The Xbox Series X is on sale at Verizon for $50 off - The Verge

The Xbox Series X is on sale at Verizon for $50 off  The Verge
http://dlvr.it/SlrL3p

Xbox Game Pass is Losing 7 Games at the End of March - GameRant

Xbox Game Pass is Losing 7 Games at the End of March  GameRant
http://dlvr.it/Slr1Kl

Grab An Xbox Controller For As Low As $39 Right Now - GameSpot

Grab An Xbox Controller For As Low As $39 Right Now  GameSpot
http://dlvr.it/Slpmmp

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series - 2 expands with red and blue ... - GodisaGeek.com

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series - 2 expands with red and blue ...  GodisaGeek.com
http://dlvr.it/SlpWF8

The best Xbox Game Pass deal is officially dead - Yahoo Entertainment

The best Xbox Game Pass deal is officially dead  Yahoo Entertainment
http://dlvr.it/Slp0Zg

Best gaming deals for Amazon Spring Sale 2023: PS5, Xbox Series ... - Evening Standard

Best gaming deals for Amazon Spring Sale 2023: PS5, Xbox Series ...  Evening Standard
http://dlvr.it/SlnZ7c

Sifu Review (Xbox Series X|S) - Pure Xbox

Sifu Review (Xbox Series X|S)  Pure Xbox
http://dlvr.it/SllsJN

The Xbox Series X receives visual update, but not the one we've ... - TechRadar

The Xbox Series X receives visual update, but not the one we've ...  TechRadar
http://dlvr.it/SllYs2

YouTube Premium Now Comes With Free Walmart+ & Free Xbox PC Game Pass - Cord Cutters News

YouTube Premium Now Comes With Free Walmart+ & Free Xbox PC Game Pass  Cord Cutters News
http://dlvr.it/Sll1pt

The Xbox Series S just dropped to a lowest-ever $150 for Verizon ... - CNN Underscored

The Xbox Series S just dropped to a lowest-ever $150 for Verizon ...  CNN Underscored
http://dlvr.it/SlkYhs

Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In April 2023 - Pure Xbox

Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In April 2023  Pure Xbox
http://dlvr.it/Slhrb2

Grab three extra free Xbox Games with Gold, including Port Royale 3 - TrueAchievements

Grab three extra free Xbox Games with Gold, including Port Royale 3  TrueAchievements
http://dlvr.it/SlhYgg

PS5 Reportedly Topping Xbox Series X/S Sales by Nearly Double - ComicBook.com

PS5 Reportedly Topping Xbox Series X/S Sales by Nearly Double  ComicBook.com
http://dlvr.it/Slh2tb

Xbox says it's not interested in 'playing the exclusivity game' with ... - Video Games Chronicle

Xbox says it's not interested in 'playing the exclusivity game' with ...  Video Games Chronicle
http://dlvr.it/Slgb6y

Austin Reaves says he had to buy LeBron James Xbox controller as one of his rookie duties on Lakers - Lakers Daily

Austin Reaves says he had to buy LeBron James Xbox controller as one of his rookie duties on Lakers  Lakers Daily
http://dlvr.it/SldsFX

Rumor: Xbox Game Pass Getting Four More Atlus Games - GameRant

Rumor: Xbox Game Pass Getting Four More Atlus Games  GameRant
http://dlvr.it/SldZ9d

Xbox Removes 'Candy Crush Saga' Advertising From Microsoft Rewards App - Pure Xbox

Xbox Removes 'Candy Crush Saga' Advertising From Microsoft Rewards App  Pure Xbox
http://dlvr.it/Sld2DQ

Critically Acclaimed Xbox 360 Game Now Free to Download - ComicBook.com

Critically Acclaimed Xbox 360 Game Now Free to Download  ComicBook.com
http://dlvr.it/SlcZSY

How to Fix Xbox One Controller Drift - MUO - MakeUseOf

How to Fix Xbox One Controller Drift  MUO - MakeUseOf
http://dlvr.it/SlZsjY

Xbox and Star Wars Join Forces with The Mandalorian-Themed ... - Star Wars

Xbox and Star Wars Join Forces with The Mandalorian-Themed ...  Star Wars
http://dlvr.it/SlZb6f

Xbox Game Pass' Big New Game Is Getting Controversial Reviews - ComicBook.com

Xbox Game Pass' Big New Game Is Getting Controversial Reviews  ComicBook.com
http://dlvr.it/SlZ437

Microsoft could be launching an Xbox Series S toaster - GamesHub

Microsoft could be launching an Xbox Series S toaster  GamesHub
http://dlvr.it/SlYcr7

Elden Ring Gets Ray Tracing on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC - IGN

Elden Ring Gets Ray Tracing on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC  IGN
http://dlvr.it/SlWyQy

Valve Announces Counter-Strike 2, But No Sign Of An Xbox Release Yet - Pure Xbox

Valve Announces Counter-Strike 2, But No Sign Of An Xbox Release Yet  Pure Xbox
http://dlvr.it/SlWk6y

Hyperkin’s Xbox 360 controller reissue now has a price and release ... - The Verge

Hyperkin’s Xbox 360 controller reissue now has a price and release ...  The Verge
http://dlvr.it/SlWLh3

Starfield's Delay Breaks a Major Promise From Xbox - GameRant

Starfield's Delay Breaks a Major Promise From Xbox  GameRant
http://dlvr.it/SlW428

ViewSonic Launches World's First Projectors Designed for Xbox ... - PR Newswire

ViewSonic Launches World's First Projectors Designed for Xbox ...  PR Newswire
http://dlvr.it/SlTw8F

Valheim Updates on Ashlands Development, and Recent Xbox Launch - MMORPG.com

Valheim Updates on Ashlands Development, and Recent Xbox Launch  MMORPG.com
http://dlvr.it/SlTh74

Call of Duty could still end up better on PlayStation than Xbox - TrustedReviews

Call of Duty could still end up better on PlayStation than Xbox  TrustedReviews
http://dlvr.it/SlTHTw

Goodbye World Launches in Spring 2023 for PlayStation and Xbox ... - Final Weapon

Goodbye World Launches in Spring 2023 for PlayStation and Xbox ...  Final Weapon
http://dlvr.it/SlSzb2

Xbox Game Pass Adds JRPG With Great Reviews - GameRant

Xbox Game Pass Adds JRPG With Great Reviews  GameRant
http://dlvr.it/SlRm78

Valheim Is Exclusive To Xbox On Console For 6 Months, It Seems - GameSpot

Valheim Is Exclusive To Xbox On Console For 6 Months, It Seems  GameSpot
http://dlvr.it/SlRV4s

Last Labyrinth coming to Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Switch this ... - Gematsu

Last Labyrinth coming to Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Switch this ...  Gematsu
http://dlvr.it/SlQxN6

Miasma Chronicles to Launch Simultaneously on PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S - Chit Hot

Miasma Chronicles to Launch Simultaneously on PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S  Chit Hot
http://dlvr.it/SlQTZm

GOODBYE WORLD coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox ... - Gematsu

GOODBYE WORLD coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox ...  Gematsu
http://dlvr.it/SlNpVS

NeverAwake release date announced for Xbox Series X on Q2 2023 - ClutchPoints

NeverAwake release date announced for Xbox Series X on Q2 2023  ClutchPoints
http://dlvr.it/SlNVcG

PlayStation should make its own Call of Duty, says Xbox - GamesHub

PlayStation should make its own Call of Duty, says Xbox  GamesHub
http://dlvr.it/SlMxGw

New Xbox Console in the Works, Already Has a Codename - ComicBook.com

New Xbox Console in the Works, Already Has a Codename  ComicBook.com
http://dlvr.it/SlMSxh

The Best Local Multiplayer Xbox Games - GameRant

The Best Local Multiplayer Xbox Games  GameRant
http://dlvr.it/SlKp8T

Deals: All 40+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (March 21-28) - Pure Xbox

Deals: All 40+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (March 21-28)  Pure Xbox
http://dlvr.it/SlKVGf

Valheim will be exclusive to Xbox in the next 6 months - Game Freaks 365

Valheim will be exclusive to Xbox in the next 6 months  Game Freaks 365
http://dlvr.it/SlJx1W

Sea of Thieves Has Over 1 Billion Hours Of Playtime; Xbox Port Has ... - eXputer

Sea of Thieves Has Over 1 Billion Hours Of Playtime; Xbox Port Has ...  eXputer
http://dlvr.it/SlJT0f

Atomic Heart - Let’s call this one a Platonic

 

 

 

 This review is based on early impressions from six hours of game play on Xbox Series X

 

Introduction

The grandeur of Atomic Heart is showcased rightly at the beginning mission, which takes the game protagonist Agent P-3 to the Chelomey city of Science, and you cannot stop admiring the retro-futuristic dystopian world around you with the scale and quality of art and design that packs a lot of promise for the game.

When the machines go rogue, you are thrown into the action, which takes place at facility 3826, a playground for killer robots and other horrors you will encounter. You realize that you are not just fighting the robots but also other things created by lab experiments gone wrong, and your task is to contain this breakout and find out who is behind the massacre that has played out.

Gameplay: 

 

Combat is fluid. I'm playing on normal difficulty. You have to swap between Guns and Melee weapons constantly as the creepy droids and other robots are fast to attack; you will face plant-faced zombies, too, so you cannot spray bullets at all times as ammo is limited, and you will have to upgrade your arsenal and character abilities constantly. Remember to keep around five to six small healing packs in your load out to prevent an easy death in tight situations.

High on Life started with talking guns as sidekicks, Forespoken protagonist had a ‘Cuff,’ HiFi Rush had 808 as a floating cat robot, and Atomic Heart has an AI glove Char-Les. 

Utility-wise, the glove serves its function with abilities like shocking and freezing your enemies, pulling a polymer shield around you, and helping you with x-ray vision. The banter between agent P-3 and the AI Glove feels forced or lackluster, don't get me started on the horny robot Nora; she makes me want ‘to pull out’ of the game! 😅

Agent P3 is also set up to progress through the game behaving like a man on a mission or, let's get this over with kind of character which leaves you questioning your very purpose of preventing a Robo-apocalypse.

Graphics and Sound

What blew me right away was the atmospheric brilliance needed for an FPS survival horror game which is done right and sets the tone for the game play to provide an immersive experience. What disappoints me is the sound design while playing on an LG C2 TV; I tried shuffling sound mode from Game Optimizer to AI PRO mode; the dialogues and environmental sound effects feel suppressed, but with headphones on, it's balanced as it should be.

Developers at Mundfish have released two patches post-release, and I can still spot evident frame rate drops while playing on Xbox Series X, especially in areas where the scenes involve fast-moving robots. In certain areas at the Pavlov complex, I felt the game would crash because of the heavy on-screen stutter. Quantum break played much smoother at 30 FPS on Xbox one with time-stopping and slow-mo graphics.

I have a problem with the in-game brightness, too; the game randomly turns too dark even in decently-lit scenes, and it takes some time to readjust the brightness levels. Specific background music loops don't sync well with ongoing action on the screen or when transitioning from a fight to exploring mode.

This game deserves a photo mode, but the overall game needs to be polished further to iron out the above issues first.

Controls:

Atomic Heart draws inspiration from popular science fiction shooters, which is fine, but it also does not bring anything new to the table. 

I have not encountered any major game-breaking bugs until now; There is no option in the game menu to turn off the HUD. It's semi-transparent and spaced out well on screen, so it doesn't distract much during the game play.

Game save rooms are well placed, and the game also triggers auto-save at specific points during the game play

Conclusion: 

Atomic Heart is a sincere attempt at creating a AAA IP for Mundfish Studio as their first game. I hope the developers work on the optimization issues for Xbox and other quality-of-life improvements in the long run.

Story execution seems slightly off from the levels I have played until now. The feeling of the slowly building dread and impending doom is broken by not-so-witty and, at times, unwanted corny dialogues.

The game also claims to have an RPG element, which remains to be confirmed at my level because I haven't come across any decision-making points that have impacted the story line yet.

If you can ignore the weak game story plot and tacky dialogues, you should be able to play this game like a FPS Sci-Fi shooter it is and doesn't exactly qualify for the horror survival genre, despite a fitting setting and ambience. It would be hard to recommend this game to buy on full price to play on Xbox, I found that this game plays well on PS5 without any performance issues so kind of a mixed bag release at this stage.

Final Score - 6.5/10