Atomic Heart for Xbox Series X and PC: Everything you need to know

Communism. Imperialism. War. These are staples of the Soviet Union. When you combine retro-futurism and technological advancements not seen in real life for decades, you get Atomic Heart. This alternate universe throws players into a mysterious and deadly world as a KGB officer sent to investigate why a robotic research facility has gone dark. It looks to take everything that make classics like Fallout and Metro amazing and mix it up with its own flare.

It’s been in development for a while now and is expected to release in Q4 2022. Here’s everything we know about Atomic Heart.

Atomic Heart is an adventure FPS from developer Mundfish, a Russian studio previously responsible for Soviet Lunapark VR. Set in an alternate universe where the Soviet Union experienced a technological revolution with robots, holograms, and the internet, Atomic Heart features a vast open world for players to explore.

It’s easy to see similarities between Atomic Heart and games like Fallout and BioShock, dripping with this retro-futuristic aesthetic and post-apocalyptic, dystopian atmosphere. Fans of the aforementioned series should feel right at home here.

Atomic Heart gameplay: What is it like?

Since its announcement a few years ago, Atomic Heart has slowly evolved into a much more polished game. The UI has been cleaned up and gameplay appears to be more fluid. Combat focuses on first-person shooting and melee attacks, with a crafting system in place to create improvised weapons. Players will have an arsenal of weapons at their disposal along with a special polymer glove.

Judging from its trailers, you’ll primarily be fighting various forms of malfunctioning robots, but darker enemies lurk around every corner. Its latest gameplay demo showcased mutated plants that dispersed some sort of harmful pollen. A mini-boss fight featured what looked like a humanoid bundle of bloody tendrils.

These robots are smart, too. Dubbed the Kollektiv, a neural network creates a hivemind that connects all of them. If you happen to alert a single enemy to your presence, reinforcements will be sent in to kill you. It’s best to use stealth and hack your way into facilities because of this.

Mick Gordon, most recently of DOOM and Wolfenstein fame, is also lending his talents to the soundtrack, so you know it will sound amazing. Seriously, go listen to DOOM’s soundtrack. It’s iconic and gets your blood pumping as you lay waste to the evils of hell.

What do we know about the Atomic Heart story?

Atomic Heart takes place in the Soviet Union during the mid-1900s. In this alternate universe, Russia has already experienced a technological revolution, bringing forth advanced robots, holograms, the internet, and more. Your character, a Soviet Special Duty KGB officer, is sent to investigate Facility 3826 after the government loses contact with it. What you’ll come to find, according to Mundfish, are “secret underground and above-ground labs, bunkers and robotic logistics systems.”

Facility 3826 is full of malfunctioning robots that were originally designed to serve Soviet citizens and the industrial workforce. All of them were programmed for combat should war arise, so you can probably guess what happens after they malfunction. I’m sure nothing at all will go wrong here.

The big mystery is how and why these robots are malfunctioning. Someone (or something) caused these chaotic events, and it’s your job to uncover the secrets. As Mundfish puts it, your task is to “eliminate the consequences of a large-scale accident and prevent the leakage of classified information threatening to destroy the whole world.”

Atomic Heart: Is it coming to Xbox Series X and PS5?

Atomic Heart is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PS5 in addition to Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Though it is releasing for older hardware, the developer stresses that next-gen technology is essential for the best experience possible.

“Our game will have no loading screens due to [the] fast SSD,” Mundfish told IGN. “Next-gen hardware also provides an exclusive opportunity to fulfill our artistic vision and deliver our game with stunning visuals with no downgrading, which was absolutely essential for current gen.”

Atomic Heart release date

Mundfish has revealed that Atomic Heart will release near the end of 2022, though no specific date was given. It was announced during Xbox and Bethesda’s E3 2021 showcase that Atomic Heart will launch into Xbox Game Pass on day one, and will be available to stream through Xbox Cloud Gaming.