Atomic Heartwas many different things, but its boss fights often proved to be more talk than walk. While the visuals were impressive and the tension was palpable, some of theseboss fightsfell short of delivering the kind of challenge that makes emerging victorious a truly rewarding feeling. As it turns out, that’s somethingAtomic Heart 2seems intent on changing because it restructures its major encounters to be a bit more painful to endure and, as a result, far more fulfilling to overcome.
In a recent interview with Game Rant, Mundfish Studio founder and CEO Rob Bagratuni divulged a wealth of information aboutAtomic Heart 2and what players can expect it. He also specifically went into detail aboutAtomic Heart 2’s boss fights and how the studio plans to make them more challenging than ever.
Atomic Heart 2 Is Ramping Up Its Boss Fights
Atomic Hearthas never been aneasy gamenecessarily, but its boss fights initially seemed to lean more into the cinematic than the mechanical. With a substantial amount of health and arenas that were certainly flashy in their design, many ofAtomic Heart’s biggest “baddies” were largely more about survival than mastery. That’s something Mundfish is actively looking to evolve inAtomic Heart 2, and it has even begun to experiment with that in the first game’s latest DLC packs.
According to Bagratuni, the sequel is aiming for a much deeper level of engagement across the board, but that means boss encounters are being rethought as well:
“We’re working on a deeper approach to the RPG elements and progression. Of course, we want to give players more freedom in what kind of character they will become with skill branching and progression, but actually, we’re trying to bring more depth and freedom to everything like core gameplay mechanics. We just want a deeper experience overall. We especially want to focus on boss fights. We saw inAtomic Heart’s third DLC, the reaction to the last boss fight, that people liked it, so we want to makeAtomic Heart 2’s boss fights a little bit harder.”
What really stood out to Bagratuni and the rest of the team at Mundfish was how players responded to the difficulty spike in the final boss ofAtomic Heart’s third DLC. Here, the studio saw an opportunity to make sure the visual spectacle of its boss fights actually pays off from a mechanical standpoint. As a result, rather than simply giving enemies more health or attacks that merely look great,Atomic Heart 2has its sights set on making each boss fight feel unique in a way that keeps players on their toes with every major encounter. Ultimately, this means fights that demand more than just impeccable survival skills and instead inspire growth in the player with each attempt.
Mundfish was particularly inspired by how streamers and content creators reacted to thosechallenging boss fights. Bagratuni said the team actively watched these playthroughs to study how players responded to failure, difficulty, and their eventual victory, and the reactions were exactly what they were hoping for:
“We jumped into the streams of some content creators who were playing the hardest difficulty of the last boss fight. They were dying and it created so much reaction. It was a lot of pain, but it was so visceral and incredibly fun to watch. It was a memorable experience for them too, and they’ve been very vocal about it on their streams. We really wanted to work on the sequel’s boss fights and make them more meaningful and even more painful.”
Based on Bagratuni’s remarks,Atomic Heart 2isn’t just looking to punish players for the sake of entertainment but to instead make boss fights something with an eventual emotional payoff. With betterRPG progression, more personalized playstyles, and mechanics that allow for greater player agency, the apparent goal is to make every major fight feel like a worthwhile achievement for players. If Mundfish pulls it off, those “painful” boss fights could be one of the sequel’s most defining characteristics.
Atomic Heart
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to a utopian world of wonders and perfection, in which humans live in harmony with their loyal and fervent robots.Well, that’s how it used to be. With the launch of the latest robot-control system mere days away, only a tragic accident or a global conspiracy could disrupt it…The unstoppable course of technology along with secret experiments have brought rise to mutant creatures, terrifying machines and superpowered robots—all suddenly rebelling against their creators. Only you can stop them and find out what lies behind the idealized world.Using the combat abilities granted by your experimental power glove, your arsenal of blades and cutting-edge weaponry, fight for your life in explosive and frenetic encounters. Adapt your fighting style to each unique opponent. Combine your skills and resources, use the environment and upgrade your equipment to overcome challenges and fight for good.
