The timing couldn’t be worse. Exactly a year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a game with reported investment from and development connections with the Russian state arrives, telling the story of an alternate 20th-century timeline in which the USSR became a hugely advanced technological superpower. Ahead of our Atomic Heart review, there’s been a lot of discussion about the political stance of its developer Mundfish regarding the invasion, reported investment in the studio from companies majority-owned by the Russian government, and a preview event for Russian press last year which some accused of being in extremely poor taste, both stylistically for using USSR imagery, and in its timing coinciding with a global backlash to anti-LGBT laws being passed in Russia.

Another issue is Mundfish’s apparent ambiguity around the Russo-Ukraine war. A statement released on Twitter by the studio in January 2022 raised concerns for not offering clarity on its position regarding the ongoing conflict, though the risk of some form of reprisal that a more full-throated condemnation might invite must be acknowledged.

If this conversation has passed you by, we encourage you to catch up on it before deciding whether to get the game. The situation has been covered in depth by many voices, and although no report offers a categorical insight into the financial beneficiaries of your potential purchase, nor of Mundfish’s political leanings or intentions, it’s all important context.

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