3/5 ★ – El_Cronofiro's review of Atomic Heart.

This is a game that I have been following for a long time, because the first time it was presented I was interested in the appearance and when its gameplay was revealed, I was taken by the similarity with “Bioshock”. Overall, I can't say that I was disappointed with what I saw, of course, my expectations were high thanks to the game that Atomic Heart is inspired by, but I decided to lower my expectations after reading a little about the developer. Speaking of the game. “Atomic Heart” is a game that brings with it many references from “Bioshock”, in a visual that reminds a little of “Fallout” but with a frenetic combat, similar to the most recent games of the “Far Cry” franchise. Speaking of combat, it's simple but quite fun, it's a shame that its full potential is not presented right away, unfortunately the beginning of the game in this regard is a very weak point, as the repetition of enemies makes the experience quite monotonous. There is a relatively small number of weapons when compared to other games in the same genre, but this is left behind thanks to the various modifications that can be made through the crafting system. These modifications are even what make the game's combat more fun. In terms of enemies, the game fails a lot, as many are repeated countless times during the game, in addition to the variety not being good. Although the game tries to differentiate enemies between organics and robots, if you stop to analyze them calmly, you notice that most of the enemies in these categories are “normal enemy” and “normal evolved enemy”. The bosses in turn are the opposite, the fights against them are quite creative in terms of scenery, mechanics, animations and the fact that they are different from the enemies you face throughout the game (with the exception of the “normal enemies evolved” in the first time you meet them). My only caveat is the repetition of a boss (or mini-boss) that appears so many times that it gets tired, it seems that it was placed in so many places just to take time. The visuals of the game are incredible, everything is beautiful, everything is well done and always matches the graphics very well. This idea of Soviet retrofuturism is very well done through a certain strangeness caused by the slightly humanoid robots. I just think the devs could've tried to make a more horror approach to certain moments of the game (the theater, for example), because there was potential. The soundtrack is very good, when it works. I don't know if it was bugs or if I was too immersed in the combat but many times during the action moments I could only hear the sound of enemies and my weapons, no music. Still, when the Russian songs play at specific times, they are truly special moments that make all the destruction of countless enemies extremely fun. To complement, my only reservations that do not fit in all other points are the story that is simple and predictable, with a weak and often confusing writing, the only exception to this observation is the final moment, where something happens which is really interesting and arouses curiosity. Another problem I have is with the map, which in my opinion was not necessary as it is empty and the only secondary activity there is to do is boring. Other quick observations are given to the platform moments, which could be better, and the inconvenient bugs (I found many in my gameplay, from crashes to moments when my character was simply stuck on the ground) that can end up being just my bad luck. In the end, “Atomic Heart” is a beautiful game that manages to be fun thanks to combat that doesn't innovate, but offers satisfying ways to destroy the enemies around it. It's the kind of game you play when you don't want to think too much, just have fun and watch events unfold.