One of the most unusual shooters of recent years will soon be released with Atomic Heart. Here you can find out everything about the release, gameplay and story.
It has been more than 5 years since the announcement of the shooter Atomic Heart . Originally it was supposed to be released in 2018, but was then postponed. Now, however, the time has come: in spring 2023, we will be able to explore an abandoned research facility and fight against all kinds of wacky robotic enemies. Everything you need to know about this unusual game can be found here:
Release date: When will Atomic Heart be released?
Platforms: Where can you play the shooter?
System Requirements: Is your PC ready yet?
Console Performance: How well does it run?
Developers: Relationship with Russia & political statements.
Story: This is what the unusual scenario is about.
Game world: How big is Atomic Heart?
Gameplay: How does Atomic Heart play?
Trailer: These videos are available so far
When will Atomic Heart be released?
The shooter is scheduled for release on 21 February 2023. Originally announced in 2017, we were supposed to be able to play Atomic Heart as early as 2018 before it was delayed several times.
What platforms can you play on?
Atomic Heart will be released for the PC, the Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S PC gamers can obtain the game via Steam.
What are the system requirements?
Atomic Heart relies on the Unreal Engine 4 and can create impressive scenes with RTX graphics cards. The system requirements are nevertheless quite moderate:
Developer Mundfish has spoken out via Twitter about Atomic Heart”s performance on consoles. In terms of last-gen consoles, however, there are no solid statements yet – but extremely strong optimisation for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is promised. The capacities of the hardware are to be fully utilised.
PS5 & Xbox Series X: On the currently most powerful consoles, the developers announce a stable frame rate of 60 FPS. The resolution is supposed to be 4K in the dungeons, in the open world a dynamic resolution is used. Here too, however, 4K is to be achieved in most cases.
Developers from Russia: Accusations against Mundfish
Atomic Heart is being developed by Mundfish, a developer studio from Russia. At the time of the announcement, Moscow was mentioned as the studio”s headquarters, but now Cyprus is mentioned as the headquarters and there is talk of a “global team”.
Accusations have repeatedly (been made) that development funds for Atomic Heart come from Russian businesses and banks sanctioned for the brutal war of aggression on Ukraine. Critics even fear that profits made with the game could indirectly help finance the invasion, which violates international law.
Guys, we have noted the questions surrounding where we, at Mundfish, stand. We want to assure you that Mundfish is a developer and studio with a global team focused on an innovative game and is undeniably a pro-peace organization against violence against people.
In a Twitter statement, the developers said: “Mundfish is […] unquestionably a pro-peace organisation and firmly against violence against people. We do not comment on political and religious issues […]. “
This only partially allayed concerns, however. Many fans felt the tweets were evasive and criticised the studio for (not signalling a clear stance) (Gamesradar reported).
What is the story about?
(Actually, the alternate reality is pretty peaceful. At least until the beginning of the game.)
Atomic Heart is set in an alternate reality where, starting in 1936, the Soviet Union has been able to achieve unprecedented technological advances thanks to an extraordinary scientific discovery, the polymer. Nazi Germany is already defeated in 1941 thanks to technological superiority and robots replace a large part of the workforce.
But when a new central network to control all the robots goes into operation in 1955, everything goes wrong: the helpful mechanical marvels suddenly turn against humanity and wreak havoc. As secret agent P3, you penetrate a top-secret research facility and find out what happened there.
How big is Atomic Heart?
(I guess the Open World turns out to be quite extensive as we can explore it by car as well).
In the shooter you explore an open overworld either on foot or in a car, which is probably quite large if we can trust the trailers. There you will find access to various scientific research facilities, where most of the story missions take place. The campaign should take you more than 20 hours to complete.
What does the gameplay look like?
At best Atomic Heart can be compared to Bioshock. You not only fight against hostile robots with conventional and futuristic melee and ranged weapons, but thanks to your polymer glove you can also use various abilities to form a protective shield, freeze enemies, hurl them away with telekinesis or injure them with lightning bolts.
Killed enemies drop parts that you can use to gradually improve weapons and equipment. In addition to combat, exploring the vast research facility plays a role as you uncover the secrets behind the technological marvels.
Physics-based puzzles à la Portal often await you in the individual facilities. As you travel the overworld, a kind of tracking system also plays a role.
(In addition to robots, we can also expect sinister, half-human enemies.)
If you fight a lot of robots in a short time, they will notice you and send more enemies into your area. Alternatively, you can also try to proceed quietly. However, it will not be possible to avoid fighting altogether.
What trailers are available so far?
Atomic Heart has already released numerous trailers, whose story elements often remain mysterious, but which often already give us a glimpse of shooter action and impressive graphic effects.
