S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

OG series got unlisted by GSC, and despite being the games from 2007-2010, the price was increased to be the same as the recently released "enhanced" edition, and that makes no sense. Additionally, while the "enhanced" versions got the sale, the OG versions did not. If you hate the old games because they include elements that go against your political views, [i]GSC[/i], then why not just remove these games from the sale? You're already making a clown of yourself by publishing "enhanced" versions upfront, unlisting great games that work perfectly fine on modern systems and not providing seasonal discounts for them. You're the biggest disappointment, GSC Game World. To you player, just pirate it, or buy an old CD.

Would have never thought that I'd enjoy a shooter so much The story is also really good, I'm intrigued in the whole thing The map is big and beautiful but dangerous and full of enemies I really like that I don't have to do everything alone like in many other games, the world feels alive with all the characters wandering around and doing their thing In the zone we help each other to survive And, to my surprise, the enemies aren't that hard to kill - I'm really not good at shooting but even I can manage Why did I wait so long playing this? I clearly recommend it, even to ppl who don't like that kind of games 10/10

I remember my dad helping me complete the game for the first time like a decade ago, good times

The Zone does not care about your feelings. You will get lost, die to an anomaly you didn't see and spend 20 minutes looting a body only to realize you're overencumbered again. And somehow that's peak gaming. Shadow of Chernobyl is janky, moody and occasionally sends a bloodsucker to personally ruin your day. The atmosphere is unmatched, trudging through irradiated marshes at 2am while the wind howls is genuinely unsettling. The A-Life system makes the world feel alive in ways modern games still can't replicate. Yes it's old. Yes it will crash. Grab the Zone Reclamation Project mod and thank me later. Good hunting, Stalker. [b][8.5/10][/b]

Эти ваши блядские кровоссосы хуесосы и контролеры из подземелья НИИ агропрома чуть до инфаркта не довели! И эти ваши электро аномалий задрали!

A gun in your hands doesn’t shoot straight, but that same gun in the enemy hands does. It takes 10 rounds from 3 meters away to get a head shot while the bandit 30 meters away behind a bush fires one burst that brings me to half health. Every gunfight is 20% skill and 80% luck. But it has to be this way, because if you had accurate guns, the game would be far too easy since the AI is terrible. I was told the AI was clever and challenging, it isn’t even good by 2007 standards. Enemies will stand still in the open and shoot, walk out of cover for no reason, and unload full magazines into the pillar they are standing behind. There isn’t a narrative to this story, just a world to explore. But the world is too busy being mysterious so you don’t learn a lot about the world. You character has amnesia so nothing to learn there as well. What you are left with isn’t a story, just a setting. It’s a good setting, but not much more. Then there are the little things like: Saving scumming is required since checkpoints don’t exist. Quest markers are broken so you never know if you actually completed an objective. The enemy AI can see through fully opaque bushes, so you can’t use bushes as coverage but they can. Traps don’t render properly, so be prepared to lose have of your health at random. The UI is what you’d expect for 2007, terrible. Shops have super high prices and equipment that’s only marginally better than your current gear, making money useless. Only 50kgs can be carried at once, ensuring anything that isn’t medicine or ammunition is nonviable, so special armour, special weapons, and artifacts might as well not exist. It’s not a fun game, there’s too much save scumming for it to be immersive, the game-play is unsatisfying and slow, and the story is atmospheric but lacking.

Великая игра. Пройдя её впервые в 2021 году, я влюбился в эту вселенную и до сих пор, каждую осень, запускаю и прохожу всю трилогию, иногда до сих пор находя для себя что-то новое, пусть даже это часто совершенные мелочи.

You won't understand what makes OG Stalker so good through some youtube gameplay. You feel it once you're fully immersed. Drink your vodka and save often. Good hunting, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

This game has taught me that drinking vodka cures radiation poisoning, I will be testing this irl, wish me luck lads.

Welcome to the zone, Stalker. The first of the original stalker trilogy. Followed by Clear Sky and Call Of Pripyat. The one that ignited the flame. Now, what's so special about it? What's so cool about this 19 year old [i](at the time of writing)[/i] game? A-Life, NPCs living out their lives and doing goal-oriented tasks for their survival. Which goes for both humans and mutants. Atmosphere, the zone's grim reality really shines through the 2007 visuals alongside the audio design and ambient tracks. Gameplay isn't anything revolutionary for today's standards but it coupled with A-Life makes fighting NPCs actually a challenge. To use an example: one of my favourite moments is when I was clearing out an underground area, I had killed most of the bandits apart from 1. He did not just yell and run at me with his weapon, no. He crouched completely still in a dark corner making NO sound waiting for me to move into the room where they shot me in the head killing me instantly. It also jumpscared me which was funny lol. The story isn't something that I found myself too interested in initially but I'd say it does get better as you play through the trilogy. This does not mean it's bad but rather it wasn't a focus of mine. Still, there's many memorable characters and their lines which stuck even to this day. Now that I'm done [i]"Get out of here, Stalker!"[/i]