letdown. Certain enemies do have elemental weaknesses that you can learn via scanning, but if you don’t have any weapons boosts that can exploit said weaknesses, then all you can do is hit them with a combination of dodges, melee attacks, gunshots, and whatever glove skills you have equipped at the time. Once I did that, I was able to peel back the curtain on Atomic Heart‘s combat and realized it was rather elementary. The opening moments of Atomic Heart can best be described as a Stalinist’s wet dream with how it depicts its idealized vision of the Soviet Union. With a lot of games, ten hours is more than enough time to draw a clear conclusion about how you feel about it.

Watch the tense launch trailer for action-RPG, Atomic Heart. Get another look at the game's story, combat, and robots, and meet some of the characters ...

Send those pesky robots to the Soviet scrapyard with this launch-day deal for PC.

You'll need more than just a quick trigger-finger to survive, as you'll have to scavenge for resources, upgrade your skills, and use your environment to your advantage if you want to take the machines offline. You'll have access to combat abilities granted by your experimental power glove and a cutting-edge arsenal, to help even the odds. Set in alternate history Russia, the Soviet empire has risen to power thanks to a loyal army of robots that see to the nation's every need. The pricey premium edition comes with the Atomic Pass, a digital art book, and a pair of weapon skins. Or that's how it used to be, until a robot uprising put the Russian populace at the top of the endangered species list. The Atomic Pass is the biggie here, as it retails for $40 separately.

It's a little janky at first - The 'Scanner' in Atomic Heart is an invaluable tool for mapping out levels and finding loot...

Most of the time you're going to want to keep scanning for a few seconds, so you may as well get used to that method. Although Right Bumper (RB) is used for other mechanics in this game — like scooping up loot with your glove — it's also used for the game's scanning mechanic. Here's how to activate your scanner in Atomic Heart on Xbox.

Atomic Heart isn't nearly as accommodating as most first-person shooter. Beyond just the best starter skills and weapons, this advice should help you start ...

Also, you’ll worry less about the fact that you can only save at save stations. By holding down L1/LB, you can freeze enemies in place for a short time with a steady stream of ice. But you’re restricted in how many consumable supplies — med packs, ammo, that sort of thing — you can cart around. There is no penalty for resetting, either: Sometimes you might have to solve a multipart puzzle, but in backing out, the game will acknowledge that you’ve solved the first part and start you at the second. It’s not always easy to gauge whether or not you can make a jump, but there’s one simple tell that works 100% of the time: If your hand is held outward (as seen in the screenshot below), you can make it. If you’re stumped on one specific puzzle, you can back out, then immediately jump back in to get a randomized variety of the same puzzle.

Atomic Heart's dazzling world design, extraordinary production values, and fast-paced fights make for a solid campaign, but the derivative plot and often ...

On the one hand, Atomic Heart is a good game on its own merits. Sadly, the best writing is hidden in the various terminals throughout the game, which contain most of the worldbuilding and connect other characters to one another. His interactions with the sexually frustrated crafting machine are especially painful, and the rest of the cast isn’t much better. Battles are both dangerous and satisfying, and the diversity of opponents keeps combat engaging. Instead of stealth, hacking, and environmental traps, Atomic Heart demands faster and more reactive shooting to curb the attackers’ superior numbers. The player assumes the role of Agent P-3, an operative under the command of Soviet genius Dr.