It’s been some since the release of Atomic Heart’s last DLC – Blood on Crystal. Now that we’ve had time to complete the DLC a couple of times, we wanted to look back and rank every Atomic Heart DLC from best to worst. While we recommend checking them all out, there are definitely some we consider better than others.
What Is The Best Atomic Heart DLC? Every DLC Ranked From Best To Worst
1. Blood on Crystal (DLC #4) – Every Atomic Heart DLC Ranked Best To Worst
- Release Date: April 16th, 2026
- Review Score: 9.5/10
The last entry in Atomic Heart’s post game expansions is most definitely the best. It ties up all loose ends at the end of the main story, and sets up the future of the series well.
This DLC follows P-3, Blesna (Twin) and the whole crew (Granny Zina, Lebedev Nastya, Kolya, the Hunter, NORA, and Samodelkin) as they go to face the true villain, CHAR-les. Together, they must save Sechenov from the Chariton’s clutches and restore order to the chaos he’s caused.
Throughout the DLC, you venture through the Wave Facility as well as the Crystal Complex, You even get to visit Lebedev’s Orb from the first DLC, which was a nice touch. In the new locations, you get to face new enemies such as the RACCOONs in Wave and Polymorphs in Crystal. Furthermore, many enemies from the base game and other DLCs return for the fun.
In terms of story, this is the most complete DLC, offering a ton of dialogue, plot progression, and resolution. The dialogue exchanges between P-3 and CHAR-les were especially awesome. Speaking of CHAR-les, I personally believe he’s one of the greatest villains ever written in fiction. Speaking to him and finding out his true intentions always had me on the edge of my seat.
There’s also new characters like Validol who were funny and added charm to the facility.
My favorite things in Atomic Heart are:
- The trio of P-3, Sechenov, and Char-les
- The technology of the world and how it is explained
This DLC got to bring all three of my favorite characters together at once while leaving opportunity for them to appear again in the future. The boss fight against CHAR-les with a certain character in your glove made it all the more memorable.
I also love learning about the facilities in 3826. Hearing about each machine and complex as well as their purpose was truly interesting. Learning about the polymorphs, their behaviors, their design, all felt both real yet mysterious and unique. It’s peak science fiction.
The DLC also gets boss battles done very well. All of the boss fights in BoC felt fun, challenging, and well balanced. You can tell that Mundfish is definitely growing as a developer as they seek to create bigger and better experiences.
Perhaps my only pet peeve with the DLC is that the CHANCE Capsules and limited arsenal of weapons make combat feel restricted. I personally prefer switching between abilities on the go, though I respect the decision to use this idea. However, I hope to be able to use the Zvezdochka again someday with mass telekinesis and more.
Additionally, the DLC’s story basically admits that DLC was a simulation, but more on that later.
Besides those two things, Blood on Crystal is a near-perfect expansion that has me excited for the future of Atomic Heart.
2. Enchantment Under The Sea (DLC #3) – Every Atomic Heart DLC Ranked Best To Worst
- Release Date: January 28th, 2025
- Review Score: 9/10
Enchantment Under The Sea feels like a return to form for the game, especially if you just played DLC 2 before. It adds new characters, an exciting new location, and a great story that serves as a wonderful penultimate DLC.
After escaping Limbo, P-3 and Blesna (now integrated into his Glove) escape Chelomey in search of the Beta Connectors. They run into Granny Zina, who after some convincing, takes them to the Neptune Research Center. From there, P-3 and Blesna begin their journey to recover the connectors.
The Neptune Research Facility is yet another amazing area to explore. I love the underwater scenery and “Rapture”-like vibes that reminded me of Bioshock. But Art Director Artem Galeev also led a creative design team that managed to make Neptune look unique and fitting with the AH universe.
The DLC also introduces new enemies and weapons, as well as a “Nemesis” type enemy called the MO-R4Y that actually can’t be defeated until the end. Furthermore, it adds new characters such as Kolya, Nastya, and the Hunter. All three characters make for great additions to the story, and it’s cool to see others trying to survive all the chaos happening in the Facility.
That’s not all either, Terentiy from Annihilation Instinct returns, and we also have new non-human characters such as the Dolphins like Nale. Honestly, any interaction with non-human NPCs feels like a treat because the conversation is either hilarious or downright bizarre.
In terms of gameplay, Enchantment Under The Sea feels and plays like classic Atomic Heart. You’re encouraged to explore the map in search of the Hunter’s stashes, and although the game is linear, Mundfish does a great job of creating open spaces to explore. I also love the Kuzmich, a semi-automatic shotgun that absolutely mows down enemies. Without it, I don’t think I would ever have defeated the crab boss.
The only thing I wasn’t crazy for in this DLC was the interactions between P-3 and Ekaterina (Blesna). It felt more like a drama/romance instead of focusing on the things I loved about the base game. I had missed CHAR-les’ descriptions of facilities and technology. I also missed his interactions with P-3 as he tried to poison his mind against Sechenov.
But the DLC more than made up for it with its gameplay, combat, puzzles, and overall story. It makes for a great segue into the final act of Atomic Heart’s first part.
3. Annihilation Instinct (DLC #1) – Every Atomic Heart DLC Ranked Best To Worst
- Release Date: August 2nd, 2023
- Review Score: 8/10
Atomic Heart’s first DLC seemingly follows the game’s shorter ending. After abandoning CHAR-les and Granny Zina, P-3 finds himself at the Lyogkaya Hotel only to find out that NORA, the repair vendor, has gone rogue and hijacked the Mendeleev Complex. After escaping the hotel, P-3 eventually finds and teams up with Alexey Lebedev, an extremely intelligent scientist.
Lebedev comes up with a plan to reboot NORA and regain control of the system, but he needs P-3 help in doing so. And so, P-3 wanders around the complex searching for specific BEA-D robots that contain the reference algorithms necessary to initiate the reboot.
The DLC only includes a handful of weapons and abilities from the main game. However, they did also introduce the Klusha (melee) and Secateur (ranged) weapons. Both are extremely fun to use, but my personal favorite, the Zvezdochka, also remains in this DLC.
The Secateur is an absolute beast of a weapon. It fires off a lot of rounds in quick succession, dealing good damage in case you need to take down a swarm of enemies. It’s secondary ability uses energy to fire off an alternate projectile which works great in separating BEA-Ds.
Furthermore, there’s a new ability only in this DLC that essentially allows P-3 to slow time in combat. In case this wasn’t enough, you can use an, Alionka, a bomb disguised as “chocolate” which deals immense damage. It can easily wipe out every enemy in a room and deal a lot of damage to the final boss.
In terms of story, it’s a mixed bag. I love Lebedev and NORA, and Terentiy makes for a lovable side character. However, it is revealed in DLC 4 that Annihilation Instinct’s story is actually a simulation created by Lebedev. This confirms the longer ending to be canon, and the short ending never happened.
Personally, it’s kind of a shame to see DLC 1 was just a simulation, but I suppose that’s the only way to keep it canon without creating an alternate timeline, which would have been too much. Regardless, it offers a fun gameplay experience, cool characters, and a beautifully designed complex.
4. Trapped in Limbo (DLC #2) – Every Atomic Heart DLC Ranked Best To Worst
- Release Date: February 6th, 2024
- Review Score: 7/10
Finally, we arrive at Trapped in Limbo, Atomic Heart’s second DLC and the first real one to continue the game’s longer ending. The story follows P-3 who has taken the form of newton, a white, hairy creature with an apple on its head. He is reunited with Teardrop, who is actually his Wife, Ekaterina (AKA Blesna or Twin).
The DLC takes players through four different trials all of which contain a mix of platforming, CS GO Sliding, minigames, and combat. The Sliding sections are fun at first, but do become frustrating in certain areas. Same goes for platforming, as some areas feel a bit too awkward to traverse through.
The DLC does contain combat, but it works much differently than the main game. You have unlimited ammo, but must unlock upgrades for your weapons by collecting Apples in Limbo. You visit a Lootyagin to receive these upgrades, with the upgrade cost rising with each purchase. Additionally, you may also find Au (Gold) coins which can be used to purchase weapon skins for the main game.
There’s multiple ways to gather Apples. You can find them in the map, destroy certain objects, and complete mini games. The minigames can be pretty fun, but some of them also feel like a chore to complete.
In terms of gameplay, Trapped in Limbo feels like the weakest out of all DLCs. Between the frustrating physics and boss battles, It’s a DLC that I would skip, were it not for the story.
Another thing I wasn’t crazy for was the art design. I love Artem Galeev’s designs, but the “candyland” theme of Limbo felt much more childish than the one we saw in the main game. It felt like too much emphasis on sweets rather than a distorted version of the world around P-3. Some details are pretty cool, like the flying whales and final area, but for the most part it felt like I was going through the same places over and over again.
Trapped in Limbo’s story is fine, but it’s held back by a few things. Firstly, Blesna’s dialogue with P-3 just isn’t as interesting as CHAR-les’. Two of the sections see P-3 communicate with his beloved, while the other two focus on P-3 and CHAR-les. The latter sections felt better and immersed me in to the story. I loved hearing P-3 and CHAR-les talk to each other again, making the latter’s betrayal feel much more impactful.
The DLC’s boss battles are what really make me put this at the bottom. The Gingerbread Man fights were frustrating and just not fun to play. You need to knock these VOV-A6-like robots into the boss, but only when he stops stomping around the map. It felt a bit tedious. And the final boss with Goose was just a temple run level.
But there are things that TiL does right. The dialogue between P-3 and CHAR-les alone is amazing, and the combat (outside of boss battles) felt fun. I also liked the minigames, and unlocking extra weapons for the main game was a cool idea. I also respect Mundfish for trying to experiment with the gameplay experience and create something different.
Overall, Trapped in Limbo is fine, but definitely my least favorite. I would love to travel through Limbo again, but hopefully it’ll be more like the base game’s version of it. But I also think this was a great learning experience for the devs, who managed to create bigger and better DLCs later on.
Overall, that’s our ranking of every Atomic Heart DLC from best to worst. While we enjoyed some more than others, we did have a blast going through all the DLCs again and experiencing the wonderful stories once more. And we can’t wait to see how the epic story continues in both The CUBE and Atomic Heart 2.
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