Atomic Heart developer announces FOV settings will be arriving in future update

After a wave of unoptimized releases from other developers, Atomic Heart has received significant praise for its smooth PC port. However, Mundfish, creator of the recently released open-world FPS, omitted the crucial FOV slider from the game's settings. Following fan outcry about the same upon launch, an announcement was recently made, stating that it would soon be added to the game through an update.

This was revealed on their official Twitter account on February 22, 2023. Given how display settings are a crucial backbone of the PC experience, this should come as a relief to many fans. Here's what it means for gamers.

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What's the deal with the lack of FOV settings in Atomic Heart?

To many players' surprise, the debut project from developer Mundfish entirely lacked an FOV option. FOV stands for Field of View, which essentially governs how much of the game is rendered on the periphery of the screen. For FPS (first-person shooter) games, this is pretty important as a narrow FOV can lead to an unenjoyable experience. Considering that Atomic Heart is an Unreal Engine 4 game, such a decision is unheard of in modern gaming.

As we step into an era of player flexibility, gamers appreciate and demand various options that fit their personal preferences. As such, taking control away from the user in such a manner would incur unavoidable backlash. Thankfully, the Atomic Heart team were quick to rectify their error. There's presently no word on when the update will arrive, but it shouldn't take too long. The bigger question, on the other hand, is if this setting will make it into the console releases as well?

Unfortunately, Mundfish didn't elaborate on that aspect with their original tweet. Theoretically, it should be included on the current-gen platforms of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, at the very least. These systems are powerful enough to negate any performance discrepancies that's introduced with a larger FOV. This makes sense, considering that many modern games boast PC-esque graphics settings and performance modes to allow some leeway for players.

At the same time, the last-gen counterparts of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms will most likely not see this option as it could negatively impact performance on the more dated hardware.

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What's the gameplay of Atomic Heart like?

Atomic Heart is an open-world FPS game with a focus on combat. Players must battle rogue robots in an alternate timeline in the USSR. In a nod to games like BioShock, the protagonist is armed with a glove that can freeze or shock foes, with the main methods of combat being gunplay and melee action. Additionally, there are different facilities and hubs to explore as players collect resources, solve puzzles, and take on larger-than-life boss fights.