I was at least entertained by a number of the more friendly robots I encountered – although the constant dirty talk and double entendres from NORA, the surprisingly horny weapons vendor typically found near Atomic Heart’s save points – had me wondering if it was actually possible to report an AI to HR. Agent P-3’s quips aim for action hero-style swagger but come across as something closer to the repetitive trash-talking of a fourteen-year-old Fortnite fan, and given Atomic Heart appropriates so much from the likes of Half-Life 2, BioShock and Doom, at times I did find myself wishing it had poached one of their silent protagonists while it was at it. While I couldn’t get enough of the heavy metal shredding that accompanied the shredding of heavy metal, I’m yet to be completely won over by Atomic Heart’s mouthy main star. Gordon’s ability to masterfully pair headbanging riffs with headshots like some sort of first-person shooter sommelier is not to be understated, and Atomic Heart’s more intense action sequences are made all the more invigorating as a result of his involvement. Of course if you’re going to fill your game with mechanical maniacs then you’re going to need a soundtrack that’s equally heavy with metal, and as a big Doom fan I was delighted when composer Mick Gordon’s signature detuned guitars and double-kicked drums surged through the speakers to accompany a boss fight against a hulking robot wrecking ball that pinballed around the arena like an over caffeinated Chain Chomp. That’s not to say you aren’t still rewarded for taking your time to pore over every inch of your surroundings, and I enjoyed the occasional optional diversions like pausing to watch Soviet spins on Looney Tunes cartoons on the in-game televisions or making prank calls in a public phone booth.

Rummaging through corpses and cabinets for ammo and crafting materials is a cumbersome yet necessary evil in most other first-person shooters, so being able to swiftly vacuum up a room’s worth of items with a wave of your AI-enhanced glove like you’re sucking up gold coins from a level in Luigi’s Mansion is a welcome timesaver. As I explored deeper into the darkened corners of Atomic Heart’s first facility I was pleasantly surprised by numerous examples of intelligent design.

The wild at heart review ign