Game On: Atomic Heart is a must-play for 2023

This game’s RPG dimension runs quite deep

Hyderabad: The first hour of Atomic Heart is not just drop-dead gorgeous but almost utopian as the game capitalizes on a perfect ‘cold start’ by dropping you right into a 1950s Soviet city in the sky. Yes, you heard that right.

Mundfish’s long-awaited game treads the path of what could have been by letting its players experience a world where the USSR is a superpower and the USA a struggling mess with issues of unemployment. It is impossible to not get lost in the automated, robot facilitated paradise that the game lays out in front of you before you realize that this is not just a game built for exploration but also one that tests your shooting skills.

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Combining the first-person shooter experience with a role playing one is an unusual choice but Atomic Heart serves up a heady mixture as you juggle between devices that spout fire, ice, and electricity, and a large variety of guns to defeat as many robots as possible. The combat in the game is quite exhilarating and nearly matches the unique plot the game serves up.

The game’s RPG dimension runs quite deep, as the game offers its player two distinct convoluted endings. To summarize the plot in a spoiler free fashion, despite its lustre, all is not well in Soviet paradise and as you try to restore the peace you uncover one plot twist after another.

I was quite impressed by the alternative history route Atomic Heart takes, and at several points I kept finding similarities with the worlds of the Wolfenstein reboots and Bioshock Infinite. However, Atomic Heart’s world (Facility 3826) did come across as more mysterious when compared to either the treacherous, fear-filled German empire in Wolfenstein or the desolate-carnivalesque vibe of Bioshock Infinite.

However, where Atomic Heart stands out is in its reimagination of both 21st century technology and our worst fears in 1955 Soviet society, for instance, their version of the internet (called Kollektiv 2.0) crumbles, and with it their robots revolt, commit suicides, and unleash mayhem. A scenario quite common in 21st Century dystopia.

This game is a must-play for 2023, if not for its audacious combat, then for its even weirder narrative. But beware it’s many glitches. Despite an 18 GB update on Friday, I still faced issues with my copy of the game with regards to authentication and sound. It would be a wise move to wait a few months and who knows with a discount you might nab a sweet deal too.