Review in Progress: Atomic Heart
Before I get into this Review in Progress, I should probably discuss the elephant in the room. Atomic Heart is the debut title from developer Mundfish, who, in recent weeks, has come under pressure to be more transparent over its ties to Russia. According to a Eurogamer article, which goes into far more detail on the matter than I will here, Mundfish’s investor is the Russian firm GEM Capital, which is run by Anatoliy Paliy, who used to work for the state-owned Gazprom. The developer bills itself as a multinational developer with team members in 10 different countries, including Poland, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the original development team was based in Russia, and Russian-state media has referred to the studio as Russian in reports on the game.
Without more concrete answers from the developer on its ties with Russia, it’s all still kind of up in the air. What we do know for sure is composer Mick Gordon, best known for his work on games like Killer Instinct and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, has donated his fee from the game to Red Cross Australia’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal. I’m not going to lecture anyone on whether they should buy this game or not, as there are plenty of people online who are ready to do that. But, I will say, maybe take a peek at that Eurogamer piece before dropping $60 on something that, so far, feels like it’s better suited for a rental than a purchase.
Atomic Heart (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)Developer: MundfishPublisher: Focus EntertainmentReleased: February 21, 2023MSRP: $59.99
Atomic Heart takes place in an alternate version of the Soviet Union in 1955. The country has experienced a tremendous amount of growth and prosperity thanks to its discovery
Read more on destructoid.com
