Atomic Heart: How Long Does It Take To Beat?

"Atomic Heart" is a unique FPS title that has caught the attention of many gamers. The game takes place in an alternate universe in which AI evolved to become a big problem for the 1950s Soviet Union. To remedy this problem, players use a variety of makeshift high-tech weapons and metahuman abilities to take down the pesky robots. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, though, best exemplified by one of its most memorable side characters being a strangely perverse fridge.

"Atomic Heart" has also proven to be something of a controversial title, to the point where it has been compared to "Hogwarts Legacy" by some, so those interested in "Atomic Heart" may want to know more about the game before purchasing, especially since it didn't have a AAA marketing budget that let gamers know every little bit of what to expect. For instance, before buying their own copy of the game, players may be curious to find out how long it takes to beat "Atomic Heart."

Critics and gamers have reported that "Atomic Heart" doesn't take too long to get through. RockPaperShotgun's James Archer, for example, noted that the main story took 15 hours to complete. Unsurprisingly, Archer wrote that much of their time was spent blasting robots, but they felt that the whole experience gets bogged down by the frequently annoying quips from the cast. Archer also wrote that the game is very linear — although "Atomic Heart" features an open world, there is relatively little side content, and the game often tries its best to nudge the player toward the main objective.

IGN's Luke Reilly, on the other hand, found there to be around 20 hours of main story content in "Atomic Heart," while a few of the side quests served to beef up the overall playtime. Some of these quests offer useful rewards such as weapon upgrades, but others just feel like padding, and are therefore less enjoyable. Reilly concluded that "Atomic Heart" was a "good length overall, and nicely inside that not-too-short, not-too-long Goldilocks zone." Players should expect somewhere in the 15-20 hour range to beat the game, depending on how much side content gets explored.