Atomic Heart

Atomic Heart is undoubtedly one of the best first-person shooter campaigns I’ve played in years. In addition to rock-solid gameplay, the game offers an intriguing mystery and a robust upgrade system. It’s even more impressive when you remember that this is the first game from Developer Mundfish. Outside of controversial themes and a lack of enemy variety, it’s hard to point out any glaring issues with Atomic Heart.

Atomic Heart is an "everything and the kitchen sink" type of adventure that feels like it should explode from the weight of its ambitions, yet keeps it together through a combination of good pacing of new elements and a deeply likeable world. The Major actually comes across as a decent person, upset at hearing about people dying and loyal to those who have helped him, and Granny Zina owns any scene she shows up in. The Utopian retro-future turns out to have its secrets, of course, and a giant gap in the Major's memory is a flashing neon sign for narrative shenanigans, but that's OK because we ...

Despite a few missed opportunities to really build on the great games it’s inspired by, Atomic Heart surprised me, with a remarkably inventive world that brings to life (the tears apart) the weirdest, wildest visions of Soviet propaganda. This is a game that’s been through over half a decade of development hell, and come out the other side as one of the best first-person shooters this generation.

As a first major project from a largely new studio, Atomic Heart is astounding. It is a visual spectacle with great gameplay and an overarching story that is worth seeing to the end. But as a title that is aiming to take on the other major blockbuster games of the recent past, it’s not quite there.

While Atomic Heart brings nothing new to the table, it brings flair to the concepts it borrows from games before it, making for a fun experience that will have your heart pumping, funny bone aching, and brain working overtime.

A beautiful, flawed, and deeply weird Soviet Westworld.

Atomic Heart leaves a lot to be desired, but its unique setting, varied gameplay and often inventive enemies go a long way to keep you interested in your traipse through its ruined utopia. Just bear in mind that while it may look like a AAA game, it’s not; Mundfish has achieved a great deal here, but there are signs of corners being cut and a considerable lack of polish. And so, you might want to wait for a patch or two to sort out some of its unfortunate bugs and other blemishes, but you could do a lot worse than venture into the hostile world that Atomic Heart offers.

So what does Atomic Heart truly offer other than an occasionally fun, not at all original, game with too many ideas that aren’t fully fleshed out? Unfortunately, not much. It’s worth a rent or definitely checking out on a subscription service but it needs some more polish and refinement before the good things can surface the way they should.

Atomic Heart has some fun combat and a soundtrack that absolutely slaps. Unfortunately it's glitchy, has a terrible open world, becomes a slog in the late game, and has the most aggressively awful writing I've ever seen.

A Soviet sci-fi adventure with arresting visuals and occasionally excellent shooting, marred by uneven balancing, undercooked ideas, and an unlikeable protagonist.

Atomic Heart lacks follow-through on its most interesting narrative concepts and plays it safe with its first-person shooter gameplay.

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