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As part of Atomic Heart’s month of coverage, IGN interviewed game director Robert Bagratuni, who revealed many new interesting details about the upcoming first-person shooter. Below are the main theses.
The developers carefully worked out each weapon so that it behaves uniquely in battle and is necessary on its way. The game will have a special mechanic that allows you to accumulate energy in close combat, and later it can be used to fire special energy weapons. Many upgraded melee weapons also have special attacks that give you advantages that ranged weapons can’t. The key is to combine weapon types and tactics, because in some fights you have to deal with many types of enemies at the same time. There are three difficulty options in Atomic Heart: Story – for those who want to focus on the story; medium – for those who want to play the game the way it was intended; and high – for those who are not afraid of anything and who have strong nerves. The difficulty level will not affect the plot. There are many abilities available in Atomic Heart. Among them is the polymer bomb skill, which allows you to cover enemies with a polymer substance that is highly responsive to lighting, freezing, and fire. You can coat your opponents in polymer and then electrify them with a stun gun. Or you can take a polymer shield while defending against attacks, then freeze the enemy at the right moment and silence him. Mundfish have confirmed that there is no shooting skill in the game, but you can use special weapon attachments that make bullets incendiary. Thus, you can combine these skills and mechanics to create unique game effects, such as fire rings, electrifying or freezing traps, and so on. The game has a mechanic that allows you to quietly get rid of both organic and mechanical enemies without drawing attention to yourself. There is also an alarm system that will call more and more robots. However, there is no full-fledged stealth mode. There is a lot of music by Mick Gordon in the open world. Its music matches the fast-paced combat in the open world, it sets the mood and emotion, and it kind of tells you what to do next. In addition to Mick’s work, you can find a lot of other compositions of the last century, 50-80s. There is only one car model that you can drive directly. Perhaps in the DLC, the developers will add more vehicles, such as buses and tractors. Despite the fact that the world of Atomic Heart is quite large, the developers aimed for more narrative consistency, but not to turn the game into a huge map with points of interest. The developers wanted to recreate the atmosphere of a closed, secret institution, where entrances and exits are carefully guarded. It is important to understand that laboratories and other buildings are not only above the ground, but also below it. If you imagine this world and try to compare it with something, then it most of all resembles a mushroom tree, branching and going in all directions. There are many interesting territories in the open world, as well as carefully hidden optional locations, but you will have to make an effort to find. You can walk, swim, drive in any direction, look for hidden places where you can find something of value, collect stories from the inhabitants of the world, and anything that will help you understand the story deeper. There is a lot to do in the world of Atomic Heart. Importantly, the journey through the world of Atomic goes unnoticed – without loading screens. According to Bagratuni, the plot in Atomic Heart is the strongest side of the game. In terms of influences, they were inspired by many dystopian novels from the 30s to 80s, by the great masters of science fiction. The story has both comic and deeply philosophical moments, drama, detective story and twists and turns.
Atomic Heart is expected to release on February 21, 2023 on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series S|X.
