Comrade Major Nechayev picked up the railgun Secateur straight out of Doom and fed it enough bullets to supply a small army. “Now the fun begins,” he exclaims, and it’s all good and dandy. But considering I spent the first hour of this two-and-a-half- to three-hour DLC hiding in bushes and occasionally smashing killer droids over the head with a decidedly less exciting melee weapon, it’s already a bit too much. late. That’s perhaps the main problem with Annihilation Instinct, the first of four planned DLCs for Atomic Heart: it doesn’t always play to its strengths.
The expansion takes place in a new area called the Mendeleev Complex, and the story begins immediately after the end of the main game, with our protagonist, Comrade Major Nechayev, also known as P-3, stripped of his weapons and his trusted ally, Charles , he gives us a ton of pseudo-magical abilities to play with. After a rather dull opening, things heat up when we meet up with scientist Lebedev, who gives us the aforementioned Secateur and a new ability called Technostasis that allows us to freeze time. In return for these gifts, Lebedev asked us to find eight unique BEA-D, cube robots that somehow restored Nora (the horny weapon dispenser AI from the original game) to sanity and disarmed Science Blockade of the complex and surrounding areas.
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New powers and weapons are needed because Annihilation Instinct is as hard as a nail. Once, when I stepped into a large area, I was greeted by a Plyusch, one of the tougher enemies in the main game, and my heart sank. But before the fight can actually begin, a cutscene begins to show the dangerous creature being completely torn to shreds by a new enemy type. At least the game politely warns you.
The plot revolves around the lecherous weapon dispenser Nora, but it’s hard to follow.
It starts with a killer doll that can perform deadly dance-like martial arts and can even rip off its limbs, exposing its central body if you manage to avoid its hands and feet flying around like razor blades come out. Initially, these enemies are strong, but they’re nothing compared to BEA-D. On their own, these little floating balls aren’t all that dangerous, but when they’re connected together, they can become a real headache, and usually, they’re cured by chopping off your head.
Fortunately, your new weapon gives you a fighting chance. Secateur holds a hundred rounds in a magazine (or even more if you upgrade it), and if that firepower isn’t enough, it can also use energy, firing horizontal lasers to tear apart robotic enemies, for a BEA that separates links -D is absolutely essential. While Klusha – a shovel-harpoon hybrid – isn’t quite as versatile, it can still deal a ton of damage when combined with the tech stasis ability.
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As mentioned, combat is even tougher than in the main game, and unfortunately, it doesn’t always feel fair. Many areas are poorly designed, with plenty of obstacles that don’t provide any cover, but it’s easy to get stuck trying to escape quickly with your dashing motion. Additionally, the enemies kept piling up, and most of the time I ended up dying not from failing to read or react to their attack patterns, but simply from swarming and getting pinned to walls or environmental obstacles. Coupled with a very unreliable autosave system, this proved to be quite frustrating, and I actually had to lower the difficulty just to make sure I didn’t drop my controller.
Unfortunately, combat isn’t the only thing this DLC lacks. While the game takes place right after the main game ends, you’ll most likely pick up the Annihilation Instinct after defeating the Atomic Heart in February or March. This made the already convoluted story difficult to follow and I had a hard time following it. And, to make matters worse, the game does a poor job of reminding you of the controls and basic mechanics, though it wastes no time bogging you down.
Say hello to my little friend!
Of course, the main selling point of Atomic Heart is not the story itself, but the setting. The techno-utopian vision of the Soviet Union is subtly bought into life, but unfortunately, this aspect plays a much smaller role in Annihilation Instinct. The robot-infested subterranean complex and surrounding wetlands are still beautiful and contain lots of well-crafted details, but it wouldn’t feel quite as exciting without all the Soviet memorabilia scattered around. While the soundtrack once again accompanies the hectic combat in an effective manner, the classical music and heavy rock tunes don’t quite resonate with the Soviet-era tunes in the main game. At least the tone of the game remains weird, with P-3 constantly being harassed by talking ducks and disabled robots scattered in sometimes comical, sometimes lewd ways.
Annihilation Instinct gives me mixed feelings. In many ways, the experience isn’t quite as polished as the main game, but on the other hand, you do get a fair amount of content for £10, and the DLC provides a solid setting for further adventures in Atomic Heart’s unique world. If the next expansion continues to add layers to the combat and manages to address some design setbacks, Atomic Heart’s Season Pass could end up being as engaging as the original experience.
