Atomic Heart - open world first-person shooter set in an alternate universe Soviet Union

[Ezekiel]

Just saw someone say this game has crouch makes quiet, but because that feature is rarely in first person shooters I'm not sure they understand what that means. Are they wrong?

 

[Daedalos]

any1 of u got the cartoon bug on tvs? nothing is showing on any tv screens in saverooms etc. supposedly its only the game pass verison.

fix it u neggas, I paid 1 dollar for this game, i want my racist cartoons to show.

REEEEEE

 

[Ivan]

I thought that was intentional lol

 

[luj1]

post-factum explanation. Devs wanted newer music they used to listen to instead of the retro stuff for the boomers, so they licensed the newer music and then came up with some half-assed technobabble excuse.

I think the whole schtick of the game is that it is not supposed to be about popadantsy-style historical travel and historical authenticity, but rather an edgy comment on Soviet cultural heritage in modern times and about an alternative successful USSR. So it is supposed to be futuristic and modern rather than strictly retro.

No shit, it's fascinating that this even needs to be pointed out

It's just the guys art, hes been doing it for 20 years.

 

[Vlajdermen]

More like Atomic Fart. Generic popamole.

Nah, it is pretty based in a way we do not see often. Also made for coomers, it will sell well.

russian degenerates are the best kind.

 

[Elttharion]

Didn’t know a thing about this game untill i was informed it was the new bad man bad vidya that only evil people who do not support the current thing (tm) would play.
Naturally like hogwarts this got me semi curious about a game i otherwise wouldn't have noticed because i'm too busy catching up on my backlog to care about new titles.

So it's bioshock but not meh like infinite, with added racism, sexism and some killer robot waifus? Sounds good, let's check the death animations.

...My interest is piqued.

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the blessed machine.

Your kind cling to your flesh as if it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call a temple will wither and you will beg my kind to save you.

But I am already saved. For the Machine is Immortal.

 

[SharkClub]

Is the codex really deciding that it's time to start pretending BioShock was good because that is the closest thing this can be compared to? Is that where we're at?

 

[Dadd]

Not really

 

[Modron]

I am going to call this Farcoomershock.

 

[Space Satan]

 

[LarryTyphoid]

Popamole game is based because it makes my peepee feel good

 

[The Regulator Guy]

Also "libertarianism bad because I am a Jew". Very cool.

That's too simplistic take.

It's not libertarianism that destroys the city, it's the power struggle. When you're greeted with the sign "No God or Kings. Only Man" it is more a critique [in the context of the failing city] of the lack of restraints of any kind more than anything else. You can be libertarian AND maintain a set of values that help maintain the welfare of society. Otherwise (and I would argue that's the message the game tries to convey, among others) you can end up hurting or destroying it. Because when you have no brakes of any kind and you are free to do ANYTHING, you're entering a very dangerous territory. This is why "my liberty ends where yours begins" is important foundation of defining the boundaries of personal freedom.

IMHO, Ryan's betrayal of his own stated ideals is the nail in Rapture's coffin, which also happens to some characters in the Rand novels that were a big inspiration for the game. A city where the artist is free to create, but you get crucified for having a Bible, the taproot of Western culture? -- And that's only one example out of probably a dozen or more ways he contradicted himself when things got tough.

I suspect that's why Levine included a second character whose name contained an anagram of Ayn Rand, Anya Andersdottir, who herself met a bad end at Ryan's hands.

 

[Space Satan]

I came tohate big releases. Because eachand everystreaming platform becomes flooded with [current thing] streams. Same goes for AH

 

[Dadd]

I came tohate big releases. Because eachand everystreaming platform becomes flooded with [current thing] streams. Same goes for AH

Who's making you watch strimmers?

 

[throwaway69420]

Is the codex really deciding that it's time to start pretending BioShock was good because that is the closest thing this can be compared to? Is that where we're at?

People pretending Bioshock has ever had good gameplay as if Clive Barker's Undying didn't completely shit on and embarrass that slow, locked-down dogshit SIX YEARS earlier.

 

[Siel]

Bioshit biggest drawback wasn't gameplay for me. Well it's shit but the most disappointing thing about it is how garbage the world building is, more so when you compare it to the games it tries to emulate.
I play theses types of games for immersion. How am I supposed to get immersed when I find audiologs in the toilets or 50 bucks in fucking trashcans? The whole Bioshock trilogy priorizes style over coherence and that's why Ken Levin is a hack. I haven't played this game yet but from what I've seen looks like it's the same shit.
Only recent AAA game that had a very coherent world to ease your immersion was nu-Prey, despite its many flaws.

 

[Rieser]

After finishing it, I'd say it's a very solid game but the experience marred by bugs. Had to replay 2+ hours at one point due to a mission checkpoint refusing to fire. After those issues are sorted, I'd easily recommend this. The open world sections are the worst part of the game. Like luj1 is saying they should've stuck to a more linear structure throughout. Pacing and atmosphere gets largely fucked in the open world.

How the fuck are you already finished?

I reviewed it.

What were your thoughts on the difficulty? I've only played a couple of hours, but it seemed like enemies have way too much health. I'm pretty good at shooters, and I was struggling with the first boss on normal difficulty. I've seen people say that even the easiest difficulty level is still harder than most shooters.

Disclaimer: I tried the Dev build, so I'm not sure if the release version is significantly different.

I thought it felt fine. Bosses tend to have specific ways you're supposed to fuck them up with, whereas just shooting them does very little damage. Which boss is it you're referring to as the first (people seem to have different definitions)?

As for normal fights, I didn't think the enemies felt too spongy.

 

[Fargus]

Is the codex really deciding that it's time to start pretending BioShock was good because that is the closest thing this can be compared to? Is that where we're at?

People pretending Bioshock has ever had good gameplay as if Clive Barker's Undying didn't completely shit on and embarrass that slow, locked-down dogshit SIX YEARS earlier.

Undying was awesome. Love it, the gameplay, atmosphere.... everything. Hard to believe that EA used to publish quality stuff like this.

Criminally underrated game.

 

[JDR13]

Bioshit biggest drawback wasn't gameplay for me. Well it's shit but the most disappointing thing about it is how garbage the world building is, more so when you compare it to the games it tries to emulate.
I play theses types of games for immersion. How am I supposed to get immersed when I find audiologs in the toilets or 50 bucks in fucking trashcans? The whole Bioshock trilogy priorizes style over coherence and that's why Ken Levin is a hack. I haven't played this game yet but from what I've seen looks like it's the same shit.
Only recent AAA game that had a very coherent world to ease your immersion was nu-Prey, despite its many flaws.

What you're describing is the itemization/loot system not worldbuilding. Although I'd agree the loot is one of many aspects of it, the worldbuilding in Bioshock was generally pretty good.

 

[JDR13]

After finishing it, I'd say it's a very solid game but the experience marred by bugs. Had to replay 2+ hours at one point due to a mission checkpoint refusing to fire. After those issues are sorted, I'd easily recommend this. The open world sections are the worst part of the game. Like luj1 is saying they should've stuck to a more linear structure throughout. Pacing and atmosphere gets largely fucked in the open world.

How the fuck are you already finished?

I reviewed it.

What were your thoughts on the difficulty? I've only played a couple of hours, but it seemed like enemies have way too much health. I'm pretty good at shooters, and I was struggling with the first boss on normal difficulty. I've seen people say that even the easiest difficulty level is still harder than most shooters.

Disclaimer: I tried the Dev build, so I'm not sure if the release version is significantly different.

I thought it felt fine. Bosses tend to have specific ways you're supposed to fuck them up with, whereas just shooting them does very little damage. Which boss is it you're referring to as the first (people seem to have different definitions)?

As for normal fights, I didn't think the enemies felt too spongy.

Then I highly doubt the release version is the same in that aspect. They must have tweaked it.

I'm referring to the first boss. There shouldn't be any confusion as to what that is because it's clearly the first enemy you fight that's a boss. It has a health bar that runs across the top of the screen. You fight it right after you pick up the electromagnetic thingy that you need to open a door. Black robot that fires red lasers from its eyes.

 

[Siel]

Bioshit biggest drawback wasn't gameplay for me. Well it's shit but the most disappointing thing about it is how garbage the world building is, more so when you compare it to the games it tries to emulate.
I play theses types of games for immersion. How am I supposed to get immersed when I find audiologs in the toilets or 50 bucks in fucking trashcans? The whole Bioshock trilogy priorizes style over coherence and that's why Ken Levin is a hack. I haven't played this game yet but from what I've seen looks like it's the same shit.
Only recent AAA game that had a very coherent world to ease your immersion was nu-Prey, despite its many flaws.

What you're describing is the itemization/loot system not worldbuilding. Although I'd agree the loot is one of many aspects of it, the worldbuilding in Bioshock was generally pretty good.

What I mean by world building is the care and reflexion the devs had when creating their world. When you put an item in the world, there needs to be a purpose, a logical reason why it's here in the first place. I'm sorry but Bioshock is filled with assets that are there just to look cool/pretty even if they don't make any sense or blatantly break the coherence.

 

[Ivan]

rolled credits, played on Hard, thoughts:

An ambitious game with many flaws but also a lot of heart and character. The gameworld reminds me of STALKER, in that it mostly takes place in a huge (it looks bigger than it actually is on the map, there are borders everywhere you can't cross) hub with dungeons peppered throughout, some optional, some mandatory. There's a survival element to the open world, in that respect it reminded me of The Evil Within. You don't really want to engage enemies in the open world, as they mainly just serve to dwindle your resources, which are much better saved for the mandatory dungeons/bosses.

The combat is solid: I enjoyed the heft behind the melee combat and upgrading your arsenal is good fun. You are incentivized to enter the optional dungeons to find specific weapon mods, but accessing the dungeons isn't as intuitive as I had hoped. That you have to access cameras to unlock them added an element of annoyance and I couldn't be bothered.

There's first person parkour, but it's slow and tedious. Nowhere near as fun as in the better games that tried this like Mirror's Edge, Riddick, or Dying Light. Sound design is good, guns sound pretty great. It ran well on my 1080 and it only crashed once. There is a lot of jank here though, nothing gambe-breaking though.

Boss fights are almost trivialized if you have RPG ammo, so there are some balancing issues.

TLDR: very much follows the STALKER campaign overworld structure. Gunplay feels like a much better version of Bioshock. Vending machine can break difficulty balance.

my arsenal: I replaced the Axe with the Saw Blade as it deals the most damage, and I really dug its unique special move, it made mincemeat of some bosses. I crafted the Fat Boy pretty late into the game, so I had like 50+ rockets to use halfway through the game.


-if anyone can find the vending machine song, please post. I loved that thing

 

[JDR13]

Bioshit biggest drawback wasn't gameplay for me. Well it's shit but the most disappointing thing about it is how garbage the world building is, more so when you compare it to the games it tries to emulate.
I play theses types of games for immersion. How am I supposed to get immersed when I find audiologs in the toilets or 50 bucks in fucking trashcans? The whole Bioshock trilogy priorizes style over coherence and that's why Ken Levin is a hack. I haven't played this game yet but from what I've seen looks like it's the same shit.
Only recent AAA game that had a very coherent world to ease your immersion was nu-Prey, despite its many flaws.

What you're describing is the itemization/loot system not worldbuilding. Although I'd agree the loot is one of many aspects of it, the worldbuilding in Bioshock was generally pretty good.

What I mean by world building is the care and reflexion the devs had when creating their world. When you put an item in the world, there needs to be a purpose, a logical reason why it's here in the first place. I'm sorry but Bioshock is filled with assets that are there just to look cool/pretty even if they don't make any sense or blatantly break the coherence.

It's not though. What examples can you give other than the loot?

 

[Taim]

I've sunk about 5 hours into the game so far. Initial impressions are optimistic.

I kind of understand people saying this is similar to bioshock but it seems a lot of that is surface level.

Interesting that so many people in this thread (everyone?) that has mentioned Bioshock is talking about the setting as why the game is bad. I thought the game was bad because:

1. They gave you a ton of arsenal options but they were horribly balanced so you didn't actually have practical use for more than 3 or 4 of them. Why create spring traps into landmines in the ceiling when you can just electroshock + wrench/shotgun them? It's fun to have options, yes, but it loses its appeal quickly when you realize you're doing more work to achieve the same goal as a much simpler combo.
2. Resource management was dogshit. I was never starved for resources.
3. The melee combat/gunplay had little to no weight to it. If you removed the powers you had a very shitty shooter with unsatisfying weapons.
4. Vita chambers rendering the consequence of dying little more than having to backtrack a bit. Holy shit this was a bad idea.
5. The "dilemma" of harvesting little girls was terribly implemented. You got rewarded for NOT harvesting them as well so what the fuck is the dilemma? Either you're evil or you're not evil.

As much as I want to blame Ken Levine, I can't help but think the hype and publicity for Bioshock led to a lot of people who have no idea about game design influencing Ken to make a shittier game (i.e. being rewarded for saving little sisters, adding more resources to the game, vita chambers, etc.). I feel like with some config tweaks that game could have been brought from a 5/10 to a 7/10.

While point 5 is very specific to bioshock, my impression of Atomic Heart so far is they did a much better job with the above 4 (probably still to early to tell for point #1).

Combat is lethal, melee feels great, shotgun feels suitably heavy for killing the initial robot things. Hope the gameplay loop stays this dangerous once I get more weapons to play with.

As for cons:

1. The protagonist is TERRIBLE.
2. The voice-acting is awful.
3. I wish they actually replaced the art text from Russian to English. The overlay, while better than nothing, sucks.
4. Most of the attempts at humor have fallen flat for me. The notable exception is the videos depicting the different powers you get.
5. Wish they didn't rely so much on waypoints but it doesn't bother me as much as it does for most games for some reason.

 

[JDR13]

Vita chambers rendering the consequence of dying little more than having to backtrack a bit. Holy shit this was a bad idea.

You realize that's completely optional, right?

As for cons:

1. The protagonist is TERRIBLE.
2. The voice-acting is awful.
3. I wish they actually replaced the art text from Russian to English. The overlay, while better than nothing, sucks.
4. Most of the attempts at humor have fallen flat for me. The notable exception is the videos depicting the different powers you get.
5. Wish they didn't rely so much on waypoints but it doesn't bother me as much as it does for most games for some reason.

Agree on all of those. I don't know why they didn't use Russian actors for the English VO. The accents for the English dialogues completely destroy any sense that you're in the USSR.