Atomic Heart: Why is everyone discussing a Russian game about an alternative USSR?

On February 21, the world saw the release of the game Atomic Heart, developed by Russian studio Mundfish, which in a matter of days topped the Steam world chart, literally the largest computer games store. It has taken almost five years to create one of today’s most popular games since its initial announcement in May 2018, and for gamers this release has been really long awaited. What are the facts that the game was advertised by Supernatural star Jensen Ackles, the promotion appeared in Times Square, and at one point even surpassed the equally famous Harry Potter-based Hogwarts Legacy in terms of downloads? True, even after the first announcements appeared, many were sure that the game would never see the light of day. For example, analyst and publisher Yaroslav “NS” Kuznetsov told Sports.ru: “A million years ago I came across Atomic Heart and was surprised – an interesting product. But there was so little information that I thought for a long time that it would not be a game, it was a fake .

The action of Atomic Heart takes place in 1955 in an alternate reality where the USSR is the first country in the world and the capital of robotics. The hero is a KGB major named Sergei Nechaev, nicknamed P-3, who must find the reasons for the loss of communication with the secret Enterprise number 3826 in the Kazakh SSR, as well as investigate a captured robot rebellion. herb. In the first few episodes, in search of the main character, Viktor Petrov, you will take a trip into history and try to remember all the characters (for example, HRAZ – Keeper of Knowledge, that is, a neuroglov who gives advice). , who organized an entertainment. And then the players finally await the plot. We don’t want to spoil it, but the developers have prepared the most water for the last quarter of the game.

In general, the whole game is imbued with the spirit of the times of the Soviet Union: newsstands, soda in faceted glasses, bright posters, sickle hammer and the song “Komarovo” in the background, and the robots encountered on the road are named Tereshkova. The last time this type of aesthetic was this successful was in the 2000s – when it comes to the game STALKER set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

“The Soviet legend not only exists, but is successfully sold in both local and global markets,” Alexander Zezyulin, an independent expert in game development, wrote in a comment to Russian Forbes. According to him, earlier domestic game producers did not have a basis for their own legends, and now it has become a Soviet legend, and the sensational Major Grom or Cheburashka, who collected a record box office for domestic rental, is proof of this. this

But back to the game. The classic walker in atmospheric Soviet locations with the corresponding playlist in the background is replaced with first-person battles, and during gameplay the character can find and design weapons. As Mundfish CEO Roberta Bagratuni puts it, Atomic Heart’s game world is “the entire Soviet Union, one wide circle”, from the Arctic to the Altai Mountains.

By the way, the release of the game was not without scandal: during the development of Atomic Heart, studio employees complained about working conditions, and the release date was repeatedly delayed, mainly because the project was not originally designed on such a large scale. and the developers created a mini game with the working title Soviet Amusement Park VR.

Who knew it would eventually become the most anticipated game of 2023 with three difficulty levels: Peaceful Atom, Local Glitch and Armageddon.

And by the way, we do not recommend choosing the latter, unless you use the prefix as skillfully as bloggers do with the phone. It’s simple: the creators are not cunning, that’s what they call the high difficulty level, and the robots here can destroy you with a few blows. For example, the author of this material enjoys “Peaceful Atom” and separately enjoys the soundtrack of the game released as a special album with remixes of famous Soviet songs such as “Komarovo” or “Girls Are Standing”.

What else do you need to know about Atomic Heart? In the beginning, you only have a few weapons and basic skills in your arsenal, but as you progress everything can be pumped and improved – so you can fight more efficiently and not be limited to an ax and an energy gun. Moreover, during the game, you will meet so-called bosses that cannot be defeated in this way. Happy, it turned out, the hunger games.