And the polymer – a kind of floating goo that allows for additional traversal – recalls the anomalies from Stalker.Ītomic Heart is a mess of influences, in other words, but one that could just about work if it were held together by strong writing, or even if it could simply learn to shut up. The platforming and puzzle sections have a little of Dishonored about them, even if they pale next to that series’s level design. Enemy variety borrows from Wolfenstein and Serious Sam. Crafting, upgrading, and inventory management are overwrought and largely unnecessary, but they offer occasionally interesting variations to combat, like temporary modifiers that add freezing or burning effects.Ī few of Atomic Heart‘s small open-world sections are reminiscent of Far Cry 2, both in the choice of ramshackle vehicles to drive and the frustratingly respawning enemies. Melee feels a little floaty, but there is a creative variety of weapons complemented by a decent mix of BioShock-like abilities. The ceaseless swearing and shouting obscure Atomic Heart’s serviceable gameplay. The world-building hinted at in the BioShock Infinite-like opening, at times incredible socialist realist architecture and design, and effective (if too frequent) use of Soviet pop culture mainstays, like Nu Pogodi!, Diamond Arm, and Alla Pugacheva, are all drowned in a sea of verbal diarrhea. Would he wonder whether he was still responsible for signing off Stalin’s ruthless purges? Would he find it controversial to hear himself complain about Western sanctions against the USSR so close to the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Or would he just want to fuck the horny vending machine?ĭespite its occasional sojourns into freshman political theory – everyone will be equal under Atomic Heart’s new version of communism, you see, but “some will be more equal than others” (an actual quote from the game, I’m afraid) – horny vending machines represent the intellectual level Atomic Heart is most comfortable with. I wonder what Vyacheslav Molotov, a key and unusually constant presence through nearly two decades of early Soviet government, would have made of his inclusion in Atomic Heart‘s alternate history.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |