Games worth discovering

A new FPS franchise in the making | First Impressions - Atomic Heart

2K View2023-02-22

Atomic Heart is an action FPS game that completely caught me by surprise. For an upcoming new developer — Mundfish — who has only developed a now discontinued VR game so far, that hasn’t stopped them from delivering an impressive game, and they have really hit it out of the park with this one.

The graphics are absolutely stunning, and the optimization is surprisingly impressive. The world they've created is highly immersive, and it's a cross between Bioshock in gameplay and premise, and Fallout in presentation and humor. With also traces of Wolfenstein and Half-Life sprinkled onto it. It's set in a beautiful jaw dropping rendition of a Soviet utopian society with an atompunk twist with all the cool technology and sci-fi elements seen.

Atomic Heart puts us in the shoes of Major Nechaev, a highly skilled soldier caught in a tragic uprising featuring rogue robots and gruesome mutants. His mission is to stop this uprising and reveal what is the true cause behind all of this chaos. Unlike other popular FPS characters, Major Nechaev talks a lot, bursting with entertaining personality and humorous commentary about everything around him.

The soundtrack that accompanies all of this is also equally amazing, resulting in goosebumps after goosebumps because it compliments the action really well. It’s not all action though, as Atomic Heart is also a terrifying game that can also be classified as a horror-game, with the unnerving soviet environment, uncanny looking robots and monsters, and an occasional low-key jump scare moments.

The first hour of the story is basically a glorified tram ride tutorial with some pretty smooth plot exposition to get you up to speed with the lore. From there, chaos breaks loose and we’re now slowly introduced to the gameplay mechanics, starting with the melee combat.

The explosive combat in Atomic Heart is finely tuned. Aside from using traditional FPS melee and shooter elements, You can dodge in all directions to avoid melee attacks, and you have a “Force Lightning” skill called “Shock” along with two other ability slots to equip other unlocked skills throughout the game, like Frost or Telekinesis. Ammo is scarce and the skill abilities you use have limited uses, every combat mechanic is just in the right amount of availability to make everything well balanced and utilized. The combat is weighty and each swing and ammo counts.

The game rewards exploration by providing more resources for the player to use in upgrades, as well as providing bits of lore and backstory by way of voice diaries. Platforming elements are present, but lightly implemented with some sections requiring you to scale walls and obstacles and avoid environmental hazards.

There are also all kinds of lock-picking puzzles from the typical Bethesda formula to more novel ways of hacking doors, providing an welcome breather from all the robot and mutant mashing.

Weapon and character upgrades are available using the resources you loot from the levels and enemies. You can customize your melee and guns and fuse them with different bonuses, including elemental damages. It adds an extra layer of strategy to the combat that is both enjoyable and rewarding.

As a first impression, I am thoroughly impressed with Atomic Heart. The beautiful graphics, immersive world, engaging story, and finely tuned combat make for a fantastic gaming experience. This game is a testament to what even a new developer can accomplish with the right amount of talent, passion, and time.

Mentioned games