Atomic Heart was quite a surprise in the gaming world.
I expected a BioShock ripoff but got something else entirely. Mundfish created a unique setting in a post-WWII world. In this alternate history, the world has a retro-futuristic look, but with crispy critters, it quickly turns to dystopia.
Enchantment Under the Sea is their third DLC, but it picks up right after the end of the game’s story. P-3 is pulled out of limbo by the Twins’ consciousness. You have lost your powers and most of your weapons. P-3 continues his quest to stop the robot takeover with a few new weapons and powers.
The Story Is Short But Sweet
Enchantment Under the Sea feels like Atomic Heart with a lot of fat trimmed down. We see more of P-3’s humor shown during the main campaign.
P-3 and the Twins’ consciousness try to rebuild their relationship with gaps in their memories. The Twins having your dead wife’s consciousness is a complicated matter, and it is treated as such. While working through the lab, you run into characters new and old. Upon finishing up the DLC, one big loose end is left to tie up. Charles, the big bad, still hasn’t been dealt with. I feel the ending definitely leads to a potential sequel.
If you were expecting a lovely world like the one in The Little Mermaid, you won’t find it here. Murderous robots and creatures are trying to strip your flesh and your hope. This DLC is around five hours long and worth checking out if you loved the base game and wanted to know what happened after the ending.
There May Be Fewer Weapons and Abilities, But They Don’t Subtract From the Fun
The two new weapons in Enchantment Under the Sea are the hammer Thunderclap and the KM-4 Kuzmich shotgun. Both are fun and very strong in combat.
Additionally, you gain two abilities after losing most of your powers. Whip functions as a grappling hook during traversal; in combat, it grabs enemies and pulls them towards you. Your second new power is throwing a fireball, which lets you clear away gunk-blocking paths. You end up with fewer powers, but they feel more powerful than you were in the base game.
The level design makes most areas more wide open, which works in the game’s favor because most enemies are way faster than you. Dodging has become more of a necessity, but using abilities like Shok can stun enemies, making them look like the Tin Man waiting for an oil can. The power swing from your Thunderclap sends a saw blade on a cable and creates a wide area, hitting several enemies.
The new crab enemies create a challenge, but the giant crabs won’t give you space to breathe. They close the distance fast and hard. Some bosses have more puzzle-like battles in their fights, and swinging around with the whip will help avoid some of the continuous ground damage that enemies put out for a while. If the floor is lava, don’t touch the floor.
The Art Style and Music Have a Strong Showing in Enchantment Under the Sea
The presentation of Enchantment Under the Sea is very solid. Variety was the key to keeping the player from boredom, and Mundfish knew this.
With underwater areas and labs, you get a lot of beautiful set pieces. Being underwater and looking at your surroundings was a jaw-dropping moment. You realize there isn’t just aquatic wildlife but robots swimming around. Just like the base game, the music stands out. I hope it won some awards from its soundtrack because it is actually great. The graphics and presentation for the art punches way above the AA level. The newer enemy designs are awesome but terrifying. This DLC and the base game really show that Mundfish has what it takes to duke it out with AAA games.
Atomic Heart does a lot of things well, but the problems from the base game are still there. The main problem that kept halting me was getting stuck in things or spots in the environment. In the base game, I had to reload saves and restart certain parts, but in this DLC, it isn’t as bad. Jumping into a bad spot will get you stuck and cause your screen to shake.
The bad thing is when it happens in combat. You can hang up on something in the environment and be swarmed by a big group of enemies. It makes you unable to dodge, which means you get beat to a bloody pulp and get to see the game over screen.
Atomic Heart: Enchantment Under the Sea Is a Great DLC
Atomic Heart was a solid 8/10, and if you are wondering how they could improve on that, check out Enchantment Under the Sea. It gives you a glimpse of what improvements the team can make.
The DLC lets you participate in P-3’s growth from a gruff Shooter McShooty-style protagonist into a character with an actual personality. I like this new P-3, and I am very interested in where his character goes in a sequel.
Enchantment Under the Sea dove back into the roots of Atomic Heart. The combat adds on and improves over the base game. The presentation of the art style and music is still super strong and has the strongest appeal to the game, in my opinion. The only drawback is how much jank you can handle. Getting trapped in the environment or on things in the environment can harm your enjoyment if it happens at the wrong time.
8.5
Pros:
Combat is even more fun than base game.
Characters and story are compelling.
Strong presentation and excellent visuals/music.
Talking Dolphins
Cons:
Glitching into environments and objects can be frustrating.
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