![]() While the idea is to have it work in conjunction with your skills, it’s hard to actually tell if they work or not due to a lack of noticeable visual cues. This system, when paired with skills, comes together to bring an elemental torrent of pain to the helpless robots, with meaty crunches feeling like well-deserved revenge after being unceremoniously murdered many times. Interestingly, weapons can be outfitted with special cartridges to deal elemental damage, which puts more focus on the aforementioned builds. Similarly, weapons in Atomic Heart also have a number of upgrades to go through, and you’ll be spending a lot of time picking up materials to afford an arsenal that consists of shock pistols, AK-47s, and more. Whether it be telekinesis or shock-related powers, unlocking these will, in turn, also unlock the full potential of combat in the game. Atomic Heart encourages experimentation, refunding any spent resources should you wish to try out a different path. There’s a LOT to go on in terms of skills, which is great for players looking to try out specific builds and effects. For many, like me, first impressions of combat could be highly frustrating because of these elements.Įventually, P-3 will collect enough resources to gain more abilities and upgrades, which is actually very easy to do thanks to the way your glove can suck up loot almost instantly and en masse. Thankfully, Agent P-3 can quickly dash in and out of battle, which is a more tactical tool because of its short cooldown. In general, this isn’t a problem at all, but strafing will revert you back to walking speed, making for a lot of times when you’ll unexpectedly slow down because of tilting the left analog stick out of the sprint threshold.Īs a result, proper use of the right analog stick is especially important during combat situations to maneuver and maintain movement speed. Consequently, pushing halfway with slow you down to a walk. Melee combat is a deliberate dance but also slightly cumbersome due to slow wind-ups, and you might end up taking a couple of hits before getting to grips with what you can and can’t do.Ītomic Heart implements an awkward design choice for movement, where sprinting doesn’t require pressing 元 but is instead activated by fully pushing the analog stick forward. You start with a melee weapon and slowly build up to receiving a full arsenal of 3D-printed guns and magic glove powers. The fear of the sentient robots punches you right in the face with their highly damaging attacks, and in swarms, even the basic helper robots could be a force to be reckoned with. ![]() The challenging difficulty of Atomic Heart is one of its selling points, as it banks on the current trend to cater to core players. ![]() Additionally, skipping dialog seems to conk out too, with the resulting audio track being sped up to unintelligible gibberish instead of actually skipping it. English is serviceable, but there’s a disconnect between P-3 and his English voice that makes the character sound out of place, and the overall state of the dialog is just tough to stomach. Interestingly, the game is better played with Russian voiceovers, which are well-performed by the cast. Let’s not even talk about the overly thirsty robot you’ll have to deal with when you need to upgrade your weapons and abilities. There’s also the constant quipping and expository dialogue between P-3 and his AI companion Charles, which may be comparable to Frey in Forspoken, adding to the overall irritation. Their anachronistic terms and “American” way of talking act as quite the wrench, feeling like characters from Serious Sam rather than being on the side of the Soviets. So imagine my cognitive dissonance once the characters started to speak. The robots are well-designed, and the arsenal you’ll need to face them is equally impressive, all with a cohesive style that communicates a highly accurate depiction of Russia at its peak and what it could be if it achieved technological dominance. The world draws you in with its retro punk designs featuring 1950s Soviet chic seen throughout its robots and great use of lighting to convey an immersive atmosphere.Ītomic Heart grounds you in a sense of place with its interesting lore, found in collectible pocket watches that serve as audio logs that add to the immersion. The visual style of the game is awe-inspiring, portraying a dystopic setting with themes of free will and evolution. Atomic Heart opens up with a lengthy introduction to the world that reminds me of Bioshock Infinite in more ways than one.
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