Atomic Heart reviews are in, and it's stirred some controversy

The reviews for Atomic Heart are in and it’s already stirred some major controversy amongst the video game community.

This week sees the launch of Atomic Heart, developed by Russian studio Mundfish. This action RPG seems to wear the inspiration of BioShock and Wolfenstein proudly on its sleeve. Reviewers have pointed out though that the title includes some rather controversial and inappropriate content.

Take a look at the trailer for Atomic Heart below.

Shacknews (9/10) wrote, “Atomic Heart is undoubtedly one of the best first-person shooter campaigns I’ve played in years. In addition to rock-solid gameplay, the game offers an intriguing mystery and a robust upgrade system. It’s even more impressive when you remember that this is the first game from developer Mundfish. Outside of controversial themes and a lack of enemy variety, it’s hard to point out any glaring issues with Atomic Heart.”

IGN (8/10) added, “Atomic Heart is a deeply ambitious, highly imaginative, and consistently impressive atompunk-inspired attempt at picking up where the likes of BioShock left off – something it’s done with a lot of success. It certainly makes missteps, chiefly with an irritating leading man and a self-indulgent habit of using the same tired tropes it tries to make fun of, but this stern, superpowered, and stringently solo shooter has worked its way under my skin despite these flaws. Atomic Heart didn’t always blow me away, but it definitely has the ticker to punch well above its weight.”

Pure Xbox (7/10) said, “Atomic Heart is well worth a play for the immersive FPS fanatics out there, but it's wise to temper your expectations when names like BioShock and DOOM are being thrown around in comparison. Atomic Heart is a solid alternate-history shooter, but it takes a bit more than building an intriguing world to become a true great in the genre," while GamesRadar (5/10) added, “Atomic Heart has a lot of big ideas, but it doesn't do a good enough job with the basics. With an incomprehensible storyline, weightless combat, and frustrating first-person platforming, Atomic Heart is left to stand in the shadow of the video games that so clearly inspired it.”

Twinfinite (4/10) was far more critical, saying, “Despite what is a promising combat formula as well as the supporting systems behind it when it comes to skills, crafting, and upgrades, there are also several equally frustrating aspects of it that hold the game back. The hope is that Mundfish is able to fix some of the more glaring issues post-launch, but right now, it feels less like a welcomed revolution and more like a nuclear disaster.” They later noted that Atomic Heart features “overly aggressive sexual innuendos” and while that doesn't offer much in terms of context, PLAY Magazine reviewer Dash Wood, perhaps elaborated on those “sexual innuendos”.

“You can read my review in PLAY magazine, but Atomic Heart is a miserable experience,” tweeted Dash. “There's some scope for accidental comedy in the atrocious script and terrible voice acting, but it's hard to ignore the misogynistic undertones throughout.”

They continued, “That's on top of the fact that (decent combat basics aside) the open world is a redundant boring slog, the mission design is dated and reliant on endless fetch quests, parts of the soundtrack are ripped directly from movies (hopefully licensed), and mechanics are inconsistent.”

Atomic Heart is out on 21 February for PC, PlayStation and Xbox. It will also launch on Xbox Game Pass.