Atomic Heart was number two on my list of most anticipated games from E3 2021. And although there wasn’t a ton of info concerning exactly what to expect from the game overall, what was clear was that developer Mundfish was attempting to deliver enough over-the-top first-person sci-fi action to keep my little atomic heart racing from start to finish. Although I prefer my first-person shooters to be a bit heavier on the story aspect and less reliant on arena-style gunfights, what the team has to show for their efforts looks rather incredible, if I do say so myself.
Today, a new trailer released, which comes with a release window.
There is a lot going on in this trailer, and it pretty much kicks butt from start to finish. The first thing that jumps out at me is the visual style, which remind me a bit of the recent Wolfenstein games — muted tones and a heavy reliance on shadows and metal and concrete surfaces, but with splashes of color in the outdoor spaces and a heavy emphasis on the color red. And their are also some great-looking particle effects; the sparks from bullets colliding with metallic robot enemies, the lightning the player seems to be able to shoot from their hands like a Sith lord. And boy howdy, are the facial designs for the androids things of nightmares, with their smooth flesh-colored faces and askew humanoid features.
Although this isn’t a huge selling point for me personally — I’m not a fan of heavy electronic or guitar rock soundtracks — Mick Gordon of Doom and Doom Eternal fame is working on this, and it sounds like he’s delivering a solid suite of tracks to compliment the science-fiction set pieces.
I did notice that some of the lip syncing didn’t match the English voices, but that could still get rounded out before the game officially releases (you can check out the original Russian-language version of the trailer here).
According to the cryptic final moments of the trailer, Atomic Heart is slated for #######ber 2022, so at the very least one of the final four months of the year, assuming there are no delays before then.
I, for one am, still looking forward to getting my hands on Atomic Heart, and this trailer has only made me more excited to play it. It’s launching on Steam, as well as Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5 (though consoles might be later down the road). You can check out the trailer below, and then re-watch it over and over, to your… Heart’s content.
