As one of the year’s most anticipated releases,Atomic Hearthad high expectations owed to its creative supernatural gameplay and unique dystopian setting similar toBioShock.Atomic Hearttakes inspiration from several games, but its RPG elements take a back seat to the high-octane combat and action sequences that encompass its gameplay and story moments. While the action-focused gameplay loop can regularly be exciting, its lowbrow writing and storytelling often rely on stimulating animations and quick-time events to captivate players.
The thrilling action sequences inAtomic Heartare often spectacular in their animation and direction, making sure to keep players’ attention with plenty of explosions and sexual innuendos. Similar to a blockbuster action movie,Atomic Heartdoes everything it can to reduce downtime in order to keep the momentum going throughout gameplay and cutscenes. To many, this approach may come as a respite from typical mundaneRPG features like looting, inventory management, and crafting. However,Atomic Heartstruggles to build tension or consequence due to the only real gravity coming from its movie-adjacent moments.
RELATED:Atomic Heart’s Setting Is Its Greatest Strength and Weakness
Atomic Heart Features More Action Than RPG Elements
Atomic Heartis set in an alternate history 1955 within a Soviet-controlled scientific utopia where highly-advanced robots have suddenly and inexplicably become hostile. The world is ripe with creative art design, inventive enemies, and breathtaking scientific marvels, and gameplay takes place in a combination of dense outdoor spaces and detailed indoor facilities.Atomic Heart’s atom punk settingis undoubtedly one of its most widely-praised features, but while it could have served as a solid foundation for an intricate RPG, its campy writing and bombastic action result in a product with more style than substance.
ThoughAtomic Heartis not quite on the same scale as other open-world games likeElden RingorThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, it does feature a large map for players to explore, fight within, and discover secrets.Atomic Heart’sgameplay loop is similar to that of otherRPGs likeFallout 76andThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, as players will explore a new area, fight enemies, scavenge the area for loot, and use the rewards toward crafting, upgrades, and skills. WhereAtomic Heartdiffers most from other RPGs is in the action being the cornerstone of the experience.
Whereas traditional RPGs place their focus on story and characters, and immersive sims give players the tools and freedom to approach encounters however they’d like,Atomic Heartis much more straightforward. Combat is fast and frenetic, withBioShock-inspired plasmid-like abilitiesand an augmented arsenal of weapons causing various dazzling elemental effects. Enemies are relentless, continuing to push forward toward the player as they fall apart until they’re eventually reduced to scrap. Although this can be entertaining, it means scripted moments hold most of the weight regarding tension or suspense.
One of themost divisive aspects ofAtomic Heartis its writing and characters, as the main protagonist is rude and abrasive, and most of his lines are repetitive cliche quips. Although many critics feel the writing is often cringe-worthy, awkward, and sometimes even uncomfortable, animations in and out of cutscenes are consistently outstanding. This carries over into the quick-time events that occur during some bosses and various scripted encounters, whereAtomic Heartmanages to enrapture players with its impressive action.
Traditional RPGs typically center around an engaging plot that features likable characters, deep gameplay systems, and player choice.Atomic Heartis smaller, less complex, and more easily digestiblethan other large-scale experiences within the genre, but that helps it fit somewhere between other games in the genre. Given its crassness,Atomic Heartultimately won’t be for everyone, but the stellar action sequences and combat set pieces create a memorable overall experience.
Atomic Heartis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
