PSA: The scanner tutorial can be confusing but is not broken
Atomic Heart’s tutorial is the first obstacle. No matter what difficulties you are having with the scanner, it is not a bug.
It’s easy to get lost in this first-person shooter for PlayStation 3, Xbox and Windows PC.
HOW TO USE A SCANNER IN THE ATOMIC HEARING TUTORIAL
Double-tap R1 on PlayStation or RB on Xbox to use Atomic Heart’s scanner. After the second press, hold R1/RB until the second one is complete.
The instructions (“Hold R1+ R1” on PlayStation) look like a tip. The NPC, who exists only to justify the tutorial’s tenuous fiction, tells you to “hold both your hands up”.
Atomic Heart’s general bugs make it easy to assume the instructions are incorrect or hold down R1 and L1 simultaneously. (This writer is guilty.)
HOW TO FIND ITEMS WITH ATOMIC HEAR’S SCANNER
Atomic Heart’s scanner functions in the same way as most scanners from most games. It allows you to analyze your surroundings. The overlays will highlight objects in different colors. This is something that the game doesn’t explain.
Blue means chests, drawers and other containers with resources that you can loot.
Orange indicates enemies. You can see the resistances and weaknesses of each enemy by holding the scanner near them. Also, you will be able to see the loot they’ll drop after defeat. The scanner does not halt time completely; you are still vulnerable to attacks.
White is used to indicate objects that you can interact with, such as elevator call buttons or save stations.
Purple indicates story-essential items. Atomic Heart is generally very generous in its waypointing. However, there are rare instances when you will need to do the work. You will need to locate the “voice”, the symbol and the sprout of the Motherland during the “Made in the USSR” mission. To do this, activate the scanner and the scanner will highlight the three items you need — a radio and a hammer. They are all located in the same place.
