Atomic Heart

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**Atomic Heart** is a first-person shooter developed by Mundfish and published by Focus Entertainment. The game was released for all platforms on February 21st, 2023.

## Overview

Atomic Heart features a large open world as well as numerous close-quarter compounds. Due to the nature of the world's design, players can choose to either confront enemies directly or engage in stealth. Combat consists of shooting and slashing with improvised weapons. A wide variety of enemies are featured. Each enemy is categorized as either organic or mechanical and have their own strengths and weaknesses which can be exploited. Players can craft and upgrade weapons, ammo, consumables and abilities at a sentient vending machine called NORA which is located across the game world. Crafting can only be done if the necessary recipe and crafting materials have been found in the game world by looting objects or enemies. The player has access to extraordinary abilities through the Polymer Glove which grants powers such as Shok, Telekinesis, Frostbite, etc. These powers can enhance the capabilities of firearms and melee weapons. The player can also temporarily apply elemental effects to weapons through Cartridges.

## Plot

### Setting

Atomic Heart is set in an alternative 1955 during the height of the Soviet Union's power and the Cold War. The game takes place at Facility 3826, the Soviet Union's foremost scientific research hub. In 1936, scientist Dmitry Sechenov developed a liquidized programmable module called the Polymer, sparking massive technological breakthroughs in the fields of energy and robotics in the USSR and freeing much of the populace from manual labor. When World War II broke out, the Soviets quickly gained the upper hand, but just before Nazi Germany was defeated in 1942 they unleashed the Brown Plague virus, leaving millions dead and creating an international demand for Soviet robots to compensate for the resulting worker shortage in Europe. As part of the Soviet Union's post-war reconstruction program, Dr. Sechenov created a wireless, networked artificial intelligence called "Kollektiv 1.0" that linked his robots together for greater efficiency. At this time, the US and USSR entered the Cold War and the US and many Western Allies imposed sanction on Soviet Robots export to curb unemployment as the US and many countries in North and South America did not suffer from the Brown Plague.

Most recently, Sechenov developed the THOUGHT neuroconnector, a device that integrates Polymer into the human body and allows humans to remotely interface with robots. THOUGHT is to be released alongside Kollektiv 2.0, and Sechenov boasts that it will usher in a true post-labor era for the entire world. However, Kollektiv 2.0's official launch on 13 June 1955 goes awry, plunging Facility 3826 into chaos.

### Synopsis

Major Sergey Nechaev (codenamed Agent P-3) is a WWII veteran with memory problems who befriended Dr. Sechenov after the latter saved his life. P-3 is invited to Facility 3826 ostensibly to assist in the rollout of Kollektiv 2.0, but when he arrives he finds that the Facility's robots have become hostile and massacred most of the human personnel. Sechenov explains that Viktor Petrov, Kollektiv 2.0's lead engineer, sabotaged the Kollektiv 1.0 node that manages Facility 3826, and P-3 is tasked with finding and apprehending Petrov. With his AI partner CHAR-les (nicknamed "Charles") attached to his Polymer Glove, P-3 must confront homicidal robots and failed biomechanical experiments while dealing with his own, ever-deteriorating mental stability.

P-3 tracks down Petrov in one of the labs, and finds out that he is working with neurosurgeon Dr. Larisa Filatova. Petrov flees and is apparently killed by a robot, with P-3 only finding his headless corpse. Meanwhile, the Politburo grows suspicious about what is happening at Facility 3826, as Sechenov has been covering up the true scale of the disaster. One of the Politburo members, Yegor Molotov, decides to personally inspect the facility and threatens to shut down Sechenov's "Atomic Heart" project. Charles explains to P-3 that Sechenov and the Politburo are in a secret power struggle over who will ultimately control Kollektiv, and the Politburo will certainly use the incident as an excuse to get rid of Sechenov. Sechenov orders P-3 to intercept Molotov, but once P-3 makes contact with Molotov, he suddenly blacks out and wakes up to find Molotov and his entire delegation murdered, with Sechenov informing P-3, that Robots killed them while he was out. Molotov's body was disposed by the use of Neuro-Polymer, a red variant of Polymer that took the form of his body and absorbed it, leaving nothing but his skeleton and clothes.

Sechenov then detects somebody trying to transmit a signal to America, leading him to believe Petrov is still alive because Filatova helped revive him. He orders P-3 to continue his pursuit of Petrov. As P-3 pursues Petrov, Petrov begins ranting how Sechenov plans to kill millions of people and enslave the world with the activation of Kollektiv, which is why he is trying to sabotage the project by informing the US. He reveals to P-3 that the rogue robots had a combat mode installed in them from the very beginning which he merely activated. Viktor then gives P-3 a pair of rings and commits suicide, and Sechenov has him collect Petrov's head. When Sechenov asks about the rings, P-3 lies about obtaining them, coming to the conclusion that Sechenov and the Politburo's "Atomic Heart" plan is to take down the US and their Western allies by distributing civilian robots with hidden combat modes to seize nuclear power plans and take down infrastructure from the inside in preparation for a massive Soviet takeover once Kollektiv launches. P-3 then takes Petrov's head to a lab where Sechenov's assistant Michael Stockhausen has a machine that can extract Petrov's memories, but Filatova destroys the machine with a grenade and the blast knocks P-3 unconscious and blew a batch of Neuro-Polymer near Stockhausen, killing him.

When P-3 wakes up, he is contacted by Filatova who asks to meet her in her lab. There, she shows him the human test subjects for Kollektiv, revealing that Kollektiv is actually a means to rob people of their free will and mind control them. Shocked at the revelation, P-3 is convinced to work with Filatova to find out the truth from Sechenov and threw the rings into the ocean. Delving deeper into the lab, P-3 discovers that Charles isn't actually an AI, but the mind of Chariton Zakharov, Sechenov's friend and a fellow Polymer researcher who was presumably murdered by Sechenov. Using Zakharov's security clearance, they head into the lab's archives to find out more about P-3's past. There, P-3 learns that in order to fix a serious brain injury, Sechenov installed a Polymer implant in his brain that also served to erase his memories of his deceased wife Ekaterina Nechayeva (which Sechenov used her separated brain to create his robot bodyguards, Left and Right), as well as mind control P-3 when needed. Furious, P-3 decides to go confront Sechenov.

However, P-3 blacks out again and wakes up in the care of Granny Zina, his mother-in-law. She reveals that he had killed Filatova while he was blacked out, enraging P-3. At this point, P-3 can either choose to give up and leave Facility 3826, or continue with his plans to confront Sechenov.

#### Endings

After learning of his past P-3 returns to Granny Zina, who he finds out is his mother-in-law from his marriage. This implies that Granny Zina is at Facility 3826 because she knows that her daughter's mind was stolen and placed in the two robot ballerinas, but her goal there is never explored. When P3 meets with her, she gives him the choice of how to move forward, which determines the ending shown at the close of the game.

**Refused Ending** If the player chooses to leave Facility 3826 behind to try and live his life after rejecting Sechenov's designs and his role within them they are given the bad ending. He destroys Charles and slips out of Facility 3826 and disappears, allowing Sechenov to continue with his plans to activate Kollektiv 2.0 proceeding with the Soviet Union's plans in taking over the world. A cutscene plays saying that P-3 was last seen walking through farm fields moving away from the research facility. The cutscene also references a strange chunk of polymer that was seen at the facility, but that goes unexplained unless the player chooses the option to get the canonical good ending.

**Canon Ending** If the player instead chooses to have P3 accept Granny Zina's help to go and face Sechenov once and for all they are given the good ending, which is widely considered canonical. P3 is then taken to an armory of Granny Zina's where he is able to grab equipment and gear to prepare for the final showdown. Before reaching Sechenov, P3 has to face off against one of ballerina twins (Left). After defeating Left, P-3 doesn't destroy the robot after figuring out that his wife could still be within. A gasp could be heard by Left before she escaped through the ceiling to the top floor.

P3 then approaches Sechenov, Which leads to the player being put through a challenging boss fight where the player has to fight both of the ballerina twins. P-3 successfully defeats both of the twins which leads to both of the robots being completely destroyed, freeing the consciousness of P3's wife from its imprisonment. Sechenov aims a gun at P-3 in a last resort effort but is disarmed and mortally wounded by P-3. From there, Sechenov warns him that Charles has been manipulating him the entire time. Charles admits that he was the one who was causing P-3 to be sent to limbo and is responsible for Molotov and Filatova's deaths. P-3, outraged to figure out that Charles was responsible this whole time attempts to rip out Charles from his glove but is subdued by Charles with electrocution.

After which, a small pile of goo emerges out of the P-3's glove where Charles then transports his own consciousness into Red Polymer, which gives him a human form. Charles then explains that he believes polymer and its creations are the next dominant species of the world and that with Kollective 2.0 he will be able to enslave humanity to shape his vision for the future. From there, he approaches Sechenov who is currently bleeding out on the floor and snaps his neck. From there, P3 is then sent to Limbo where he is joined by one of the twins (Right) which is assumed to be taking on the form of his wife.

## Achievements and Trophies

*Main article:* Achievements and Trophies

## Experiments and Machines

* ARU-31/6 Rotorobot
* Ballerina
	+ Left and Right
* BR-1 Burav
* Burlak
* Cleaner
* Clown Trap
* Dandelion
* Dewdrop
* Dixie
* GMC-69 Vatrushka
	+ Laser Vatrushka
	+ Flame Vatrushka
* Hemlock
* HOG-7 Hedgie
* Loader
* Lootyagin
* LUC-1 Owl
	+ Laser Owl
	+ Rocket Owl
* MA-9 Belyash
* MED-9 Doc
* MFU-68 Laborer
	+ CP-Duck
* Mother
* MTU-7 Bumblebee
* MUC-1 Drofa
* Mutant
	+ Poison Mutant
	+ Fire Mutant
	+ Large Mutant
* NA-T256 Natasha
* NORA
* Plyusch
* RAF-9 Engineer
* Sprout
	+ Poison Sprout
	+ Fire Sprout
* TER-A1 Tereshkova
* VOV-A6 Lab Tech
	+ VOV-A6/CH Lab Tech
	+ VOV-A6 Lab Tech Series Shield
* WSP-9 Pchela
	+ Laser Pchela
	+ Patrol Pchela

### Unused Content

* Engineer 112 (replaced by the Vova)
	+ Unidentified armored robot
	+ Unidentified missile robot
* Jellyman
* Mechanized Zombies (replaced by the Mutant)
* Unidentified flamethrower robot (replaced by the Burlak)
* Unidentified mosquito robot (replaced by the Dandelion)
* Unidentified spider robot (replaced by the Vatrushka)

## Marketing

### Editions

If pre-ordered, the players receive the following bonuses:

* Exclusive Swede Weapon Skin
* Exclusive Electro Weapon Skin

#### Gold Edition

* The Game
* Atomic Pass
* DLC
* Exclusive Polymer Glove Skin

#### Premium Edition

* The Game
* Atomic Pass
* DLC
* Exclusive Skins for Polymer Glove, Zvezdochka, and Kalash
* Digital artbook

## Development

Atomic Heart is developed by Mundfish, which styles itself as an international studio headquartered in Cyprus and has offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The studio was previously working on a VR game called Soviet Lunapark but stopped development in 2018 to focus on Atomic Heart. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4. In February 2022, a trailer for the game suggested that it would release in Q4 2022. In November 2022, however, it was announced that the game would release on February 21st, 2023.

### System Requirements

**Minimum**

* OS: Windows 10 (20H1 or newer, 64-bit versions)
* Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel Core i5-2500
* Memory: 8 GB
* Graphics: 4 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon R9 380 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
* DirectX: Version 12
* Storage: 90 GB available space
* Additional notes: 30 FPS, 1920x1080 in low

**Recommended**

* OS: Windows 10 (20H1 or newer, 64-bit versions)
* Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-7700K
* Memory: 16 GB
* Graphics: 8 GB VRAM, AMD RX 6700 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
* DirectX: Version 12
* Storage: 90 GB available space
* Additional notes: SSD recommended, 60 FPS, 1920x1080 in ultra

**Minimum**

* OS: Windows 10 (20H1 or newer, 64-bit versions)
* Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel Core i5-2500
* Memory: 8 GB
* Graphics: 4 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon R9 380 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
* DirectX: Version 12
* Storage: 90 GB available space
* Additional notes: 30 FPS, 1920x1080 in low

**Recommended**

* OS: Windows 10 (20H1 or newer, 64-bit versions)
* Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-7700K
* Memory: 16 GB
* Graphics: 8 GB VRAM, AMD RX 6700 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
* DirectX: Version 12
* Storage: 90 GB available space
* Additional notes: SSD recommended, 60 FPS, 1920x1080 in ultra

### Supported Languages

The game supports 12 languages:

* English
* Русский
* Українська
* Français
* Italiano
* Deutsch
* Español
* Polski
* Português
* 简体中文
* 한국어
* 日本語

* English
* Русский
* Українська
* Français
* Italiano
* Deutsch
* Español
* Polski
* Português
* 简体中文
* 한국어
* 日本語

## Reception

Atomic Heart received "generally favorable" reviews for the PC version, while console versions received "mixed or average" reviews, according to Metacritic.

## Controversy

Some criticized the game for being released in the anniversary of the Invasion of Ukraine and Mundfish originated from Russia, including rumors that the game promotes communism and steals gamer data for the Russian government.

Mundfish acknowledged these rumors and denies that they are affiliated with Putin or his politics, however Ukraine asked that the game shouldn't be shipped to their country until the invasion is over.

## External Links

* Mundfish Official Site
* Mundfish on YouTube
* Focus Entertainment
* Atomic Heart on Steam
* Atomic Heart Discord

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic\_Heart\_(video\_game)#Setting
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic\_Heart\_(video\_game)#Synopsis
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Atomic Heart on Steam — System Requirements
4. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/atomic-heart
5. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/atomic-heart