Early reviews for the Xbox Game Pass day-one FPS title Atomic Heart seem to be varying wildly, and those who’ve already gotten a chance to play the game on the Xbox Series S are reporting that the performance is fairly hit-and-miss, as well. Development outfit Mundfish previously boasted that Atomic Heart targets a consistent 60 frames per second and is playable in 4K, but it seems as if that may only be true in certain constrained sections of the game.
Qualms concerning Atomic Heart’s performance on launch were first raised when it was revealed that the game would make use of the controversial anti-piracy software Denuvo. The claim was made that Nvidia’s DLSS tech would help to counteract the performance hit brought about by Denuvo’s inclusion, but the jury is still out as to whether that makes for a successful compromise. Additionally, Mundfish warned fans that the title likely wouldn’t perform quite as well in the game’s open environments, and reviews thus far seem to have echoed that sentiment.
According to tests conducted by YouTube user Fuzion Xbox Testing, Atomic Heart maintains a constant 60 frames in its many interior areas on the Xbox Series S. However, outside of its subterranean dungeons, Atomic Heart very rarely runs at 60 frames per second on the system, routinely dropping to the low fifties and high forties depending on the amount of action being rendered on screen. Ultimately, hiccups such as these are of little consequence to most gamers, though those who upgraded to the ninth console generation with higher frame rates in mind may be somewhat disappointed.
All things considered, Atomic Heart looks to be a rare diamond in the rough in terms of optimization at launch. Developed by a hitherto unknown studio and lacking the backing of a major AAA publisher, many feared that Atomic Heart would follow in the shoes of games like The Callisto Protocol and Forspoken by debuting with technical issues galore. Fortunately, should some minor framerate inconsistencies be Atomic Heart’s biggest issue in terms of performance, the title seems set to defy the odds.
Though apparently technically stable, problems seem to be arising for Atomic Heart as a result of its atypical take on FPS combat and bizarre story. Reviews for Atomic Heart make it out to be a love-it-or-hate-it affair, and the game’s reputation may well hinge on how well its community can stomach what’s said to be a convoluted story fraught with overly-verbose, relatively unlikable characters.
Atomic Heart will be available on February 21 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.