Atomic Heart – the base game – is described as “ an adventure role-playing action game” It takes place in an alternative Soviet Union during 1955 . The plot revolves around scientist Dmitry Sechenov’s invention of a special substance called ‘Polymer’. Based upon this creation a neural network of robots was created infused with artificial intelligence. You play as Major of Intelligence Necheav (aka P-3) Who must uncover the truth behind this rapidly growing and popular technology.
In the main game, you battle through tons of robotic enemies and more as things go array during your investigation. There’s a lot of thrilling twists and turns in this game, within this unsettling yet extremely interesting setting of an alternative timeline. By the main game’s end, you are confronted with a choice surrounding Dmitry Sechenov’s intentions with the tech at the center of this story. For the sake of not spoiling major plot lines, we will describe the two choices as “the red path” and “the blue path
See video version of this review above
This DLC is within the blue path time-line. Following DLC 2 (also embedded in this timeline) P-3 is trying to stop a deadly situation involving the civilian robots and a new found resistance. Entitled “Enchantment Under The Sea”, the dlc takes players to an aquatic setting in a bout to save humanity against an evil plot. Fans of a clear inspiration, Bioshock may see this setting in advertisements and get nostalgic. So does the game live up to the expectations and fulfilling gameplay of the base game? Let’s examine #AtomicHeartDLC3:
Impressions Break-down
PROS:
- Visual implementation slightly improved.
- Still holds up quite well despite the age of the game. This is remarkable based on the size of the team.
- Bioshock vibes regarding action, maintained while making combat more approachable and mainstream friendly
- Combat is more abundant, fast paced
CONS:
- Combat is less challenging, which adds to the sense of flow desired, but takes away from the sense of journey and urgency slightly.
- The english dialogue script is abysmal through 90% of the game to where it affects immersion with the plot.
- The control configurations are bad in key ways that hold back on smooth gameplay via the myriad of controls you have to use swiftly in certain configurations
SERVICE/PLATFORM SYNOP:
Atomic Heart in general looks and performs like a dream on GeforceNOW Ultimate. This DLC is no different. Nvidia’s cloud gaming service that allows you to play thousands of games in your digital PC library. We were able to play in 4K on the highest setting “Atomic” clocking in 100+ frames a second. At a capped 120 frames it stayed there consistently. Foolish of me, I waited til a second finish of the final boss fight to uncap the frames. It was then I found the game to mostly stay at 180 FPS! This is insane considering everything happening in this sequence. GFN Ultimate gets a 10/10 here!
HOURS TO COMPLETE: 10.5
THINGS NEEDED FOR A+ SCORE:
- More challenging enemies. I miss the challenge thresholds presented by the black suited robots in the main game
- Due to the lack of challenge 30% – 40% of the save spots were not needed
- Better English translation to dialogue doesn’t separate the listener from the plot.
- Better gamepad control configurations and customizable options for more fluid option selections
- More action packed time in the aquatic sequence
- A necessity to use more of your entire arsenal more frequently
Atomic Heart: Enchantment Under The Sea DLC
Summary
Atomic Heart: Enchantment Under The Sea was a pretty good experience. The shortcomings in dialogue pacing and challenge pale in comparison to the increased combat sequences, reward for journeying and those memorable boss fights. The DLC did a great job maintaining the heart and soul of the original game, but giving you change in pace. It’s a shame how underrated this title has been since launch. With an exuberant amount of gameplay from base and DLC’s, this is one I highly recommend regardless of backlog. It’s not often where a DLC provides as much quality as the main game. Kudos to Mundfish for this entry. I pleasantly wait for the final DLC.
