Codex Review RPG Codex Review: ATOM RPG

[Jenkem]

this game better than pillows

 

[AdolfSatan]

this game better than pillows

Not much of an achievement, really.

 

[cruelio]

Amazing Codex review that only talks about story and writing. I suppose it would have to, because any review of the actual gameplay would have to be harshly critical. So this is Incline huh?

 

[Prime Junta]

This game could use another review from a mechanics/gameplay grog. It would complement this one nicely. This is clearly intriguing enough for at least SEVEN official RPGCodex reviews.

However it might be prudent to wait for a few patches as I have a feeling things may still be somewhat in motion.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

This game could use another review from a mechanics/gameplay grog. It would complement this one nicely.

 

[Tacgnol]

Completely unrelated to the gameplay, but I was actually quite impressed with the performance/loading times on this one.

Being a unity game, I was expecting much worse.

 

[Bohr]

This game could use another review from a mechanics/gameplay grog. It would complement this one nicely.

Care to shed any more light on what your issue is with that statement? Seems reasonable.

 

[Forest Dweller]

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!

Is the writing in the game like the writing in this post?

 

[vazha]

I started with int maxed up and boy, for 6 hours or so all I've been doing is talking to people and fishing for memes and references from Soviet "folklore". Surprisingly, haven't come across any Solzhenitsyn, Astafyev or Bunin quotes so far.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Care to shed any more light on what your issue is with that statement? Seems reasonable.

The notion that you can make cRPG reviews specialised in writing or mechanics is absurd. The gameplay in a cRPG revolves around systems and mechanics. They are not books and shouldn’t be treated as such, even if the reviewer is eager to display her useless knowledge about Russian culture.

 

[Bohr]

Care to shed any more light on what your issue is with that statement? Seems reasonable.

The notion that you can make cRPG reviews specialised in writing or mechanics is absurd. The gameplay in a cRPG revolves around systems and mechanics. They are not books and shouldn’t be treated as such, even the reviewer is eager to display his knowledge about Russian culture.

Ok, I guess I differ in that I don't really see much difference between a single review with a section on mechanics and another on writing, and two articles each focusing on an aspect. It's quite refreshing seeing varied sorts of content on the Dex.

 

[Fenix]

This is clearly intriguing enough for at least SEVEN official RPGCodex reviews.

You see, definitely good games arn't controversial (enough) to gave birth for several rewievs.
Look at Underrail... Look at PoE... no, don't look!

The gameplay in a cRPG revolves around systems and mechanics.

Games could be different...

 

[Apostle Hand]

cool story bro

 

[RK47]

u remember fallout right
where NPC models look alike to each other
you enter the Den in the sequel and see 20 identical addicts
making generic lines
this does not happen in Atom
swear on me mum

and remember those sweet dialogue exp from learning stuff in Planescape?
This game does that too

And looting junk from trash bins to craft grenades in Arcanum? This game has it too

And Tarant, one of the juiciest content city in Arcanum? This game has it too

the portraits are reflected by the models
if the guy on portrait is wearing a helmet
chances are his model wears a helmet
and u can kill him n wear that helmet
if the guy wears a fedora
the model is wearing one too

 

[razvedchiki]

Pope Amole II did you like the review?

 

[Pope Amole II]

Pope Amole II did you like the review?

Why would I read it? Seeing the premise was enough to understand it so there's no need to waste time.

 

[Товарищ]

Is the writing in the game like the writing in this post?

Sadly, yes. It's slimy, ironic nature permeates every minute of the game and is frankly pathetic.
Honest attempts at real characters with all the required bells and whistles take a toll on the poet and the devs didnt have the courage to show their hearts.
All the writing in the game is mildly amusing drivel at best and boring trash usually.

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.

Reading a post like this fills me with mild disgust tbh.
Irony is the most crooked form of humour and is pure internet culture - its memetic.
Ironic references are the dung the average reddit populace is made of.
When one reads the devs posts in russian though, his deceitful smile disappears from the tone of a post.
Insincere, like an ogre.

But when conversations are good, they are witty, often times hilarious, and even touching. Death or misery is rarely the punch line to a joke.

There are no touching conversations in the game. For something to be touching, it has to be relatable and honest. The game is a zoo of funneh people and caricatures.

Today, when writing in games lacks almost any sort of tasteful framing for its author’s beliefs, it’s very refreshing not to be constantly told about ‘evil’ this and ‘virtuous’ that.

Double negative. And an exaggeration of the presented moral compass. Which is

By the way, Hexogen IS a self insert, every line of his dialogue is the author covering his own beliefs with a joke.
Like if JarlFrank posts a gif with Ronaldo accusing the merchant guild of their involvement.

I can only imagine how difficult it was to exaggerate Prokhanov’s character for the purposes of writing Hexogen due to him being as outstanding as he is.

Anime is not difficult, son.

 

[Товарищ]

Btw, the final nail in the coffin of this creative failure of apocalyptic proportions, the point when I stopped thinking and caring completely, was the end to the quest to find the bandit who murdered child and wife of the commander at the gasstation between Otradno and Krasno.

The presentation is that the man carries a lifelong grudge for the edgy and pedagogical killing of his family and you ought to find the random bandit in the wastes. No quest compass. Sounds interesting enough.
But it doesnt play out that way. The bandit is in Fogelevka (male population: 3; bandit, farmer, hunter; not counting guards, barman, stalker, driver, NO GENERIC NPCS!!!!!1) and his identification is as simple as looting his fucking nightstand (epic fail) with the help of 40 points in lockpicking (epic fail).
Turns out, he is a reformed man, and has a list of the people he murdered at his bed xDDDDD to remind him of his horrible crimes.
Now, when you confront him, he says "eh". You go back to the commander and tell him where the bandit is. Commander comes back and you can ask him if he regrets killing the bandit.
The commands shoulders start to shake, his face hidden, probably crying but he burst out laughing: OF COURSE NOT I ENJOYED IT WHEN I TOLD HIM I WOULD MURDER HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER THATS WHEN HE STARTED BEGGING ME <- summary of the writing in this game

P O S T M O D E R N
A N I M E

 

[Serious_Business]

This looks like the perfect game to kill off the Codex once and for all. The tiny brains are going to implode with these postmodern narrative tricks - but the classical systems of the game are still traditional and attractive - there's going to be someone very confused out there, and I would like to hear about his feelings, and whether or not he would ultimately like to be a woman. I can help with this

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

This looks like the perfect game to kill off the Codex once and for all. The tiny brains are going to implode with these postmodern narrative tricks

What a bunch of hooey. The game has a traditional narrative and story. Just because a pretentious retarded wanted us to believe it's postmodern doesn't make it so.

 

[razvedchiki]

politician=ingore list
by the way why you dont post with the lurker king account?

 

[bataille]

What a bunch of hooey. The game has a traditional narrative and story

So, I guess, that's the punch line: you've been saying that ATOM is not postmodern without knowing what makes a postmodern piece? Kinda an anticipated plot twist.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

This looks like the perfect game to kill off the Codex once and for all. The tiny brains are going to implode with these postmodern narrative tricks

What a bunch of hooey. The game has a traditional narrative and story. Just because a pretentious retarded wanted us to believe it's postmodern doesn't make it so.

postmodern techniques in fiction =/= what you guys consider postmodern philosophy (which is not really a coherent thing, but whatever).

Thomas Pynchon, postmodern! William S. Burroughs, postmodern! Milan Kundera, postmodern! Kurt Vonnegut, postmodern! Joseph Heller, postmodern! Italo Calvino, post-fucking-modern (sorry Darth Roxor)!

Edit: ...bataille is a ninja

 

[Forest Dweller]

u remember fallout right
where NPC models look alike to each other
you enter the Den in the sequel and see 20 identical addicts
making generic lines
this does not happen in Atom
swear on me mum

and remember those sweet dialogue exp from learning stuff in Planescape?
This game does that too

And looting junk from trash bins to craft grenades in Arcanum? This game has it too

And Tarant, one of the juiciest content city in Arcanum? This game has it too

the portraits are reflected by the models
if the guy on portrait is wearing a helmet
chances are his model wears a helmet
and u can kill him n wear that helmet
if the guy wears a fedora
the model is wearing one too

Wow.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

postmodern techniques in fiction =/= what you guys consider postmodern philosophy (which is not really a coherent thing, but whatever).

Thomas Pynchon, postmodern! William S. Burroughs, postmodern! Milan Kundera, postmodern! Kurt Vonnegut, postmodern! Joseph Heller, postmodern! Italo Calvino, post-fucking-modern (sorry Darth Roxor)!

Edit: ...bataille is a ninja

Oh, that's really insightful ain't it? You take for granted a retarded notion without providing any definition whatsover and assume everyone else must go along with you because you assume this is sophisticated stuff. Here, the wikipedia definition for this nonsense:

Postmodern literature is literature characterized by reliance on narrative techniques such as fragmentation, paradox, and the unreliable narrator;

The game doesn't have a postmodern narrative, sorry.

If you think that wikipedia is not good enough, I'm waiting for a better definition because assuming everyone knows won't cut it. I'm not easily impressed by your references.