Atomic Heart - The Villains Explained

[@jimboanimations4041]

A little thing to note about hive minds: Hive minds in nature are actually more closer to collectivism than they are to being an actual singular consciousness spread across a group of beings. Creatures like ants, bees and termites are all still individuals with their own minds (especially bees, who have some of the highest intelligence of the mentioned creatures), but work to put everything that makes them special to use for the colony.

[@zombielizard218]

Ants, bees, and termites do not possess a hivemind. If memory serves, they were once believed to, however more modern science has disproven this. Those animals are what is known as "Eusocial". A hivemind is a purely hypothetical concept, and is, well, what's described in the video. "An entity consisting of a large number of people who share their knowledge or opinions with one another, regarded as producing either uncritical conformity or collective intelligence."

[@jimboanimations4041]

@@zombielizard218 I didn't know the specific, new term for it, only that the way those creatures act isn't the same as the idea of a hivemind.

[@tedarcher9120]

It is because ants and bees are more related to their sisters than their children, so it makes more sense for then to work for their siblings than for their family

[@alejandrotorresriquelme8714]

Drones do not take decisions, they answer to a prime program based in chemistry. For the same reason they can be hijacked by cordyceps fungus

[@jimboanimations4041]

@@alejandrotorresriquelme8714 They don't make decisions for the hive, but they have their own brains and can still act as an individual. The pheromones and other chemical aspects are simply a part of taking orders and exchanging information.

[@Tioko]

“Polymer” is a bit of a meme reference :) “Просрали все полимеры” roughly translates to “we fucking lost all the polymers”, which means either “we fucking squandered our legacy and resources” or we let them be stolen from us. Sooo, as a Russian, it’s funny to see the mystery magic substance be called “polymers” X)

[@damenwhelan3236]

The amount of russian popcukture present in game is tremendous.

[@LastGoatKnight]

And I wanted to explain what Polimer is😅. Now I feel silly. I mean, if I chose to be a mechatronics Technician and I got my final exam with flying colors at least I could brag with the useless informations I had to learn😂

[@dr.veronica6155]

I'm pretty sure there was a Twilight Zone episode about the whole idea of being able to share memories and experiences between people. As one would expect, it showed the inevitable result of it was that people who chose to take in the memories and experiences of others would eventually lose track of themselves and become unable to differentiate between their own memories and experiences and those they were borrowing from others.

[@MrDj232]

Stargate SG-1 also covered a similar concept to The Collective. A group of people retreated behind an energy dome after chemical warfare turned the atmosphere toxic. As the dome lost power the computer overseeing their mind link determined that the residents would die trying to fix the problem. So it began controlling people like drones and shrinking the dome gradually to preserve as many lives as possible. Because it was rewriting their memories, and they trusted it implicitly, nobody noticed what was happening until SG-1 started removing the link device. Even after solving the energy problem they couldn't recover the deleted information. Nobody knew how many loved ones were lost to the computer's idea of the greater good, nor how much knowledge was erased from their history.

[@Spectre-907]

@@MrDj232 the chad SG-1 connoiseur.

[@Fridaey13txhOktober]

The conclusion being, that it turns out to be bad. Real courage would have been making it with both good sides and bad ones.

[@colonelchester7322]

Atomic Heart seems like another victim of the limitations of time. Whether or not it was rushed doesn't matter. To fully flesh out the story they wanted to, they probably would have needed double the time. Everything under the lighthouse just felt like it was desperately trying to squeeze all the remaining story details out as quickly as possible--around thirty minutes for me--instead of doing it naturally over the course of a couple hours.

[@shibepanic]

seems so, but the story will be expanded in future dlc's

[@SkySesshomaru]

I agree. But I actually enjoy the Theater, Enfermary and the Lighthouse. This sequence was perfect. What I didn't expect was that after the lighthouse we would go to the end so quick. It went from "Ok, let's explain and reveal things to the player" to "Ok, let's end this shit" pretty quick, which sure felt rushed.

[@changvasejarik62]

Agreed, if only because both endings are downers that makes me think back to that old wars games line. Atomic heart: the only winning move is not to play.

[@agamemnonofmycenae5258]

​@@SkySesshomaruyou all view the lighthouse scene incorrectly. It was an Easter egg to the bioshock games that the devs got inspiration from(getting into the lighthouse, underwater city, dubious actions to build a better society, and even mind control revelations). Even the Chariton twist reflects Frank Fontaine-Atlas to the main character. Unlike the original Bioshock though, you will face the atomic heart's "Frank Fontaine either in the next game or in a big expansion. P.S.: Even the metallic man Chariton mirrors Fontaine's final form during the boss fight.

[@WillowsPeak77]

Even the E3 trailers of Atomic Heart has missing scenes and weapons not added to the game your DLCs. Like the MP34-inspiredd SMG, and Sechenov conforting Agent P-3 and that girl you with personally via Hologram on a Drofa.

[@_12k70]

The detail about Chariton that I belive most people overlook is how in The Academy, there's a bunch of logs implying the idea that Chariton did that to himself in fact, from personal notes of Chariton talking about how human biology is what limits us and that a being of "pure intellect" is the true path of evolution, to even logs about a fire in his laboratory that happened while he was trying to do some sort of neurologycal procedure on himself. The "official" version if that he fell on a bunch of neuro-polymer, the version told by Sechenov and the verion CHAR-LES tells P-3, but I kinda guess that's the lie told so that people wouldn't freak out on the idea this big brain scientist said "fuck it" to his body and decided to turn himself into a blob of polymer.

[@godofdeath8785]

Ye. We need evolve no matter what anyone think. Here in Russia though where i live people really seems like conservative, religious my both parents religious and its just don't feel like civilization country

[@lemonov3031]

@@godofdeath8785 Civilization is not when you abandon your culture and identity. You've been lied to.

[@godofdeath8785]

@@lemonov3031 fk this culture and identity then if its feels like conservative and medieval

[@_12k70]

Thanks, "@@godofdeath8785 ", very cool.

[@pilotmanpaul]

​@@godofdeath8785 The Soviet Union wasn't Conservative or Religious. Look at what happened, men turned to not God but themselves. But we're imperfect and thus, millions of the USSR's very own citizens died as their seen than nothing more than replaceable meatbags. Religion is part of human nature, it directly correlates with Faith. A very human thing and if you remove that, you end up with a Society that has no one to pray to but the Government.

[@Maljurok]

The moment you mentioned the part regarding the brain of P3's wife, it suddenly clicked that Right and Left weren't referring to hands of Sechenov, but freaking hemispheres of the brain!

[@ivanguliashki]

Yeah, Sechinov himself says so during your battle with Right and Left, but it's easy to miss considering how hectic that encounter is.

[@christianandon6307]

The villains were the friends we made along the way.

[@Thelastmanalive565]

Couldn’t say it better myself😊

[@Grigoriy1996]

@@Hesaysalot well, as a Russian whose country had the biggest expirement in past and my parents and grand parents lived throught it I can say these assumptions are not wrong. Maybe even thinking too favourably of Socialism and Communism. Because in fact it was all false utopia which was impossible to build. Socialism of the USSR was in fact a poorly working system economically because in fact it was the worst side of Capitalism - a total state monopoly for everything. There were no place for proper competition and adaptation based on peoples actual needs because private economical initiative (businesses) were forbiden and all the economics had to be done through plans coming from the very top which were too bulky to adapt to quickly adapt to changing reality and people's needs. Moreover, since there was no competition there was no option for consumers to choose, so there basically were no feedback. And probably anyone running any type of product development knows that without feedback you can't know if what you're doing is actually worth it. Is it really good or it's just your assumption? And all humans are subjects of cognitive baises. The same goes for political structure. So, there's no such thing as communism or non-competitive no private initiative socialism. They are just state monopolies where the biggest flaw is their leader which can't be perfect. If fact, the history of the Soviet Union showed that every leader it had was just an exploitator of this monopoly.

[@hajime5486]

Nice

[@jacquesshaw9952]

​@@Hesaysalotcare to offer your take? Maybe assist in the expansion of knowledge?

[@ilyabykov2437]

@@Grigoriy1996 Sure, but total capitalism means that the greediest bastard wins, and monopolises everything he's allowed to. There should be balance between state control and individual freedom, and everything will be fine.

[@Soul_in_Gun]

Yo, there's some bad translations in the section about Zakharov (because in Russian it's more clear): He was not murdered by Sechenov rather he moved out to the polymer state himself or with some help from Sechenov - there's an e-mail about that - Zakharov was obsessed with idea of being out-of-body mind, so probably he's even more out of his mind than he even seems to be.

[@moogleprotip]

Polymer is essentially a bunch of neurons. it's material that acts like a non newtonian fluid that's conductive and allows the storage of electrical charges. Basically it removed the need for huge batteries and copper wiring for the most part. apparently it's also got some sort of ai that allows it to interface with our brain's electrical patterns to interpret thought.

[@spartanx9293]

Well that would explain why you hear a bunch of lines whenever you're in polymer

[@crisomamber8463]

@@spartanx9293 I think they are not random lines, they were memory of the P-3?

[@GumgUmduk]

So basically polymer works like inorganic plant networks but with room for improvement and augmentation, hmm interesting 🤔

[@theelementalstation947]

So my thoughts on the three villains: 1. He didn’t need to kill everyone to make a distraction, hell, a bunch of refugees fleeing the facility would add incredibly to the distraction, specially if they are hostages limiting the ability for military action inside the facility. So the fact that he didn’t think of that shows how much of an idiot he really is. 2. There are many people that will give up power, the thing is those who give up power would never seek to have ultimate power. So the simple fact that he even thought and went through with the Alfa instead of an alternative shows that he would never give it up, for if he would, he would have found another way to fulfill the task. 3. Honnestly he lost it, don’t blame him considering his current situation, but still. For being a mechanical being he sure lacks his fare share of screws and I doubt his “next step of evolution” would have lasted because for being “beyond humanity’s weakness” he is the platonic testament of each one of them. Hell, that’s assuming that he could even take over humanity/kills us all and not get nuked as soon as he gets too far.

[@ilyabykov2437]

1. Petrov is a serial killer and megalomaniac, he couldn't get all the attention and validation he wanted doing his job, so he turned to mass murder. Brainwashed his GF to help him. 2. Sechinov did nothing wrong, except maybe being too cold and focused on the goal, and willing to sacrifice a lot to acheive it. But not literally everything, like the glove. He dismissed P-3 as a broken tool, and didn't even bother to properly explain anything before ordering his murder, because he became just another criminal and obstacle to his "greater good" mission. And those guys under water are volounteers. 3. Glove is just absolute evil, as Sechinov said.

[@ceu160193]

What other way there was to fulfill the task? Making machine to lead humanity to brighter future? Example of Zakharov already demonstrated to him, that even humans can go straight up genocidal, let alone machines. So he considered it only way possible. With all minds linked together, and active people being a minority, this "collective mind" would be mostly incapable of making that future a reality. It needs a directive, a goal, and it's unlikely to form that goal by itself.

[@naheleshiriki5496]

You are most definitely right about the power bit. This guy is very selfish and very used to making choices for everyone else. He's not going to give that up.

[@ceu160193]

@@naheleshiriki5496 Let's be real - no one would give up that kind of power, if given chance to have it.

[@naheleshiriki5496]

@@ceu160193 We don't actually know that for certain as none of us know what we would truly do in that situation unless it were to actually happen. We only know who people that actively sought power did with it and considering how they sought it out in the first place. Of course they didn't let it go.

[@judgedread9724]

I'd say that Viktors story is ultimately a story of 'Who's the greater evil?'.

[@wesleyspellman4266]

Nah, I'm all in for collective 2. Sure, the inventor is a bad guy but so is (almost) everyone who causes significant political change. Eventually he would die or give up power and all humanity would be much better off than we are now or in this alternate timeline. Access to all knowledge and legions of robotic workers sounds cool to me.

[@ilyabykov2437]

The glove and the petrov are so evil, that sechinov is a saint compared to them.

[@kontrabanned]

​@@wesleyspellman4266ju vill eat ze bugs, ju vill live in ze pod, ju will vurk in ze metaverse, und ju vill own noting... und ju vill be happy

[@wesleyspellman4266]

@@kontrabanned you're thinking of life under capitalism in the majority of the world. While the game shows a flawed world, it's still generally better than real life. And after collective 2 stabilized things would likely be even better.

[@mikhaelgribkov4117]

@@wesleyspellman4266 you sure are insane. While this game is cowardly in it's presentation of ruzzian imperialism, as it is gets cash from such folks, it still had decency of not being deranged enough to give mind control device to anyone.

[@GiRR007]

I was under the impression that the polymer had change zakarovs personality a little bit and that the personality we see with the new zakarovs isnt entirely him. That the polymer itself had goals of its own.

[@bocahdongo7769]

Better He gains more knowledge only to realize human is the blockade the whole time. Same premise with Terminator franchise, or any robo-thriller media

[@GumgUmduk]

@@bocahdongo7769 blockade or stepping stone 🤔

[@jamespaul6315]

The sprouts were an even bigger threat than the robots. I didnt think the story was confusing though myself

[@IronicHavoc]

I think it's confusing in the sense that certain writing decisions seemed weirdly timed or executed, rather than the plot itself being too hard to follow.

[@imadequate3376]

I highly recommend the snowball. Makes extremely short work of mutants and the Plyush (I'm sure you know that those are rather numerous late game and aren't a 1 time boss fight, there's 2 or 3 on the bridge on the way to the infirmary and 3 in the infirmary you can fight optionally and another one or two in the morgue as well. For those who aren't there yet arm yourself with the snowball if you can before hand)

[@plasmaxl8626]

the way you described "hivemind" could be more accurately described as an "overmind." Both are similar in outside appearance but the way they operate is very different. They exist on a sort of spectrum of unity, where our current society with the internet could be described as the lowest end of the spectrum (but still on it) while an overmind (one being that uses many bodies) being on the farthest end. Hiveminds, like bees and ants are in the middle. Apologies for this not being super relevant for the video, i just wanted to rant about collective conscious lol absolutely love this video for clarifying so effectively some of the plot points i was a little confused on, i hope it gets lots of attention!

[@ВладиславБулаев-л3э]

COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS CONTROL

[@gs4011]

​@@ВладиславБулаев-л3э THE UNENLIGHTENED MASSES THEY CANNOT MAKE THE JUDGEMENT CALL

[@BeefMeisterSupreme]

Overmind: A greater intelligence potentially overriding other sentient bodies. Hivemind: A greater intelligence created by many dumb thing networking to create a web of sentience. Collective consciousness: A greater intelligence created by many intelligent things networking to create a web of sentience.

[@plasmaxl8626]

@removethatpfp usubhhumanssackoffshiitbbittcchh lmao stay mad i guess

[@TheForklifter]

I think part of the reason why Sechenov didn't explain to P3 why Charles was so evil was that he was convinced that CHARLES was just a glove with the same knowledge as the human Charles but none of the humanity and ambitions. Much like the robot twins and how completely obedient they are to Sechenov. Everyone seems so surprised how sentient and how much free will Charles has. I think Sechenov truly thought CHARLES the glove was just an AI assistant.

[@GumgUmduk]

So sechenov wasnt just clingy but shortsighted in how intelligently capable his creations were or past decisions he made would affect his outlook and future

[@nana-cq9mn]

my biggest complaint of the game is how G.Zina is used so little throughout the game except when utterly needed to progress the plot in some way or influence the player/character. She first pops up utterly randomly to save the player. She then inexplicably has the exact thing needed to help the player access cameras and the gate blocking you, and again saves you. She also has access to highly secretive networks only the politburo can use. She later picks up the player inexplicably after murdering the doctor woman, revealing she is his MIL, only now yet not earlier. she then somehow has a connection to charles when he was human, further helping charles to manipulate the player into putting him into power. she is simply a walking talking plot device to push the player where the devs want them to go. 1. need to get the player into the first facility 2. needs to get the player the ability to access the cameras 3. needs to help influence the player to choose the bad ending. Zina is positioned in the game as a good person, pushing the player to do the "right" thing but her "help" only pushes the story down a worse rabbit hole. If P3 had listened solely to Sechenov and only used charles for what was needed, there debatably would have been a far better ending than either two endings we got. Zina appears as a good person but is probably the biggest villain aside from petrov and Charles. she is a wolf plot device in sheeps clothing.

[@vermas4654]

She probably is the KGB

[@AgentDearestZ]

The internet sure seems like Collective v0.05

[@tashibalampkin8555]

27:41 I don't know what that white fluffy creature is but I want it.

[@DVN0985]

Sechenov says during the fight he's not ordering them to kill P-3 but to kill Charitan. He even tells you to take to glove off and stop fighting.

[@shaevizla]

During the battle with the twins Sechenov states they're fighting Chariton, not P3 and asks him to remove the glove and he'll call off the twins (although that is not an option for the player). Gameplay wise they'll kill you, but since Petrov was able to return with just a head the same can apply with P3 (whose entire body is pretty much machine anyway). In the case of Chariton I believe he may have polymerized himself in a last ditch effort to transcend the flesh but the red polymer was still experimental so he was rendered dormant until Sechenov tinkered with it after. He may have deceived Sechenov into thinking he'll help him with Kollektiv 2 and watch over P3 when in reality he wants to use P3 to eliminate anyone with authority in the project (Larissa, Petrov, Sechenov). His plans are confusing since he crushed the alpha connector and had P3 dispose the betas - it's possible he just loathes humanity and wants to watch them destroy themselves than to see them reach their next stage in evolution.

[@new_age_entertainment]

So Sechenov is like Andrew Ryan and Zakharov is Frank Fontaine. Got it lol.

[@instantsnek]

So Sechenov's goal is to achieve human instrumentality

[@sushipop7658]

although I wished the game could have done without the final twist with charles- i still really enjoyed this game. it was creepy, fun, interesting- and even if the story seems to end on a bad note, or open ended, im excited to see what they do with any DLC

[@crisomamber8463]

There's some information you missed. The wife of P-3 and P-3 himself was Sechenov's best trusting person, and the BETA connector was suppose to be like their rings, and they were suppose to help Sechenov stay aware of abnormality in Collective 2.0. That's why the BETA connector can make them undetectable, and this is their idea from the beginning Also, the reason for Sechenov to keep P-3's wife's brain in the robot's body, because his didn't have the tech to revive a dead human brain. Which is conflict the Chariton's story that Sechenov makes him into this. There also logs in The Academy about the Sechenov was once wanted to help Chariton "restore human form", and was refuse by him. This and the laboratory fire incident could indicate the Chariton may have turn himself into this form, and was planning to hijack Sechenov's plan from the beginning The Sechenov isn't saint tho, as if Chariton's claims was right, the Sechenov have inform Chariton to either help or guide, even control P-3, to remove the threats of Collective 2.0. And of cource, Chariton do it in his own way, by control P-3 and slaughter them

[@crabfromhell]

Kolektiv 2.0 sounded swell until the part where the Gamma, Beta and Alpha part was introduced

[@pilotmanpaul]

I love stories like these. Everyone is Evil but sees themselves as Heroes or the answer. Each three of them shows a certain type of person who makes the saying "The path to Hell is paved with good intention" but in a different way.

[@jonathannavarez9657]

Any day with a new FatBrett video is a good day, even when I don't know anything about this game

[@dissailo361]

Excellent work as per usual, your language and deep understanding of a topic truly amazes me. As I walk to school and listen to your videos I’m basically always impressed with how you can conclude such confusing topics.

[@quazarKiragon]

in its own way regardless of what you as a character choose you somehow still lose in the end, but if its on a morality scale, its a case of which of the two evils will you choose, that said it begs the question that is humanity in essence "evil" or is it the gift of free will that makes us evil, but there is one thing that the "good" ending tells me is that P-3 had to wise up and think for himself, where he had to say enough was enough from being manipulated by all the "devils" (the antagonists) especially as how he said he was cottoning on to what charlton was doing and he was fedup of being strung along by him like some kind of puppet master (kinda ironic since charlton generally exposes himself as a bunch of strings and in the evil ending p-3 flops to the floor like a sack of potatos like a puppet with its strings being cut when charlton ditches him) and even p-3 even states that after he ripped charlton out of him in the good part of the ending that he felt better, so its a statement to say think for yourself and make your own calls of judgement, although it was interesting when the "not baba yaga" lady was trying to antagonize p-3 for amusingly taking the "cowards way out" which ironically in todays politics by not choosing either side in politics will get you labelled as a coward, but is it cowardice for not picking either side which is both not just against you but are both "the devils" so choosing either side means you lose, the only way to win is to not play the devils game

[@lowtunes4772]

Tbh, i dont think that the story is confussing, Petrov wanted to be some kind of martir activating the military mode in civilian robot to make everyone aware of the Atomic Heart project, CHARles was lying from the biginning (I like the little nod of the first boss fight, "the [model] is quite dangerous" all tho was a "civilian" robot) and Sechenov was trying to evolve the human race, via a hivemind at first, but because Charles intervention when was alive, it become more like a overmind. Btw, when charles spokes about the next step, he is referring to absorve everyone with the polymer. I pretty much like the story

[@IronGiant131]

"Martyr"

[@Fridaey13txhOktober]

Yeah and also, US nuclear facilities would likely be guarded against special forces robots, never mind civilian ones.

[@SkySesshomaru]

What about the "beta rings", "alpha connector", etc? That was the part of the story that got me confused.

[@Сайтамен]

@@SkySesshomaru Alpha connector is basically admin access to the Kollektiv network. Beta rings are incognito mode, when you gain information from Kollektiuv, but Kollektiv doesn't see yours.

[@MrTussbon]

I thought Victor said the combat mode was programmed onto them before he became head of robotics. (Unless that was a lie, I'm not too sure since deception was a running theme through this game.)

[@IronicHavoc]

Sure but even if the mode existed in previous robots, he continued the practice in any new features/improvements/models that he lead the design and development for. He probably also had to make sure they were all up to spec with regards to the combat functionality, stuff like that. He was at least complicit given the responsibilities of his job.

[@TheForklifter]

​@@IronicHavoc Petrov was a prisoner. While he was complicit he had no choice but to program. Everyone at the facility knew he was a wild card and unpredictable and was closely watched.

[@Сайтамен]

@@TheForklifter He had accomplices, Larisa and several others who died.

[@Baptiste_D]

Hey are you gonna do a character analysis for Baldur? I've watched all your gow analysis several times and I must say I love your work! I'm in love with your writing skills and perception of the character's history and I would love to see one of the last if not the last Asgardian god analysis on your channel ! Keep up the good work and once again congratulations 🙏

[@SlavCo-INC]

We also got to keep in mind there will be 4 DLC that they said will be story focused

[@daysand123]

Man those AI artists must have really wanted that Collective 2.0

[@doombloomers9609]

There's good reason why the best ending is just the MC going "screw this, I'm out" and simply leaving.

[@HeOfTheBeginning]

The Beginning felt like a commercial, a long commercial, but a damn good one!

[@VALENTINÓ_KHA_SÁN_ZÝR]

I feel like Petrov was a character mis understood as a villain

[@jfd9616]

if there's one thing this game has taught me, always trust a horny fridge

[@SicMetalMaggot4life]

All this plot stuff involving mental collectivism *really* reminds me of something from the mainline Gundam franchise…

[@mikhaelgribkov4117]

That is also Superman: Red Son plot point.

[@primochandrasekaran8997]

Never planned on playing this, but after watching this Imma head over and buy it

[@ilyabykov2437]

You spoiled the story for yourself though

[@ShadowRose224]

@@ilyabykov2437 at least they won't be as confused. Sometimes knowing the end makes the story better

[@Mestari1Gaming]

@@ShadowRose224 Good take.

[@TheOctopusPirateShow]

So, it's like "Evangelion" ending, but in sovietwave way?

[@VladislavDoroshuk]

Sechenov portraited as a genius, that explains why his acting in some simple actions can be off or strange.

[@killian9314]

There is a Kino no Tabi bit where Kino explores a city where something akin to Collective 2.0 was successfully implemented. The results and mental toll is explored

[@joseribamarjr5164]

hands down, the best video explaining the plot and motivations.

[@blonkasnootch7850]

Thank you for the effort put in this wonderful Video. I miss one little detail. During the last Boss Fight Sechenov claims that the Balerinas don't fight P3 but Zakharov and that he just have to take of the glove and solve it peacefully. If we can trust him in this than this paints him even less a vilain. I see his cold reaction to have P3 killed by the Balerinas as a fed up and anoyed one. He has his head full with other things and does not want to wast time because he thought all possible outcomes already through and does not see any other solution.

[@R3TR0J4N]

"convoluted and confusing", perfectly put into words when it comes to stories of gameplay-focused titles, story-wise, it's bearable literally as game's direction purposes.

[@ColonelHess]

I disagree, there are two things that hold true- First, As I get older I get wiser -Second, as I get older I also become more jelly like. The jelly form is clearly one of power.

[@KieranByers]

even if kollectiv 2.0 was successful, I'd want to get removed immediately. if no matter how kollectiv is described as, it sounds like an existential, scratch that, a psychological nightmare. it would take the joy out of learning because it's essentially downloaded in your head like everyone else. kollectiv would remove the need to grow as a person and a society. I sympathize with Petrov because we would definitely be mindless drones. you wouldn't need to go anywhere or what you need because everyone else does. how could you find meaning in a world where everyone is literally equal?

[@stephentwest]

Wow, this video was incredibly informative and fascinating. Atomic Heart has been on my radar for a while now, and this video really helped me understand the motivations and backstories of the game's villains. The way the video breaks down each villain's unique abilities and weaknesses is really helpful, and I appreciated the analysis of how each villain fits into the game's overall narrative. The game's emphasis on Cold War-era technology and Soviet culture is really intriguing, and I'm excited to see how the game world comes to life. The villains seem to be such an integral part of the game's story, and I can't wait to face off against them. Overall, this video has me even more excited to play Atomic Heart and explore the game's unique world and characters. Thank you for creating such a detailed and informative breakdown of the game's villains. Keep up the great work!"

[@jimmybuba2683]

10:00 even the game says that the polymer is something that even as studied as it is presented in the game, is still so advanced scientist dont know what it truly is, a terminal talked about how its something maybe humans werent supposed to see yet, and seeing how it changed everything and brings the end of the world it is probably true

[@lukelyon1781]

Also, I REALLY wish games and other media would cut it out with these forced evolution plots. Evolution isn't a choice. You evolve because your environment demands it of you and it happens over the course of several generations. And people are still continuously evolving as we speak. Just because we aren't becoming galaxy brained Super-Computer hiveminds or giant killer mutants doesn't mean we aren't still evolving.

[@krystofmraz]

For mankind it may be the choice. Will give you one most obvious example which is not sci-fi but is already happening several decades at least. You can evolve thru generations to be imune to some disease. Or you can get vacinated and develop your imunity in a few days.

[@lukelyon1781]

@@krystofmraz vaccines are not evolution, they're a technology that aid your body's ability to fend off certain diseases and you don't pass those immunities onto your offspring. And you don't typically evolve to be immune to certain diseases. It generally takes generations upon generations to do that and if the disease is particularly deadly or the type that mutates frequently then you're never going to see an instance in which one evolves an immunity to a disease. It's usually by complete dumb luck that a person is naturally immune to a disease and is like a 1 in a billion odds.

[@PhantomBones101]

The story seems a little too ambitious. If it weren't for the polymer being so abstract this could've been better as a movie.

[@LusheNekudo]

Interesting, because the person behind the story and art direction of the game originally wanted it to be a movie, but later changed his mind. Edit: I think his name is Artyom Galeev

[@ishaaqmartin3564]

The original Hellblazer Comics dealt with a similar concept, called The Empathy Machine. It backfired by way of many of the sheltered or priviledge people commiting suicide or suffering extreme mental trauma the moment the start truly understanding the pain, misery, depression, anxiety, etc of those who have undergone great trauma in their lives, or psychologically losing themselves as they chase the twisted and corrupted pleasure found through causing harm. meaning it left only those few people capable of dealing with extreme mental trauma or sociopaths and psychopaths.

[@xalekcey]

I like the game and this image that she draws. Russia today provides the world with an alternative reality.

[@summonknight]

sooo basically the collective is the protoss khala from starcraft

[@chaosmd9714]

I love your Videos. I can't get enough.

[@TheGodOfWarhammer]

3:56 after hearing more on the collective 2.0, i’d be totally against it for two reasons: one, it would make each individual experience pointless as it and therefore yourself would be lost amongst the collective. two, because batman forever taught me if ideas can be given, they can also be taken, manipulated, or even implanted.

[@dr.veronica6155]

I believe there was a Twilight Zone episode where people were able to have memories removed and inserted and it showed that eventually it would become impossible to differentiate between your own memories and experiences and those you received from others. So I agree, seems like it would be a pretty bad idea.

[@Enkidu-4U]

One of the villains is the reason why most who played thru the game didn't like the story. I liked it because it was bizarre and weird. Originality Trumps all. This game was nothing like Bioshock, even though it actually showed an underwater city towards the end. I filled out Telekinesis and occasionally used Shok. Never used freeze or anything else except the polymer jet when you had to use it to solve a few puzzles.

[@BurningLove73]

this plot sounds like the manipulation of the MC in Bioshock. but written a bit worse...

[@changvasejarik62]

A man chooses, a slave buys atomic heart and all the dlc at full price.

[@Arantigos]

I'm not sure if its just me but the idea behind Kollektiv 2.0 reminds me of the Geth from Mass Effect, where there are thousands of geth minds, united by the Geth Consensus

[@TheThe-1326]

Very well put! I wasn't interested that much in the game but in some future I'll think of getting it. Your vids are extraordinary since Gow ragnarok ones, keep it up!

[@bensonk1939]

I’m really hoping the dlc is going to expand on the game and add another ending or two. It’ll be really disappointing if it’s just more puzzle rooms.

[@HelloKolla]

COnfirmed that its a continuation of the plot

[@Itoyokofan]

6:40 Fun fact is, this is exactly what Dr. Vegapunk was currently working on in One Piece manga.

[@Xar_Khan]

I do like this game. ANd while I was kinda let down... I can forgive it if they do more with it. But essentially there is no good guy.. and yeah.. now that I see it, the writing is very... odd. definitely confusing. HOWEVER, I do hope that this does turn into a series. and we can fix the problems as it goes along. Write it so we know who is who and what each really wants. So by the end we know all that we need to truly know. and at the end of it, give a choice. and not just one or two or three.. give like 5. Thats what I think they should do. I'd go into even more stuff, but id rather not make a page-long comment.. maybe i'll do document and put it out somehow.. idk about a video..

[@CosmicD]

I think the explanations I've seen thus far are great but for some reason, people somehow overlook the importance of P3's wife: the sexy curly haired, graceful, sporty martial arts agent and a prima ballerina who helps him to wake up during the times he is sent to limbo, who asks him to find her and set her free, because she's trapped, and she can't help him but she wants to. I've got several theories about that. It's so clear that both sechenov and Charles are lying about her. She says so herself twice during the combat with the twins. Her body might be dead, yes but they're lying about her consciousness being gone and her consciousness is definitely transferred and stored somewhere. Either as the same polymer blob as Charles but trapped in one of the ballerina's heads, or even crazier, she has been sitting in P3's head all this time, trying to reach him telepathically, and she could only do that through limbo. I think she is the "good factor" that will be able to cause a breakthrough if only P3 can manage to "set her free". The question is, did he really do that by killing the twins and thus the alpha connector (yes I believe the twins ARE the alpha connector. First, Right pulls it out of left's body, which suggests to me that she generates it every time if an important lock has to be opened). And in Pavlov, they use their high heels, which if you look closely, look like keys, because they have bittings on them that suppose to fit somewhere. So the alpha key also doubles as a control mechanism. And If I'm correct, Katya's consciousness can now be "free". Imagine that Charles doesn't kill P3 but because of his narcissistic nature, he uses P3's "combat mode" to tie up some loose ends. And I think that's when Katya can still help him. I'm very much looking forward to the continuation of this story and to seeing if much of my theory holds up. If it doesn't, all the better because then I'll be surprised. But I have the feeling that she is the key to breaking the stalemate and enabling p3 and Zina to mount a counter-offensive if she can wake up P3 at the right time. In the ending, there is this huge suggestion. P3 sees his loved one fly towards him, coming from the 2 golden rings. What if the next mission will be to find these rings, so the protagonists from the next chapter will be able to disappear from kollektive and be hidden from Charles for a while so they can prepare a plan to prevent him from converting every human into blobs? Anyway, I like the ending because there are so many obtuse factors that the writers can fill in later. Like, how does Katya even know so much about what a limited state is (she has this technical word for it), It tells me she has been able to observe the situation from behind the ballerina's sensors and memorize everything. The ballerinas followed sechenov everywhere, and I think - so did Katya's consciousness. But I may be wrong too.

[@TysonMcBoss1]

Babe Wake up, New Fat Brett video just dropped

[@tex_the_proto2880]

I finished the game half an hour before finding this. The story is a little confusing, its also barley apart of the bioshock universe, and I needed this because my thoughts about who the villain was switched 4 times

[@JAlva.45]

22:07 nice choice of bgm here. nostalgia bomb

[@IrvingIV]

I'm beginning to think you may possibly be distracted by the "sexy ballerina robot bodyguards."

[@andrewmah2962]

Sexy ballerina robot bodyguards 😂

[@ceu160193]

It's not like Zakharov accepted his death, he just didn't want to remain human.

[@Likely_Alucard]

One tidbit of knowledge that was pointed out to me is the design of Left and Right.... The communist star combined with the greek/early Roman hair prompted my friend to ask if it was hinting to the fact that history repeats itself... There is a lot of subtle references and nods. But it is ambiguous....

[@mikhaelgribkov4117]

Pretty sure designers just stole hair from Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukrainian politian, there were actually ruzzian articles referencing that.

[@limenciel6081]

@@mikhaelgribkov4117 I saw this hairstyle in an old Soviet movie "Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears.

[@Mr.Heller]

"Magical jelly" let cold fusion to be possible. Basically it allows infinite energy.

[@shastealyomeal]

Really

[@Сайтамен]

In the original Sechenov says - "Left, Right - neutralise", not "terminate", which means he probably wanted to destroy P3's prostetic limbs and then convince him that he is right or wipe his memory again.

[@Сайтамен]

Chariton tells Sechenov in the end of the game "You're glad it happened, aren't you?" which means his death was indeed accidental and that Sechenov saved his consciousness in polymer goo, while his absorbed body became jellyman.

[@pancakes8670]

Is anyone else having the issue where they can't focus on those final cutscenes because there's a camera shot full of robot ass?

[@BJRoes]

“Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” - Winston Churchill

[@LuskiiTV534]

the reason power was not relinquished was that obviously the collectivist society was not ready to hold its own due to the number of crises, poor leadership, resistance to change, and intervention by other forces. I choose to believe suchanov is a good person or at least genuinely wants to help humanity.

[@inotetsu7656]

I guess this game has no good ending. Any ending a player would want isn't achievable, it could be on purpose, mirroring how P3 never got to choose his own destiny.

[@ishnoll]

Someone like old world blues and big mt a little too much, but they failed to lay off the mobieus juice

[@gandorokkorodnag9028]

I’ve been watching you’re videos for a couple days and I’m enjoying all of them. Could you possibly do a video on zack and wiki

[@realsonofmars]

Just a little side note, one of the reasons collectivism hasn't worked well is rugged individualism has spared no expense to try to destroy it.

[@jasonalbran376]

It will never work... It's an idealist, utopian delusion. The problem with collectivism is that lazier people will take advantage of more productive people. If you can't put in the same work, then you aren't "equal." You're an enslaver. Equality doesn't exist, and everyone needs to accept it. Collectivism should be destroyed at all costs. Individuals build societies. Individual skills that benefit civilization while being incentived by earned compensation.

[@thezerowulf2046]

What a weird take.

[@shadow12k]

This game is an example of why you should never watch reviews for games unless you’re looking for bug fixes. Every person that reviewed this game said that it was predictable and I have a hard time believing that they finished it.

[@SalvadorCiaro]

You can decide to join the collective by taking the connector.

[@ObsidianFallen]

Sharing everything I. Peoples head is such a bad idea imagine the messed up crap that would suddenly be part of everyone.

[@ObsidianFallen]

Every view of reality and morality at once. Dilusions and tramas. Fears and forbidden knowledge.

[@topcat59]

Great vid bro.😺

[@EdiTheDon]

Wow, sechinov talks a lot like Klaus Schwab of the WEF.

[@garymckay2929]

@fatbrett it would be amazing if you could make a video in how to ananlyze story like you do. Watching your GOW videos were so enlightening and I’d love to learn how to analyze story in the way you do

[@kennerlopez4861]

I think you should do metal gear

[@TurtleChad1]

These robots are hard to defeat with one hand only

[@matthewcarlson5505]

So Kollective 2.0 is basically like the Borg collective.

[@HxH2011DRA]

The video description is speaking my language 🤌 (that ending rant on how the villains morality is still human morality is absolute garbage though)

[@ethribin4188]

Quick correction, collective 2.0 IS a tool that allows a hive mind. A hive mind does not remove individuality. Creatures in hive minds just dont have the desire to fullfill their individuality. And thus they just apply their individuality where it suits the collective most. A collective where individuality literaly doesnt exist is not a hive mind. Its a single organism, like a body. There is no value or difference in purpose of creatures in an organism, just how theres only one goal of cells in your body. To have the organism survive as a whole. The wh40k tyranids are propably the best example. They arent individuals, they arent different outside of their specialization. Unlike Ants where they very much are individuals, who's purpose is the collective and they are effectivly machines of the anthill factory. Ants or bees are a hive mind. A collective of indivifual organisms who put the collective above themselves at any level, so much so they appear to not have a mimd of their own. Creatures that truely dont have a mind of their own and are just part of a collective arent part of a hive mind. They are part of a single organism.

[@viktorpanayotov5653]

Even with its flaws, I still love the story and world this game introduced to us. It's creative and different. I got into it easily. That's really what I want from games, a story and universe that gets me to engage with it and think about concepts and mindsets. Regarding who is evil, yeah I would agree they are all flawed and "evil" in their own ways. But I do rank them in terms of how evil they feel to me. I definitely feel like Zakharov is the main antagonist while Petrov feels like the secondary one even thought he is the tertiary one. Sechenov feels more honest to me, as in he really wants to help humanity. That doesn't mean he's a saint but at least his intentions feel more honest. Petrov on the other hand feels like he is obsessed with proving himself in front of Larissa. And he would do anything to accomplish that. After Larissa dumps him, him going fully insane and killing himself kinda backs that up. Basically he feels more mentally unstable to me than Sechenov. Also one of the DLCs kinda proves that Sechenov does have honest intentions at least to some extent. But in-regards to you saying Sechenov likely won't give up control when the time comes, I agree. And I think since the story is kinda split in two timelines, in this specific timeline Sechenov will likely be the final villain exactly because he refuses to give control and it corrupts him fully.

[@digitaldevil696]

Thanks for explaining all this convoluted mess and tearing into the writing choices a little bit, I didn't want to play this game myself because I don't wanna support russian devs, but still was pretty intrigued. Now it all seems kinda shallow honestly

[@Ghostvface]

At the end he snapped his neck and absorbed his consciousness he became the most intelligent one

[@salgoragarus5854]

When I read “Evolution by extinction” All I though of is “RESURRECTION BY ERECTION”

[@МорфейМутноночный]

17:53 actually if you may read that log in Russian, it about different things: Sechenov's point: let me put you (Z is already goo at that point at time) into android body Zacharov's response: I don't want to be in some "buth man's body", he want to continue his research without limitations of flesh or another things. He wasn't ill, at least physically.

[@agxryt]

The ambient music that plays in the first couple mins of the video, what's it from? It's so familiar E: dead cells maybe?

[@necronlord8274]

I think that some parallel with Warhammer franchise could be made, just look under than angle: _"Soviet Union"_ - Imperium of Men in the Galactic crusade stage (M30); _"Resentful bourgeouse countries"_ - rest of the galaxy; _"Workers, peasants and other ordinary folk around the globe"_ - humans who are victims of their own delusions, empty faith and xenos oppression; _"Dirty capitalists"_ - xenos which exploit fellow humans and compete for material resources; _"Deviating anarchist/pseudo-communist heretics"_ - abhumans/mutants which are flawed versions of _Homo Sapiens._ In such case, Sechenov could be compared to Emperor of Mankind. 1) Both have high goals in mind, both are ruthless, both are sociopaths who do not care for individuals, who thing in terms of masses. However, they have empathy for whole human species as a group. They just do not feel themselves to be obliged by any kind of morality as they see their goals existential for human race. Both saw imperfections in human race. Someone could dare to say that they both share _transhumanist causes_ - *unacceptance of natural course of history* which they see as leading to spiritual degradation, biological degeneration and eventual extinction of _Homo Sapiens._ 2) Emperor of Men wants to unite all multitude of _Homo Sapiens_ species in one super-state which will control and guarantee humanity's existence and development, eliminate all alien threats. Sechenov has a global target - to coerce all humans into "Collective 2.0", to remove all states and boundaries, to throw humanity in an age of evolutionary transition. 3) Emperor of Mankind sees future of _Homo Sapiens_ as a *psychic race* which means that humans would be able to control Immaterium, become more powerful and have spiritual union with each other. He wants to guide Mankind in this evolution, to control it. Therefore he becomes a dictator. Sechenov, in the same way, sees future of _Homo Sapiens_ as *collective consciousness* where all knowledge, experience, memory of individuals are mixed in one giant pool so the evolution of Humanity is accelerated; all social/religious/ethnic/racial tensions are thrown away in the trash can of history. Subsequently he steps to control and guide this process. They both became like "obsessive parents" of Mankind. 4) Emperor of Men saw everyone: Thunder Warriors, Space Marines, Primarchs, Adeptus Mechanicus, Navis Nobilite and etc. - as expendable tools. He seems himself free to alter human biology of some part of humans, to transform them into beasts, so they can defeat threats of Galaxy. As an example, with Thunder Warriors his line of thought was like to use them to kill all competing political entites of Earth and liquidate them later _("Moor has done his work, Moor can go")._ He has no pity, no remorse, no fear. He thought to dispose of Space Marines later but half of chapters rebelled before that possibility. Sechenov sees everyone: Chariton, research personnel, Communist party, Soviet government and army as expendable tools. So he feels that anyone could be altered to become cyborgs or machines, in order to fulfill his mission. However, his methods backfire as not all "experiment specimens" appreciated their transformation and his targets. 5) Emperor of Men intends to step away if Mankind finally grows as a race to become able to manipulate Immaterium. Sechenov contemplates to give up power as Humanity becomes able to guide itself. However, it is just their words. 6) P-3 could be compared to Horus Lupercal and his chapter. Both are turned against their "creator" by illusions of manipulators. Chariton could be seen as analogue of Lorgar Aurelian and his chapter. Chariton uses P-3 to eliminate Sechenov, to find "red goo bath" and transform himself into "black goo man" stage, so he regularly fools him. In the same way, Lorgar and his legion use Horus to destroy Emperor of Men and ascend into Warp. 7) Emperor of Mankind had sympathy towards Horus, therefore he was unable to quickly kill traitor and was effectively injured beyond any medical treatment. Sechenov had some compassion to P-3, as driver towards own car. Hence, it could be said that Sechenov is in the same category of Gigachads as God-Emperor: "Well-intentioned dictator who wants to achieve long-term greater good for desired group by any means necessary"