We don't know about you, but Atomic Heart is one of our most highly anticipated Xbox Game Pass titles for 2023, and it'll be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in just a few short months on February 21st!
Ahead of launch, IGN has been checking out the game for a hands-on preview, and it's largely good news! The outlet says the game makes a "strong first impression", and that it's clearly influenced by the likes of Bioshock and Half-Life.
"Atomic Heart wears its influences on its sleeve. It’s a graphic first-person shooter packed with superpower-like abilities and owes a lot to classics of the genre..."
"The hours I’ve spent with Atomic Heart have left me yearning for more. It’s an engrossing world to get lost in, with dynamic combat and inspired art and enemy design."
The preview talks about the game's "20-hour-plus" campaign, and how its open world structure is actually quite similar to Halo Infinite. There's also plenty of praise for its "distinctive art style", along with the revelation that there are actually quite a lot of puzzles in the game, and these apparently provide a "welcome change of pace".
It's not all positive news - there are a few "gripes" to be aware of - but they don't sound too major:
"I have a few doubts over whether the main story will deliver a tale worthy of such a stellar location, and I’ve seen some heavy-handed writing and performances that leave a little to be desired. Then there’s the nauseating forward roll animation that had my stomach churning on more than one occasion.
I can’t say these gripes were ever enough to fully take away from all of the exciting things I found myself engaging with along the way, though. Time will tell if Atomic Heart lives up to its lofty aspirations, but it certainly makes a very strong first impression."
You can check out the video above for more information on Atomic Heart including impressions on the combat, but the overall gist is that it sounds like the game is definitely worth trying on Xbox Game Pass next year. Bring it on!
Excited for Atomic Heart on Xbox Game Pass? Tell us in the poll and comments below.
[source ign.com]
Comments 7
Really looking forward to this game. I think it will surprise a lot of people. The Bioshock look of it is very evident.
I was trying to hold off but this has me hyped!
It looks awesome! The only problem is it's releasing in a pretty cramped month so I might not get to it right away but it's definitely on the radar!
Game Pass for the win once again.
I think 2023 is going to be the strongest year for Game Pass, yet.
Looking forward to this one. This particular genre was, at one point, heavily saturated in the market… but jeez, I feel like those days are long gone and I miss it. A true heir to Bioshock or Half Life would be glorious… Despite the heavy release schedule, I’d put a gigantic open world title on hold for something more succinct, provided this one is worthwhile.
I really, really hope this ends up being good. Glad it’ll be on game pass though as I’ll be spending the money on the dead space remake. If this ends up being something special, then I’ll add it to my collection as well.
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