Once upon a time I wasn't actually a games journalist – crazy, I know. Before I started writing about esports and League of Legends, I wiled away the hours pouring over various history books, eventually earning myself two pretty snazzy history degrees. While a lot of my time was spent analysing WWII correspondence and weathered old Celtic stonework, one of my favorite things to study were alternative histories – novels that reimagined set-in-stone historical events. It's no surprise, then, that Mundfish's Atomic Heart quickly became one of my favorite shooters of all time. What would it look like if the Soviets had become the global superpower?
The answer is a very colorful, robot-infested dystopia. Red and yellow flags line the streets, statues of 'modern patriots' like Lenin fill peaceful parks, and eerie, human-like automatons bow to the whims of an increasingly demanding population. If you took the American post-war prosperity and hopefulness of Fallout, but painted a Soviet flag on it, that's Atomic Heart's first hour.
But then, it all goes wrong. The robots malfunction, and they're out for blood. Your AI companion CHAR-les, currently residing in your glove, is spouting heretical nonsense about the regime. For some reason, there's a vending machine that's determined to make ionate (read very aggressive) love to you. 'What the hell, Lauren?' I hear you ask. 'Is this really one of your favorite FPS games? Do you need help?'
For me, Atomic Heart is the perfect alternative history experience. While it initially feels almost like pro-Soviet propaganda, as you work your ways through the bowels of rusty, hulking science facilities brimming with weird experiments, you – through the eyes of P-3 – will slowly but surely start to question things; perhaps CHAR-les has a point. You slowly transition from a loyal soldier to a rebel, and there are a lot of robots that need disassembling.
CHAR-les has various powers, allowing you to throw objects, stun foes, and utilize the elements. If none of that works there are, of course, good ol' fashioned guns and various melee weapons, so if you want to settle things with a little more flare, you can absolutely do so.
If all of this sounds good to you, then I've got good news: Atomic Heart is currently on sale over at CDKeys. You'll be paying $21.09 / £15.49 for the base game, or $38.09 / £27.99 for the Deluxe Version, which includes two unique skins and the Atomic (effectively all of the game's equally as bizarre DLCs). All you have to do is click the button below.
If you're looking for new adventures but don't want to break the bank, we have a list of the best free Steam games.
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