Newly-released single-player sci-fi action FPSAtomic Hearthas fans and critics torn over several elements of its story, writing, and gameplay, but developer Mundfish added several clever features that will stand out among RPG fans. Reviews forAtomic Heartrange anywhere from bad to excellent, noting that the game borrows many of its FPS elements from games likeBioShockandWolfensteinwhile implementing some light RPG features as well. Though it’s more of a blockbuster-style action game than a traditional RPG or immersive sim,Atomic Heartsmartly executes its looting, exploring, upgrading, and fighting.
Many modern RPGs are stuck in the past in several key ways. Firstly, when it comes to inventory management,games likeFallout 76have players frequently revisiting various stations to repair, break down, craft, and upgrade items and equipment. Secondly, looting is usually outdated as well, as there’s regularly too much to loot and not enough inventory space, leading players to be over-encumbered often. Lastly, there tends to be an over-reliance on floating damage numbers, stats, and enemy levels.Atomic Heartaddresses all of these issues to a degree, and each of its solutions makes these aspects less frustrating and more convenient.
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How Atomic Heart Handles Looting, Upgrading, and Combat
Atomic Heart’s setting is one of its best features, as ittakes place in an alternate history in 1955 within a Soviet-controlled scientific hub, where Scientists developed a Polymer that gave birth to highly-advanced technology and robotics. However, the deceptively utopian facility is overrun by the machines and chaos ensues, leading players to put together the pieces of what happened and explore a dense and detailed environment filled with hostile robots. Armed with an assortment of weapons andAtomic Heart’s advanced AI glove that grants supernatural abilities, players spend most of their time scavenging for materials, upgrading their arsenal, and fighting enemies.
Because the world ofAtomic Heartis so unique and filled with the highly-creative enemy and environmental designs, it’s a joy to explore to uncover all of its hidden secrets. While exploring, the experience oflooting inAtomic Heartalmost never gets old, as players don’t slowly scavenge each container, carefully deciding what to keep and what to discard. Instead, players use the AI glove to sweep across rooms like a Shop-Vac to quickly empty all contents within desks, shelves, and corpses. Plus, all crafting and upgrade materials go straight to storage, and once the player’s inventory is full, everything else goes to storage as well.
Once players are finished looting after exploring the open world orAtomic Heart’s dungeonscalled Testing Grounds, there’s plenty to do with all the materials and items they uncovered along the way. Mundfish took an approach to upgrades that many RPG fans will likely appreciate, asAtomic Heartallows players to freely upgrade skills and weapons without penalizing them for refunding and reallocating points or materials. This lets players experiment with different weapons and skills without having to worry about making the wrong choice or going down a path that ultimately ends up being less enjoyable than they’d hoped.
The arsenal inAtomic Heartconsists of a wide range of traditional melee weapons and guns, along with supernaturalabilities that remind ofBioShock, which fans will surely appreciate. These abilities give players the power to shock, freeze, or levitate enemies, and can provide a shield or damage boost. Whereas most RPGs rely on stats and floating numbers to display damage,Atomic Hearthas detailed damage models that allow for impactful combat, complete with dismemberment. This allows players to visibly see the damage they’re doing instead of simply looking for a higher number.
Despite its mixed reception,Atomic Heartis an often thrilling and frequently beautiful FPS that brings several welcome tweaks to traditional RPG elements. Fans of traditional RPGs may scoff atAtomic Heart’s dialogue, characters, and writing, but its smart RPG features help keep the gameplay moving forward. For those on the fence about whether they want to give it a chance, it’s available now as a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass for PC and console.
Atomic Heartis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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