Atomic Heart - Enchantment Under the Sea Review

Atomic Heart returns, this time on an alternative timeline. While the game created quite the buzz in 2023 because of its unique world and character design, Atomic Heart didn't get as much attention as it deserved. However, Mundfish and Focus Entertainment kept working on the title, and that brings us to the third major DLC for Atomic Heart, Enchantment Under the Sea, which takes us back to investigate Facility 3826, an undersea Neptune Research Center picking up where they left off after the campaign's main plot.

Enchantment Under the Sea follows the August 2023 DLC release of Annihilation Instinct and the February 2024 DLC release of Trapped in Limbo and expands upon the original game's base. This DLC puts you in a mysterious underwater location, the Neptune Research Center, much as Annihilation Instinct did to the main game's story and Trapped in Limbo did to the strange Limbo reality.

This time, however, you team up with a Twin to recover what was lost and discover a solution to save humanity from an apocalyptic future. The once-friendly floating metropolis of Chelomey is now ruled by a familiar, once-friendly, colossal Robogirl; this and other familiar sites will be completely transformed in this new adventure.

Once again, you will assume the role of Major Sergey Alekseyevich Nechayev, aka P-3, the protagonist of the base game. Adding even more life and mayhem to the already lively and chaotic universe set in the main game, the Neptune Research Center includes plenty of new locations and challenges. But there's more to discover.

Aside from new locations, Enchantment Under the Sea will take you back to old places from Facility 3,826, such as the iconic floating city of Chelomey, but with a new perspective. This time, you'll be going head-to-head with upgraded versions of the Facility's robots and a whole new array of enemies, such as mutant swarms and MOR-4Y.

While the DLC includes new features and deepens the game's story, the two new weapons are the most exciting so far. Yes, Enchantment Under the Sea added the hammer-like Thunderclap, which does more damage when charged with electricity, and the double-barrel shotgun KM-4 Kuzmich, which can clear crowds and has a customizable bullet spread.

In addition, two new abilities have been added to the gloves: Blaze and Whip. Blaze is a burning polymer ability that lets you hurl red-hot fireballs that deal area-of-effect damage. Whip is a grapple-hook tool that allows P-3 to pull himself toward enemies, deal damage, dodge quickly, and access areas that were previously inaccessible.

Despite initial complaints that Atomic Heart fell short of expectations, Mundfish has shown their dedication to the game's development by releasing such a massive Enchantment Under the Sea DLC. If you haven't played Atomic Heart yet and are interested in its unique combination of BioShock-esque graphics and action, or if you're a returning player who wants to catch up on the latest additions, you're in luck: Mundfish has announced a large discount on the basic game during the Steam Sale.

While it was brief, I enjoyed every moment in the game, which took me around three hours. The DLC costs only $9.99, and it's totally worth it in terms of the amount of content it brings. So, if you've played Atomic Heart and want to return to it, Enchantment Under the Sea is just the right expansion to step back into Limbo.

Everything the Atomic Heart attempted to be in terms of story and portions, Enchantment Under the Sea practically delivers, and then more. My only gripe is that the DLC was too brief; just as you were getting into the meat of the game, it ended up leaving you desiring more. This also indicates that there's going to be another DLC in a few months soon, and I hope there is one.