If Bioshock and Wolfenstein got together and created their own game, it would be Atomic Heart. I feel like this game is the child of two great game series.’ It’s a fun and quirky first-person shooter with a lot of great science fiction elements as if you are reading a Philip K. Dick book. It’s a great science fiction story well told through the gameplay. And if you are a fan of Bioshock and Wolfenstein then you will definitely enjoy this game. The setting may not be your “forte” because it very much is a Russian story, however, the political intrigue mixed in with government corruption on the back of scientific advancement makes for an interesting story. Is this game worth $60. Maybe not but if you’re an Xbox player then it’s fantastic game pass game.
About the game. Atomic Heart takes place on the grounds of Facility 3826, the Soviet Union’s foremost scientific research hub in an alternate historical timeline set in1955. In 1936, scientist Dmitry Sechenov developed a liquidized programmable module called the Polymer, sparking massive technological breakthroughs in the fields of energy and robotics in the USSR and freeing much of the populace from manual labor. When World War II broke out, the Soviets quickly gained the upper hand, but just before Nazi Germany was defeated in 1942 they unleashed the Brown Plague virus, leaving millions dead and creating an international demand for Soviet robots to compensate for the resulting worker shortage. As part of the Soviet Union’s post-war reconstruction program, Dr. Sechenov created a wireless, networked artificial intelligence called “Kollektiv 1.0” that linked his robots together for greater efficiency.Most recently, Sechenov developed the THOUGHT neuroconnector, a device that integrates Polymer into the human body and allows humans to remotely interface with robots. THOUGHT is to be released alongside Kollektiv 2.0, and Sechenov boasts that it will usher in a true post-labor era for the entire world. However, Kollektiv 2.0’s official launch on 13 June 1955 goes awry, plunging Facility 3826 into chaos. You play as Agent P-3 is a WWII veteran with memory problems. He is invited to assist in the rollout of Kollektiv 2.0 at Facility 3826, but he finds that robots massacred most human personnel. Sechenov explains that Petrov sabotaged the Kollektiv 1.0 node and asks P-3 to apprehend Petrov. With his AI partner CHAR-les (nicknamed “Charles”) attached to his glove, P-3 must confront homicidal robots and failed biomechanical experiments while dealing with growing mental instability. P-3 tracks down Petrov and finds out that he is working with Filatova. Petrov flees and is apparently killed by a robot. Meanwhile, the Politburo grows suspicious about what is happening. Molotov, a member of the Politburo threatens to shut down Sechenov’s “Atomic Heart” project. Charles explains to P-3 that Sechenov and the Politburo are in a struggle over who will control Kollektiv. Sechenov orders P-3 to intercept Molotov, and that begins your journey through the game. The gameplay is good as you get a typical first-person shooter. The day the game dropped it was a little buggy, but a few updates on patches will take care of that. The game offers a lot of great balance between stopping the killer robots and exploration as you’re trying to find the so-called mad scientist in the game while unraveling the mystery of what happened. Good first-person shooters have a good balance between exploration and action, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Unfortunately, gaming developers tend to forget that in the case of games like Call of Duty. However, just like in a Fallout game where gathering resources is very important, Atomic Heart incorporates that aspect brilliantly. The style is what really grabbed my attention because even though it’s rooted in science fiction elements, it has a very retro and classic feel to it. It feels like something out of the past even though you’re playing a science fiction story that seems more rooted for the future.
The designers did a great job with this game and in a lot of ways, it reminded me of one of my very underrated but favorite Horror survival games…Prey! The first thing we notice about a game is how good it looks. My harshest criticism about the game is it’s a story that might not be as relatable compared to games like Wolfenstein or Fallout. Russian stories are not always that relatable to a western audience. A good example is the Metro games. However, there is definitely a good story in this game and a great allegory about government corruption and how that can affect scientific advancement. It also offers a great history lesson of how scientific advancement pushed us into more of a modern world after World War II even though superpowers wanted those scientific achievements to create more powerful weapons.
Overall, Atomic Heart is an okay game. I don’t think it’s as intriguing as something like Cyberpunk 2077 or even a Fallout game, but it does offer a great science fiction story that has a perfect balance with the first-person action. Killer robots are always a better villain than humans, maybe not for everything, but most of the time it makes for a better story. I don’t think the game is really worth $60 because you can finish the campaign in about 20 hours. It doesn’t offer a huge open world to explore where you really get your money’s worth. However, this is one of the best “day one” Xbox game games. That makes it worth playing. There is definitely room for more stories within this universe. I can see a few sequels being worth their while just like with the Wolfenstein games. The political intrigue and corruption within the main plot make for some compelling storytelling that could be made into some awesome sequels. It may not be Contender for Game of the Year, but it is a fun game that’s worth playing if you can find it at a discount or just play it on Xbox game pass. There are definitely some parts to the story that is challenging and may take you a few tries to complete and that’s okay because of the game we’re too easy then it would be boring. Good games always have good replay value. So, if you’re looking for a new fun game to play in between all the big hits this year, check it out just don’t spend too much for it.
