Test – Atomic Heart, the flat electrocardiogram

Atomic Heart finds his inspiration in great works like bioshock, Stand out or Wolfstein without ever reaching her ankle. Worse still, with its unsurprising storyline and vulgar and cheesy choices (the distributor talking below the belt or the hyper-sexualized robotic twins), it leaves an ugly feeling of immaturity and unwelcome recklessness. Because at the same time, with an original and serious starting point of a retrofuturistic dystopia in a triumphant USSR, thanks to its technology, there is a great gap that breaks any immersion. In 16 hours to see the ending, I never got excited for this predictable twist on bioshock in the land of the Soviets. Never.

For the (poly) motherland!

Atomic Heart tells us about a golden age of the Soviet Union, when the USSR emerged as THE big winner of WWII and was on its way to dominating the world, thanks largely to science. Science in general, robotics in particular, but also cybernetics through a polymer enable inventions that go beyond understanding. Mainly for the 50s in which this Retrofuturistic dystopia take place. The prologue stages this socialist paradise by going to the “soviet porn‘, with communist symbols everywhere, an immaculate and idyllic setting, a happy and prosperous populace…

After finishing the game, in my opinion as a 40-year-old westerner, I thinkAtomic Heart the USSR neither condones nor is complacent. But after all, I am neither a specialist nor a historian and can only express my feelings. He simply chooses to start from the premise that the USSR is on its way to dominating the world and explores how that could have been. And it’s hardly appealing. But then not at all. The varnish of the prologue described above quickly crumbles when unrolled a story sewn with a red thread with an unfortunately foreseeable end

The plot is based on a revolt of robots in state-of-the-art facilities where the “Collective” program is designed. The preservation of this new jewel of Soviet science is the pretext for the intervention of the hero, Major Netchaiev, the henchman of the designer of Kollectiv… On top of that, since the situation is catastrophic, a power struggle between them powerful of politburo around this new program that is about to be released and that promises to make people happy by connecting all the minds of the earth …

The disciple does not surpass the master

The pitch is clearly reminiscent And bioshock revised coconut sauce, we agree. Especially since I give it to you by the thousand: the protagonist has amnesia! In earnest. Apparently, we feel all the twists and pseudo-revelations coming miles. Taking an overpowered USSR as a starting point: why not, that’s original, but totally not believable in the context of Kollectiv, which, oh surprise, is a program for enslaving the masses. No sane person would put handcuffs on themselves! So from the beginningAtomic Heart, disappointed of hardly worthy of a B series (Olshevik)I had all the trouble in the world to get excited.

However, there are a few moments that caught my attention., like dialogues criticizing the workings, severity and cowardice of decision-making at the highest level of Soviet power. Because instead of sending a single man, no matter how talented, the army to subdue the disordered robots? If not, to stifle the affair as quickly as possible and, above all, to save the bread. And what about that conversation where a woman is fed up with Soviet-style happiness, she’s tired of smiling because the powerful want her to smile. She has this great phrase: “Happiness is a unique and bespoke product. A personal masterpiece. We can’t decide to mass-produce at the factory.” Those few flashes are hits, but rare.

Those few phases, plus the absurd exaggeration of Soviet decency, make me think this isn’t pro-USSR propaganda or even misplaced fantasized nostalgia. That definitely makes me lean more towards it a somewhat failed or feeble attempt to suggest a variation of

spectator of his own destiny

I failed 16 hours to see the epilogue of it daring mix of FPS and puzzles Environment with a bit of platform. Please note that this is not an open world. While there are large sections to explore in search of equipment, the sequence and progression remain linear. Especially since our character is being shown around by everyone, so are we more extras than actors. This type of bias works perfectly in bioshock For example. This is where it’s mostly frustrating.

The fights are edgy thanks to an arsenal stocked with classic guns like the Kalashnikov and some futuristic weirdness like a railgun. It’s even more energized with the addition of the gauntlet, which allows for telekinesis, electrocution, and other delights the clashes that don’t lack momentum. On the other hand, the enemies aren’t very varied and spin in circles very quickly. It’s in the picture Landscape that looks the same throughout the adventure, with these sanitized and sad labs. A visit to the theater is enough to wake up the retinas a little without reaching a hallucinating extravagance.

With reference to Puzzle, they are sometimes very simple and very quick, like restoring electrical circuits. But it happens that a puzzle takes place in a large space, so you have to take your time, do aerobatics to reach the different elements … But I prefer to be clear: this break the rhythm

The redneck who came in from the cold

There is also a roller coaster on the bottom. With the watermark of a story that takes itself seriously, we have to endure that clumsy, vulgar and immature. A tired-voiced Distributor/Workshop spends their time every time they are interacted with and comes out with unremarkable conversations. It hurts for 16 hours. Added to this are ABSOLUTELY NOT discrete phallus symbols here and there that underline Atelier immaturity. Before heartbreaking and embarrassing spectacle of robots simulating a sexual act or yet another heated diatribe from the distributor, impossible to truly immerse ourselves in our agent’s adventure without sighing or rolling our eyes.

Technical level, nothing to say: it’s all right and above all always liquid. The cold and sanitized artistic direction reinforces the idea that we’re fighting in a vast and elaborate open-air prison. Finally, Atomic Heart East fully translated into French. Unfortunately, some dubbing lacks conviction or accuracy, but overall it’s still decent. Except for the hero’s favorite phrase, which quickly becomes painful and annoying. I’ll let you discover it ^^.

I appreciated:

• The FPS part is successful
• mystery and exploration
• Fully translated into French

I liked least:

• Vulgar and immature elements
• Little freedom (simultaneously with the USSR…)
• The lack of variety of landscapes and enemies
• Too many puzzles in some sectors break the rhythm
• The story never grabbed me, a Nanar who takes himself too seriously

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