Codex Review RPG Codex Review: ATOM RPG

[Darth Roxor]

I had many hearty laughs while reading the revio, but judging by both its content and a bunch of impressions/pix I've seen, I'd be inclined to agree with some of the folks who say that sometimes a meme is just a meme

 

[V_K]

A meme by any other name

 

[ERYFKRAD]

A meme by any other name

Is forgotten quickly just the same.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

- Combat
Its a single char ranged combat game where the only thing you can do is shoot and move. Before the first patch, your aimed shots did not stand out at all.
It was literally worse than Fallout 1. Lets not even talk about melee. Its full auto >> everything else. Avoid all combat.
By the way, the weapons do not do the damage that is displayed in the descriptions.

??? You can give your companions orders in combat. Click on them when it’s your turn.

Imagine this take on Fallout: “Let’s not even talk about melee. It’s energy weapons >> everything else. Avoid all combat.”

You also don’t seem to understand how DR/DT work.

YMMV on ATOM, but generally when someone misses whole features and misunderstands mechanics, they don’t know what they’re Talking about.

 

[Товарищ]

??? You can give your companions orders in combat. Click on them when it’s your turn.
Imagine this take on Fallout: “Let’s not even talk about melee. It’s energy weapons >> everything else. Avoid all combat.”
You also don’t seem to understand how DR/DT work.
YMMV on ATOM, but generally when someone misses whole features and misunderstands mechanics, they don’t know what they’re Talking about.

You are too dumb to talk mechanics to me. DR/DT xD
Why are rifles rolling damage above their displayed values?
Quick idiot test: do the skillpoints in weapon skills translate linearly into CTH? And how exactly?
Another one: what about the dog?

Fallout combat is as garbage as ATOM, da fuck you are on? Imagine this hot take!
The only tactikewl thing you can do is camp corners/kite and bypass armor with crits.
ATOM pays homage to it xD Their rudimentary AI steps around corners to break LOS. Except when you break LOS too, then they move out...........

Controlling another unit that does nothing but shoot and move does not change the equation.
In fact, I am pretty sure that you havent used this great feature!
Because focusing down an enemy means:
For Fidel: left click, hold, select 'target x', click on enemy
For Hex: left click, hold, select 'target x', click on enemy
EVERY TURN!
Fidel will switch from a dying rat to a fresh one when it goes into range! Have fun clicking, dummy.
AI target selection is hurtful.

Semi-control just makes it worse... since its not full control, breh.
If you tell your squad to move to X, they will - and promptly leave the position to run into gunfire.
You are better off telling them to wait for you somewhere.

Fighting against shit companion AI is good combat now.

 

[Товарищ]

~~~ riting ~~~
The dev said in his defense about the reference circus, that its not too bad.


First guy past the intro, prolonged 7 Samurai reference

Stalker reference? Urban legend?
Story about dead friend calling someone into the cellar and that someone disappearing.
I cant place it, I am sure I have heard it before

This guy talks like its the 70s and they are building Communism in Ostradno
I feel that its a caricature, a reference if you will.

Nietzsche

2 in 1! Which comedy club fag was the portrait copied from?
Why are the author names mentioned? Why is she referencing them specifically? There is no context to it, no meaning. Just moronic references.

Tutorial village, brehs! I have only talked to NPCs above and Kovalev and his guard and the stereotypical out-of-place """secret""" snitch, whom I did not include into references but he is as retarded as them.

And when you reach Krasno, then you will understand this reference:
1121314152

 

[Alpan]

Thanks to bataille for writing a review that doesn't scale to the average Codexer's level.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Thanks to bataille for writing a review that doesn't scale to the average Codexer's level.

It seems Russia brought incline not only in rpg, but also in gaming journalism!
Virgin ludonarrative dissonance vs Chad crpg analysis through the lenses of late Perestroika!

 

[Deadass]

I had many hearty laughs while reading the revio, but judging by both its content and a bunch of impressions/pix I've seen, I'd be inclined to agree with some of the folks who say that sometimes a meme is just a meme

 

[Latro]

Thanks to bataille for writing a review that doesn't scale to the average Codexer's level.

It's all come to a head. The storyfags would have Codex become the gaming equivalent of the Paris Review or the New Yorker. Only a few men and a rat are all that's left to stand up for gameplay.

 

[Bohr]

Thanks for the review

I want to be a Russian...

 

[index.php]

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand ATOM RPG.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

It's all come to a head. The storyfags would have Codex become the gaming equivalent of the Paris Review or the New Yorker. Only a few men and a rat are all that's left to stand up for gameplay.

First you have cRPG writing as a profession and pretentious game journalists discussing the intricacies of the lore.

Now you have codexers making game reviews that look like the garbage you would find in a cultural studies course.

It’s decline.

 

[Apostle Hand]

nice review by bataille

 

[Товарищ]

Atom Team has made a game that explores what it was like to be a curious kid basking in post-Dissolution Russia’s culture. The real one that is.

I honestly cannot comprehend how in Gods name ATOM explores what it was like to be a curious kid outright basking in post-Dissolution Russia's culture. The real one that is.
Le epic cringe. Yikes.

it fits the game’s fever dream feel very well.

Their dreamy, feverish, unreal qualities have clearly left a lasting impression on the game’s writers.

Excuse me, mister sir, well read, literary connoisseur par excellence, but where is this outrageous, unreal, obvious FEEL?
Does it happen when you are fighting rats and ants? Or big spiders and wasps with glowing eyes?
Is it a quest? The one where you collect 5 mushrooms? What language, what character, what circumstance evokes such dreamy, feverish state?
Maybe it is you, who is in a fever dream? Maybe even euphoric in that moment...

For me, this picture was the first sign that indicated that I had been overly naive in thinking that ATOM RPG would be a mere repaint of Fallout. As it turned out later, its nostalgia longs not for Interplay’s game but for something more precious and unobtainable. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

What is it that the game's nostalgia (there is no nostalgia in the game...) longs for, you did not tell? Was it just empty trash coming out your mouth?

Atom Team has made a game that explores what it was like to be a curious kid basking in post-Dissolution Russia’s culture. The real one that is.

But maybe its not the game. It is you.

 

[Siveon]

Honestly, the review made me wonder if I will enjoy the game because my knowledge of Russian literature is minimal and won't increase soon.

Yeah that was kind of disappointing. I don't really care about all the postmodern stuff (which now makes me wonder if I'll even like Disco Elysium), and without all of that what do I really get. A re-do of the first Fallout with references I don't really understand?

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Yeah that was kind of disappointing. I don't really care about all the postmodern stuff (which now makes me wonder if I'll even like Disco Elysium), and without all of that what do I really get. A re-do of the first Fallout with references I don't really understand?

You will get a great game that can stand on its own. Ignore this bullshit review and play the game. It's good.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

I honestly cannot comprehend how in Gods name ATOM explores what it was like to be a curious kid outright basking in post-Dissolution Russia's culture. The real one that is.
Le epic cringe. Yikes.

Can agree with that. I was a high IQ curious kid basking in post-Dissolution Russia's culture (flooded at the time by us/japan culture). If you want to get the same experience I recommend you reading Konstantin Vaginov's Satyr Chorus, Works and Days of Svistonov (experience of being a creative high IQ person in times of decay, consuming works of older culture which is long dead but seems to be more lively than decaying husk of what was not long ago), Ivan Shmelyov The Sun of the Dead (fairy tale like experience of a period of global loss of humanity, atomization and cultural depersonalization). I don't think ATOM can be compared to this for various reasons. It's not dreamy at all. A reference is not an allegory and you cannot build a dreamscape with those, only an attraction park, the type you can see on beaches in southern russian cities. The writing unfortunately lacks elegancy, estheticism and etc. Not really a bad thing, fallout 1&2 definitely weren't dreamy themselves. I also don't thonk they add anything to the things they reference or add anything to the plot which is important distinction between shallow attraction ("wow, I know the thing author is citing") and purposeful art.
The are some decent works of arts with a bunch of references. Like in Dovlatov's I want to be strong which I enjoy and always get inspired by to read more stuff, he references to other literaly works helps establish character and their surrounding (including social circles). When Frida asks what hero wants to talk about with her and proposes jaunly Hitler, Przybyszewski or Kafka it show not only the sphere of interest of her class but also ironic attitude towards intellectualism. Similar attitude is shown in many Vaginov's works there works of high art is grandiouse and precious but also meaningless, turned into toys by revolutionary circumstances and the fact they are used as escapism by heroes whos agency is questionable.

What is the purpose of all the references in Atom other than entertain the same sensibilities which make some guy clap and scream when he sees a bunch of toys from old movies (like millenium falcon) in the new start wars trailer? Do they really have a deeper meaning or bigger purpose?

 

[Tigranes]

high IQ

Couldn't resist adding that one in huh

Twice even

 

[CappenVarra]

That introductory paragraph alone deserves a brofist, you poetic sentient, you.

About the game itself, I'll reserve judgment until GOG release - Steam is the great capitalist-hopelessly-clueless-spyware-shaitan-wannabe (and can fuck itself off right to hemorrhagic oblibion) - and I must confess my knowledge of eastern block literature starts and ends at His Most Majestic Holiness, Stanislaw Lem - but what I've read about the game so far makes it a day one purchase.

If this turns out badly, I might come back to shout at you to get off my lawn - but so far, would you come in for a shot of Russian Standard and possibly keep reviewing?

 

[Atomboy]

What have we here, fellow gamers? A brand new codex review and a whole giant, heated discussion to accompany it?! This is so awesome. As 50% of Atom's writing team, I am very happy with how this one turned out, especially. Thank you very much, dear bataille! Seeing how deep the text we wrote can lead the one, who doesn't mind the search, is tremendous praise in itself. I'm very glad that the hidden things that are close to my heart, that I hid betwixt the memes and lines can be uncovered again. Does that make the game better? Do you need it to "get" the game, or to enjoy it? I don't really think so. (For that, IMO, you mainly need rebalanced combat, better merchants, typo correction and bugfixes, but these are coming soon, promise) Still, I'm glad that they are there, that they can be found and appreciated, or mocked, or critiqued, because it shows that our little ol' passion project indeed has various layers. Just like an ogre.

Spoiler

Thank you very much, everyone! The author - for the awesome review, the rest of yall for discussing the game, for liking and\or critiquing our stuff, for pointing out our flaws, it really keeps the game alive and growing. What I will never regret is making the Codex our game's place to be in the English-speaking RPG world!

 

[Vityaz]

That was pretty interesting to read.

 

[Vrab]

Having little to no knowledge of Russian literature or language, I enjoyed the game tremendously as just a rpg, in English, with no understanding of vast majority of references. Now having spent some early years of my life in a socialist country and the remainder in a post socialist one in which both positive and negative memories of bygone decades are still very much alive, I probably was able to enjoy certain political satire, even when it was very crude, more than an average westerner would. When I read the story of how Lenin was attacked by Fanny Kaplan (ALSO KNOWN AS ROYBLAT) with a knife, but her stab at his heart was deflected by his party membership card which he carried in the pocket of his shirt I laughed out loud. I guess I'm simple, but this kind of exaggerated hagiography is something quite well known around here so it resonated. There were several such occasions where I suppose say an American wouldn't really get what's up apart from there being a dumb joke, while an eastern or central European would, but it is not a requirement for liking the game. The more in-the-know (and apparently way more widespread) references to literature and specifically Russian culture went completely over my head, and it didn't hurt the experience in any way. The game is perfectly fine in the framework of balance of pistols vs assault rifles (which sucks lol).

It has been stated probably too many times, it's obvious and might seem redundant to point out at all, but apparently it still won't hurt: If you liked Fallout 1 and 2, you should like this. All the faults, and they exist, are in that case excusable. Someone said about Grimoire that it's not just a polite nod to the early to mid 90ies blobbers, it is an early to mid 90ies blobber. Something similar could be said for this, apart from Unity engine, this isn't just a nod to late 90ies Fallout games, this is a late 90ies Fallout game, the good and the bad. And if someone decides that the bad outweighs the good then, well, go play PoE or smth.

That said, I do get the impression the review is somewhat stretching things. Also, there is some advice about gameplay itself that I think is wrong. But it was a good read regardless.

 

[Fenix]

Hope the article succeeds at it at least partially!

It is, as I understand you want article to express what you think game is, and this worked for me. )
Also, given the discussion your article started, it'smore then successfull in my opinion - what provokes thoughts is successful.

Hey, whoever Soulstones' alt is seems to be back. Welcome, I trust your visit will be enjoyable.

Nah, more like Popamole alt.

 

[bataille]

more like Popamole alt

Wow, lmao, that's not the first time I've read this opinion. Actually, it's the third one! The plot thickens?
A mystery to the core.