Atomic Heart is packed with challenging puzzles and interesting twists. Every mission Agent P-3 goes on in Atomic Heart has at least one puzzle to contend with along the way. Many use familiar mechanics that are present throughout the game, such as magnets that raise and lower platforms, wheels that turn whole rooms, and locks that can be puzzled out.
There are a few puzzles, though, with no recognizable similarities to anything else. One such puzzle is the “Red Arrow” Puzzle. At first, it seems to make little sense, as it’s just a red line advancing across a huge screen. No other puzzle in Atomic Heart looks like this, and that lack of context can make this moment utterly confusing.
How to Solve the Puzzle in Red Arrow
When Agent P-3 presses the button in the room where he’s sent to collect Claire’s Right Arm, he’s confronted with a strange puzzle he’s never seen before. On a massive screen at the end of the room, a red line appears with a blue diamond near it. There’s no instruction for what to do with it, so P-3 just has to work it out.
The trick is that the screen is creating a game of Snake. As in, “Ye Olde” classic video game Snake. It works like this: the player needs to direct the red line (the snake) to collide with the blue diamond. When the diamond is “eaten” by the snake, the snake gets one red circle longer. The player needs to do this ten times without making the snake collide with itself.
What Happens Next
When the puzzle is complete, the Burav in the room immediately comes to life (always read the directions before pressing big red buttons). Thankfully, it’s just there to give Agent P-3 a hand… Claire’s hand that is. Oddly enough, P-3 was sent here for her right arm, but the Burav gives him Claire’s left. Afterward, it shuts back down.
P-3 won’t be alone for long though as waves of enemies will begin pouring out of the door on the other side of the room. Players can fire a few rockets into that doorway to thin them out a bit, but they are numerous. The robots will quickly spread out around the room and gang up on the player. There are many choke points available around the Burav, but otherwise it’s up to the player to use their weapon of choice to eliminate every robot before leaving the room.
Atomic Heart is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.