I have watched the new Atomic Heart trailer three times now, and I am still no closer to understanding what exactly is going on in it than when I first began. It rules, though.
Microsoft debuted the new trailer for the Soviet-flavored open-world game, which is set in “an alternative reality sometime in 1955, where technology like the internet, holograms, and robots have already been invented,” during its Xbox E3 showcase today. In it, roughly one billion things happen, including wanton psychic levitation of robots, robot kung-fu, BioShock-style power usage, and a very rigid hologram man (?) hovering (??) with a funny little helicopter pack (???). Atomic Heart does not have a release date yet, but when it does come out, it will be on Xbox Game Pass and PC on day one.
Atomic Heart’s Steam page makes it sound like a more Russian, much more batshit version of Fallout. There are large, Vault-looking research facilities and test sites to explore, which of course contain information of how the people who live(d) there go about their day-to-day existences. There will also be a big emphasis on weapon modification, but when regular old firearms won’t do, you’ll also have your polymer glove—the description of which also feels like a summary of the game’s ethos.
“Turn everything into a weapon: environment, objects, your own body, and even enemies themselves!” reads Atomic Heart’s Steam page.
I respect Atomic Heart’s dedication to wanton strangeness, and I’m looking forward to playing it. As for when that will happen, it’s currently impossible to say. Despite originally debuting the game way back in 2017, developer Mundfish seems determined to keep the date set to “TBA” until it’s good and ready. Until then, we’ll just have to keep ourselves entertained by playing regular, non-Russian Fallout, which suddenly feels a lot blander.