Bizarre open-world sci-fi shooter Atomic Heart will launch on Xbox Game Pass

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Open-world sci-fi shooter Atomic Heart will come to Xbox Game Pass on day one.

Developer Mundfish teased an E3 appearance for Atomic Heart just last week, with a studio representative affirming that at this point the game has "almost everything they wanted," but we were still somewhat surprised to see it at the combined Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. It's nice to know that Atomic Heart will launch on Xbox Game Pass, though. It's shaping up to be exactly the kind of wild, experimental game that's more easily sampled through Game Pass.

Naturally, Atomic Heart's Xbox announcement trailer also brought us some more weird robots to gawk at, as well as the armed grandma that Mundfish teased last week. I don't care what anyone says, in the hands of any grandma, a ladle is a lethal weapon.

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The trailer opens with yet more confirmation that, yes, this world is filled with extremely weird robots that want to kill you. From there, it's right into a new take on the usual nonsense: music fit for a Russian street festival, androids coming at us live from the depths of the uncanny valley, and a concerning mix of suspended liquids and what seem to be time bubbles. However, this trailer does at least feature our two lead characters more prominently than usual. We couldn't tell you who they are or what exactly they're trying to do, or why that woman has wiggly wires attached to her temples, but hey, it's something.

The more we see of Atomic Heart, the less certain we are of what it's about. Mundfish has outlined a heady mix of Russian landscapes, AI disasters, and the occasional evil clown. It is, put simply, all over the place – the place being an alternate Soviet Union... maybe.

One thing's for sure: Atomic Heart is some kind of first-person open-world game with a mix of shooting and melee combat. It's also quite the looker, and not just because of its unique aesthetic. Atomic Heart has become one of the go-to poster children for new graphics tech, and Mundfish regularly drops raytraced gameplay as well as lavish 4K showcases.

Atomic Heart doesn't have a release date just yet, but we do know that it's coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

Games like Atomic Heart are crying out for a cutting-edge TV. With these Prime Day TV deals, you might be able to snag one for yourself.