Atomic Heart, the Soviet sci-fi FPS, has been heavily promoted for its use of ray tracing in its lighting and reflection technology. However, despite being a poster child for ray tracing, the PC version of the game will not support this feature at launch. The absence of ray tracing options was confirmed by the game's press relations team, who stated that the feature would be implemented post-launch.
This news comes as a surprise, given that the game's development cycle has provided ample opportunities to showcase the power of ray tracing, with an Nvidia tech demo as far back as 2019, and an RTX-branded trailer released just last month. It's also strange that a game with an Nvidia-approved ray tracing demo four years ago won't have even a toned-down version of those features ready for when the world can actually play it.
While ray tracing is a notable omission, Atomic Heart has bigger problems than the lack of super shiny graphics options. The game is a profoundly uneven experience, capable of miserable lows as often as it is of thrilling highs. Nonetheless, the game already looks great without ray tracing, and it does have fully functioning DLSS support, including for the new DLSS 3. So, gamers who have splashed out on an RTX graphics card are not left empty-handed.
In conclusion, while Atomic Heart won't support ray tracing for PC at launch, it's not a dealbreaker for those who are eagerly awaiting the game's release. While the absence of this feature is surprising, the game's other features and gameplay mechanics may make up for it. It remains to be seen when the ray tracing update will be implemented, but we will keep you posted if any new information comes in.
This news comes as a surprise, given that the game's development cycle has provided ample opportunities to showcase the power of ray tracing, with an Nvidia tech demo as far back as 2019, and an RTX-branded trailer released just last month. It's also strange that a game with an Nvidia-approved ray tracing demo four years ago won't have even a toned-down version of those features ready for when the world can actually play it.
While ray tracing is a notable omission, Atomic Heart has bigger problems than the lack of super shiny graphics options. The game is a profoundly uneven experience, capable of miserable lows as often as it is of thrilling highs. Nonetheless, the game already looks great without ray tracing, and it does have fully functioning DLSS support, including for the new DLSS 3. So, gamers who have splashed out on an RTX graphics card are not left empty-handed.
In conclusion, while Atomic Heart won't support ray tracing for PC at launch, it's not a dealbreaker for those who are eagerly awaiting the game's release. While the absence of this feature is surprising, the game's other features and gameplay mechanics may make up for it. It remains to be seen when the ray tracing update will be implemented, but we will keep you posted if any new information comes in.
