Atomic Heart - Half Life with Russian Robot Clowns

[Strafe]

67gig update for series X just got pushed out, which I assume must be the entire game with a new build rather than a patch.

 

You can’t even play it without updating.

[Timmo]

Hopefully they’ve fixed the controls. 

[NecroMorrius]

Wonder if they’ve removed the dodgy cartoon.

[dvdx2]

6 hours ago, Ry said:

Played for 15 mins and turned it off as gave me a sore head. 

 

Art direction is amazing but the performance (on series X)  is weird feels like it's hitching all the time. All you have to do is rotate on the spot to notice it but it seems constant. 

Smooth as butter now , but I’m not sure if it was the new update or VRR on my monitor

[dvdx2]

Wow, what an intro - influences from bioshock infinite and prey, quickly moving onto a cross between bioshock and cyberpunk  when the combat kicks in.  A lower res than I would have liked (series x) but the framerate is smooth and the story is gripping. I can’t wait to get back on it tomorrow. Bizarre, futuristic with a real ‘can’t wait to see what happens next’ vibe.

[Mikes]

Enjoying this. Very Bioshock, but frankly the robots give me the heebie jeebies. Some lazy graphical issues, but what really is a minus for me is the most American Russian of all time.

[Timmo]

A silent protagonist would instantly make it a better game. It’s like thumbing through a soviet art book whilst Jake Paul screams bro-speak into your ear. 

[RubberJohnny]

I know the Soviets did a lot of bad things, but the vending machine where it just fills up a glass that everyone has to drink from has to be up there with the worst of em, right? They should have known their ideology wasn't gonna make it when that was the result - I got grossed out just from the animation.

[Meers]

https://thegamespoof.com/gaming-news/ukraine-calls-to-ban-the-sale-of-atomic-heart/

 

Apparently this game's full of small hints to anti-Ukrainian / pro-Russian 'easter eggs' (as discussed before in this thread).

 

Couple of examples:

 

 

A can of ground pork in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. "Pigs" are one of the most commonplace Russian-used ethnic slurs targeted at Ukrainians.

 

 

A drone carrying a pot of what looks like geranium/cranesbill flowers. Geranium (Герань) is an Iranian military drone Shahed, that, when used by Russian military, is called Герань-2 by official and pro-Putin commentators.

 

Thought it was a bit far-fetched at first, but more of these things keep appearing now.

[therearerules]

What things? That's a label from an actual can

 

and that's a drone carrying a houseplant.

[RubberJohnny]

These things seem as much a stretch as "I'm going to pretend this name of an energy drink in Cyberpunk is a trans slur, no you can't find any examples of people actually using this as a trans slur because I've just made it up".

 

Is no one else tired of this crap? We know the playbook is just to bring up endless smears and false attacks until one of them sticks (antisemitism!), you can claim the thing is 'problematic' and then people who don't pull their support are 'toxic' (the behaviour of people making the false accusations never comes into account, nevermind that it's frequently way more problematic and abusive than anything they're actually protesting).

 

I dunno, I did the thankless job of pushing back on the very kneejerk posts in the ChatGPT thread (another topic that's currently a target of this same tactic from liberals) and we had a better quality discussion where a lot of the more aggressive people backed down and admitted a lot of their issues didn't really have much basis. Or we could just get dragged off topic several times every page by people importing shit from deranged people on twitter, your choice rllmuk.

 

EDIT: You can of course be against the game, be upfront with that opinion and stand behind it and defend it, that's fine, what I'm taking issue with is this cowardly bad faith bullshit where you just throw out a cloud of smears that take time and energy to shoot down because you're terrified of your actual views ever getting discussed.

[carlospie]

This is pretty good. Only jarring thing is on series x when you see robots who's animations are running at less fps than those around them.

 

The fps tanked on series x during the first bit with the old lady too. 

[Ry]

I'm enjoying it but also hating it. 

 

Just hit the open world and the robots getting ressurected every 20 secs is one hell of a bad design choice. 

 

Also, been said a lot but this is the worst protagonist I have ever experienced in a video game. Maybe the worst writing as well. 

[womblingfree]

This is some nice robot designs in search of a game.

[NecroMorrius]

On 22/02/2023 at 14:49, RubberJohnny said:

Is no one else tired of this crap? We know the playbook is just to bring up endless smears and false attacks until one of them sticks (antisemitism!), you can claim the thing is 'problematic' and then people who don't pull their support are 'toxic' (the behaviour of people making the false accusations never comes into account, nevermind that it's frequently way more problematic and abusive than anything they're actually protesting).

 

I dunno, I did the thankless job of pushing back on the very kneejerk posts in the ChatGPT thread (another topic that's currently a target of this same tactic from liberals) and we had a better quality discussion where a lot of the more aggressive people backed down and admitted a lot of their issues didn't really have much basis. Or we could just get dragged off topic several times every page by people importing shit from deranged people on twitter, your choice rllmuk.

 

EDIT: You can of course be against the game, be upfront with that opinion and stand behind it and defend it, that's fine, what I'm taking issue with is this cowardly bad faith bullshit where you just throw out a cloud of smears that take time and energy to shoot down because you're terrified of your actual views ever getting discussed.

 

Yes, I'm tired of it. I think it's recreational and community-driven at this point. TLOU2 for example created an incredibly toxic community dedicated to churning out endless memes which were slight variations on the previous joke. They essentially workshopped memes and hot takes for maximum obnoxiousness in order to gain traction and attention outside of the group and nudge the wider narrative, only for the edgiest and most unstable members to take it way too seriously/far with death threats and the like.

 

I've done it myself, the freefolk subreddit that gained notoriety during the last season of Game Of Thrones was a great laugh, coping with what they collectively deemed an absolute shitshow by iterating on jokes and grievances (plot holes and so on). I enjoyed that time and laughed along with them. That one went "the right way" when it spilled into the real world by roping in stars of the show to record videos encouraging others to make charitable donations. But it was still based on the endless cyclical criticism of the final season and specifically the writing staff. I can see exactly how this sort of community thrives. Especially when (unlike TLOU2) they're rooted in the good cause of social justice and protecting or preserving the rights of others. These communities die if they don't keep churning out the content and finding new things in the latest game/show/whatever, to the point where it becomes unbearable to the casual observer. Often the content doesn't even originate from those communities, it's siphoned from (as you succinctly put it) deranged people on Twitter and then brought into the community pipeline for workshopping and production.

 

I get that in the cases like Ukraine and the trans community, these things seem like life and death because they're under direct attack constantly, facing actual threats to their existence and way of life. But there has to be something said for picking your battles and directing your attention where it's most effective, rather than what's easiest or most immediate for you. The Hogwarts game created a couple of weeks of headlines and controversy, with communities tearing themselves apart over who had dared to mention it exists. Meanwhile there's a new JK Rowling podcast where she's defending the various shitty stances she's taken available on all the major podcast networks and nobody is batting an eyelid or discussing it. They're still down the rabbit hole with the Hogwarts game, scouring Twitch for streamers to harass and scanning gameplay videos for anything they can screenshot for the outrage workflow.

 

Edit - I don't mean to say it's "easy" to take on the corporate behemoth of Warner, the Wizarding World and the entire gaming press and community. But rather than the importance of a videogame seems to be overestimated by many.

[Mikes]

 

5 hours ago, Ry said:

Just hit the open world and the robots getting ressurected every 20 secs is one hell of a bad design choice. 

 

Aw shit, really? I hate stuff like that.

 

ALso, hands down the best feature of the game is looking draws with the glove. Highly satisfying.

[dvdx2]

Just unlocked a few more weapons upgrades and abilities - very nice indeed. It’s still abit clunky and you have to be quite reserved with ammo, or you can run out quickly  I’m hoping the more abilities make things flow abit better.. Had a few visual and audio bugs, but nothing game breaking.

[Transient Curse]

Sexy upgrade fridge is perhaps my least favorite thing. By comparison, I don't mind the bants between the glove and the player character at all. 

[alex3d]

13 hours ago, Ry said:

I'm enjoying it but also hating it. 

 

Just hit the open world and the robots getting ressurected every 20 secs is one hell of a bad design choice. 

 

Also, been said a lot but this is the worst protagonist I have ever experienced in a video game. Maybe the worst writing as well. 

 

What about immersion? Is it as bad as Skillup says in his review?

[K]

With the language set to Russian, the dialogue seems fine. “Good” would be a big stretch, but it comes across like standard videogame dialogue - awkward, but no more than most texts that have been translated from a foreign language. The typeface for the subtitles is weirdly small, and it’s a bit distracting that you have to look directly at someone to understand what they’re saying. 

[Ry]

How the hell do you add fire/ice to weapons?

 

I have these canisters and don't have a clue how to equip them. 

 

Edit - there's another update btw. 16gb. 

 

 

[therearerules]

I can't read the writing (way too small), so I'm stuck with the genuinely terrible voice over, and having to guess at what buttons I'm meant to be pressing.

[Paul3704]

Loading the cartridge:

Press X to access your weapon wheel

Navigate to the hexagon at the bottom of the wheel

Press trigger

Navigate to the cartridge you want to equip

Press trigger

Things aren't explained well at all, a lot of the time you work things out on the fly.

Finally got back outside, after doing the underground bit (Using the scanner, I can tell there's loads I've missed - some of the secret rooms are really well hidden). Got used to the dialogue now - it doesn't seem as bad as it did originally. Quite enjoying the backstory you pick up on the terminals, and speaking to the recently dead is weird...

Really enjoying it. It has it's flaws, but it's solid enough.

[sofasurfer]

Hoped the update would include a torch option, just played it and once again, disappointment.

[Paul3704]

The lack of torch bugged me initially, don't mind so much now. Double press then hold the RH shoulder, brings the scanner up and that seems to work for me. Climbing is still a nightmare though.

[sofasurfer]

25 minutes ago, Paul3704 said:

The lack of torch bugged me initially, don't mind so much now. Double press then hold the RH shoulder, brings the scanner up and that seems to work for me. Climbing is still a nightmare though.

Thanks for the tip, agree about the climbing. I’ve not even made it to the open world section as currently trying to jump across to a platform in the tunnels. The one time I did make it, that red boring machine killed me and I’m out back having to do it all again. Did anybody actually play test the game??

[Paul3704]

If it's yellow - you can climb up it.

That section, there's a pole you can climb up and then jump across to some yellow supports on the wall and shimmy across to the exit. The boring machine attacks three times then disappears....

[sofasurfer]

1 hour ago, Paul3704 said:

If it's yellow - you can climb up it.

That section, there's a pole you can climb up and then jump across to some yellow supports on the wall and shimmy across to the exit. The boring machine attacks three times then disappears....

Managed to jump across and progress, and then the next hint states you can boost after jumping which would be good to know beforehand.

 

I’m now in a room with some seemingly possessed machinery that cause my SX to stutter to about 3 fps. I know what the game wants me to achieve but it really is fighting against me. 
 

I really want to like the game but it needed more time and play testing.

[Shook]

As @Timmosaid this would improve drastically if there was no player character dialogue. It’s so out of step with the visuals and atmospherics somehow. Really pulls you out of it. I wish you could turn it off. I’ll try Russian dialogue but a silent protagonist would have been so much better. 
 

The robots are not fun to fight. I die a lot and only just muster enough desire to go again after a long loading screen. 
 

The game is visually stunning though. Haven’t noticed any struggling on my series x. 

[Dark Soldier]

Been playing this Atomic Shart its really great thanks lads