Atomic Heart: Director Shares Game Length, Difficulty Settings, Crafting Details, and Core Mechanics

Atomic Heart, an upcoming single-player first-person shooter role-playing game, was first announced in 2018 and has created a buzz in the gaming world for various reasons. With its unique combination of simulation elements, the game is set in the Soviet era and follows the journey of P-3, an elite soldier tasked with restoring order after an AI revolt. Game Director Robert Bagratuni recently sat down with SegmentNext to discuss the game’s core systems and mechanics and how everything comes together to create an unforgettable experience for players.

Inspired by the works of great science fiction authors, Atomic Heart aims to offer gamers a unique experience that is unlike anything they have seen before. The dystopian worlds depicted in these authors’ works have influenced the game’s developers and shaped the world of Atomic Heart.

Our goal is to create lasting memories of the immersive world of Atomic Heart for a long time after players have finished the game.”
Robert Bagratuni

Atomic Heart combines open-world elements with closed space areas like underground labs, creating a seamless playing experience without any loading screens.

The players’ environment will always change from huge and bright open spaces to dark and vicious dungeons. “We really wanted players to feel like they’re on an emotional roller coaster,” says Bagratuni. The game is approximately 20-25 hours long to complete the main story campaign, but with various activities in the vast world, a completionist run may take around 35-40 hours. With three difficulty levels, the game is suitable for players of all skill levels.

We wanted every player to be able to freely choose their own way to experience the game, so we developed 3 difficulty levels: easy story mode, normal difficulty mode and the hardest one for those players, who enjoy tough challenges.”
Robert Bagratuni

The game allows players to choose their own path freely, with plenty of dialogue options that reveal the game world and the overarching plot. Robert also reveals that the player’s choices will not affect the game’s story, except for two decisions at the end of the game. Gamers will have access to 12 types of weapons, each with upgrades and multiple skill branches. Players can collect components to upgrade their weapons.

To be able to upgrade your arsenal, you will need to collect components by searching every piece of furniture, equipment, and corpses around. When you have enough components, you will be able to use a crafting machine NORA, whose AI will surprise you with its sassy attitude. You will have an opportunity to create bullets, add elementary effects to them, and create other things as well.”

The protagonist will also carry the experimental power glove with an AI named CHAR-les that acts as a companion, providing information and helping players during the game.

The special features it [CHAR-les] will give you access to are scanning the area, as well as hacking robots and other equipment. In battle, he will give you telekinetic abilities that allow you to fight, as well as quickly extract components from the remains of your enemies. Thanks to these abilities, you will be able to install energy shields and use electrical, freezing, and telekinetic power.”

There are no restrictions on the amount of crafting components and materials that players can carry. The main goal is to collect and use them to improve weapons.

There will be no restrictions here. They will be able to loot and carry all components they can find. The main thing is to always collect them and spend on improving the arsenal in order to be able to reach the end and reveal the truth behind the technological nightmare happening in the world of Atomic Heart.”

Atomic Heart will be available on Game Pass PC/Xbox on day one, giving more players around the world access to the game. Atomic Heart will be released on 21st February 2023 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. You can have a look at the minimum and recommended PC requirements for Atomic Heart below.

Atomic Heart PC Requirements

Minimum:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 (20H1 version or newer, 64-bit versions)
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600@ 3. GHz or Intel Core i5-4460 @ 3.1 GHz (AVX, AVX2 and SSE 4.2 support required)
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 380 (4 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (4 GB)
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 90 GB available space

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 (20H1 version or newer, 64-bit versions)
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X @ 3.8 GHz or Intel Core i7-7700 @ 3.6 GHz (AVX, AVX2 and SSE 4.2 support required)
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD RX Vega 64 (8 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB)
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 90 GB available space