While Atomic Heart’s approach is initially fun - it jumps from areas replete with plant zombies to spaces with hulking monsters - it quickly feels like the designers took the kitchen sink approach.

This disease of diversity seeps into the bones of gameplay too. Image: Mundfish/Focus Entertainment, 4Divinity While the retro Soviet “aesthetic” is prominent, that bombastic, beautiful opening theme is abandoned in favor of occasional notes. While my initial impressions of the game were (and remain) highly favorable, and I do recommend trying it on Game Pass - just not buying it - I cannot help but be underwhelmed by the consistency of the game’s inconsistencies. None of this is to mention the chum of its writing bloodying the waters of its world, or the incessant whining and unjustified antagonism of its unlikeable protagonist, all within a haphazard mess of levels that needed more editing, not more variety. This lack of focus, whether intentional or not, on careful narrative threading in favor of paint bombs of set pieces results in a vague sketch of BioShock rather than a detailed reimagining.

And by embracing so much, it held onto very little. Instead of carefully weaving a textured dimension to its plot and gameplay, Atomic Heart developer Mundfish cast its net wide.

Yet, crucially, Atomic Heart fails to nail down what made the BioShock series - as divisive as it is - work: a keen laser-focus on a few central themes. Both feature verbose, bombastic leaders dead set on making their grandiose dreams into reality combat repertoires mix traditional weapons with in-game “magic” (instead of BioShock’s Plasmids or BioShock Infinite’s Vigors, we have Atomic Heart’s Polymers) a confused, amnesiac main character has mysterious ties to said leader, forming the narrative crux. Both games place first-person adventure mechanics in elaborate utopias gone wrong. Atomic Heart wears its BioShock influences on its sleeve.

Drawing of a atomic heart