4/5 ★ – Lechuck0808's review of Atomic Heart.

WOAH. Let me start off with an important statement: Atomic Heart is a complete mess. But my god, it's the most entertaining and genuinely interesting mess I've ever seen. Now, when I say interesting, I don't mean it in the way that the word is usually used, but more like the way a car crash is interesting. The game is so completely perplexing that you just feel like you need to know more. Anyway, beyond the complete insanity of the game's story, art style and overall presentation, there are some very clear inspirations; in fact, it kinda feels like someone made a game by taking aspects of all their favorite games: there's a lot of Bioshock (downright ripoff-y at times), there's a lot of Portal, a lot of Doom 2016, a dash of Half-life 2 episode 2, and a pinch of Prey. Now, that's not to say that the game isn't wholly unique, because ohhhhh mama, it most certainly is. But probably not in the ways it wanted to be. The protagonist is a dick. And not like a Duke Nukem style idiot, but, like, a real fucking asshole. There's a scene where, for very weird reasons, he says "make that fat guy jump. He looks like he needs it." WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. Also, the whole thing feels disjointed. First it's a survival horror, then immersive sim, then open world fps, then puzzle game, etc, Etc. It's kinda schizophrenic. Then there's the story. A damn mess, for sure, but also... Pretty great? Too much constant talking, though. Now, the gameplay, that's some good shit. I imagine a lot of people expecting a straight forward fps were sorely disappointed, but if you go in expecting an immersive sim, which is definitely what this is, you'll find the best gunplay in the entire genre. The enemies are all really cool, and there's enough variety to keep it fresh without feeling overwhelming. The gore, or the equivalent of that for robots, is amazingly detailed, with really cool gashes and bullet holes appearing with every hit. The soundtrack is a hell of a thing. Mostly composed of remixed versions of already crazy Russian pop songs, it's definitely an acquired taste, but thankfully there's a handful of really awesome boss tracks composed by the ever amazing Mick Gordon. Also, there are a few scenes that use a track from the movie Annihilation, and while it's definitely a bit weird to use and possibly unlicensed, i can't really complain, because it's such an fantastically spooky and atmospheric song. Anyway, this is one of the most intriguing and genuinely crazy experiences that I've had in a while, so let's finish this rant with a simple recommendation: PLAY ATOMIC HEART. If we don't get a sequel I'll fucking riot