Atomic Heart could have been the next BioShock

Atomic Heart Its a ring. BioShockIt has many influences. In both games, the first person adventure mechanics are set in complex utopias that have gone wrong. Both feature verbose, bombastic leaders dead set on making their grandiose dreams into reality; combat repertoires mix traditional weapons with in-game “magic” (instead of BioShock’s Plasmids or BioShock Infinite’s Vigors, we have Atomic Heart’s Polymers); a confused, amnesiac main character has mysterious ties to said leader, forming the narrative crux.

Yet, crucially, Atomic Heart fails to nail down what made the BioShock series — as divisive as it is — work: a keen laser-focus on a few central themes.

Instead of carefully crafting a texture dimension to its plot or gameplay, Atomic Heart Mundfish developer cast its net wide. Mundfish embraced so much that it lost very few. Its lack of focus on narrative threads results in BioShock becoming a blurred sketch and not a complete reimagining. All of this, without mentioning the bloody writing that suffocates the world or the unfounded antagonism and whining of the protagonist. It all happens in a chaotic mess of levels, which required more editing than more variety.

While my initial impressions of the game were (and remain) highly favorable, and I do recommend trying it on Game Pass — just not buying it — I cannot help but be underwhelmed by the consistency of the game’s inconsistencies. While the retro Soviet “aesthetic” is prominent, that bombastic, beautiful opening theme is abandoned in favor of occasional notes. It’s symphony more than solo.

Image: Mundfish/Focus Entertainment, 4Divinity

It is also a disease that affects the gameplay. While Atomic Heart’s approach is initially fun — it jumps from areas replete with plant zombies to spaces with hulking monsters — it quickly feels like the designers took the kitchen sink approach. These sections are not connected, so the game is more of a mix-and-match than an amalgamation of several ideas. Each level builds on the previous one.

Crucial parts of the game take place in underground facilities — interesting, initially haunting, beautiful corridors — but when Mundfish thrust me into Atomic Heart’s open world, I actually considered turning the game off.

In the game’s semi-open world, the murky depths of an empire’s fragmented failings are abandoned in favor of a garish pastoral environment. It is filled with robots, security cameras, and other machines that can make the space open and airy. Continue reading robots when they are alerted via said security cameras. Everything you spent hours learning is abandoned — Atomic Heart’s open world might as well be a completely different game. Filled with robots that are endlessly repaired and swarms of bullet-sponge enemies that are positioned at almost every corner, these open-world areas are some of the worst-designed spaces I’ve encountered.

Image: Mundfish/Focus Entertainment, 4Divinity

Aside from playing host to numerous useful crafting materials, I advise — if you insist on continuing — skipping the open world altogether. The game is stingy with ammo which you’re better off saving for corridor fights and boss battles.

After all, let me repeat: Atomic Heart’s open-world robots endlessly respawn. It is difficult to understand why this design choice was made and how it affects your daily life. Even FromSoftware games, famous for their worlds’ antagonism toward players, semi-permanently kill enemies.

Open-world is just one example of what the larger message is. BioShock had big beautiful spaces, but did not inject such design into gameplay — there was no need to diversify its focus, as it stuck to one theme and played it. Atomic HeartIn its attempts to be complex, it spins many plates and falls many. The developers could have honed their designs more precisely. BioShockThe underground infrastructure would have been maintained and the core theme of the game kept intact. This would have transformed a fun game into something memorable.