Z.O.N.A: Origin

STALKER but in VR. I didn't expect anything crazy, after all the game was made by one person and is not exactly an original concept, but I was pleasantly surprised. Many of the mechanics I found myself enjoying more than any of the actual STALKER games. The game got me hooked, and I cannot put it down. There are, of course, some janky things, but the largest frustration I had with the game was that you aren't always given a good indication of what you are expected to do to progress, but this is really a double-edged sword. I like a game that doesn't hold your hand and expects you to figure out for yourself what to do, but there were occasions where I felt like the game did not prepare me for what I was doing, or explain, even with a hint, what to do. Normally I would just go watch a YouTube video in that situation, but since this game is almost unheard of, there are practically 0 resources to do this. Ultimately the game is fun enough that I stuck it out every time until I figured out for my own how to progress. Some of my favorite things about ZONA Origin are as follows: the enemy variety, the weapons and customization, the resource system, the stealth mechanics, the weapon handling, and the atmosphere/aesthetic. I find it sad that this game is not very well known compared to games like Into the Radius (which despite being somewhat more original, I actually do not find to be as fun, but maybe that is just me). I hope more people discover this game and can look past the blemishes to see the real beauty within it. Once you get the hang of it, its tons of fun.

this is the best vr game

В целом, неплохая игра. Купил её на распродаже одной из первых игр как купил себе VR шлем. Ощущение, что это больше как мобилка из-за средненьких текстур, готовых ассетов. Всю механику понимаешь через 2-3 часа. Видно, что разработчик старается в одиночку и, может быть, игра была бы более реализованной, если над ней трудилось больше человек. В целом, мне интересно ее проходить, но после часа непрерывной игры становится скучно и хочется уже выйти. Вроде как и круто, что идёт уклон на сталкер, много отсылок, пасхалок и более менее привычная механика, в игру вкатываешься быстро. Но с другой стороны когда ты уже настроен на серьезность - тебя встречает босс-зомби-гопник в костюме с лампасами и антуражность куда то сразу пропадает и вся атмосфера рушится. Локации разные, но многое повторяется, в основном они пустые. Больше времени лутаешь всякие ящики, чем исследуешь что то новое и интересное. Игра уже где то 4 месяца у меня в библиотеке и обнов приходит достаточно. Игра улучшается и может дойдет до своего идеала. Оптимизация так себе, особенно с учетом графики. Для игры по цене двух чашек кофе - пойдет. В любом случае, попробовать и поиграть стоит. Ставлю 6,8/10

Отличная игра, интересно исследовать локации. Разработчику отдельный респект за обратную связь. К покупке рекомендую!

It's very much a VR ripoff of STALKER: Call of Pripyat and I mean that as a compliment. in fact, some of the sounds are taken right from the original trilogy and the story is just copying Call of Pripyat's homework so far... But here's the thing, it's actually decently fun to play. They got closer to the "STALKER But In VR" than Into The Radius did (perhaps a bit too closely in some aspects), but there are some potential criticisms to be had. The STALKER series' big feature (the original trilogy anyway) was the A-Life system, that simulated an entire world of NPC's, all of which were dynamically interacting on the fly, pursuing goals and generally acting like you would expect people to in a rather immersive way. Now, granted, the fact that this game doesn't have something THAT advanced in terms of enemy behaviour isn't a knock against it; STALKER's A-Life system was VERY impressive when the first trilogy was released back in the late 2000's and it's STILL impressive now, and implementing something that detailed in a modern game with smaller maps and the inherent overhead of VR would be way to excessive in terms of scope and requirements to run. In fact, a modern game with a similar system (STALKER 2) barely runs on high-end systems these days, let alone if one were to convert STALKER 2 to a VR game. Another thing to point out is that this game IS early access. It is NOT a AAA game. What's here is very solid so far, it doesn't feel phoned-in, even if the sound design can be a bit on-the-nose and the enemy density is so low you can just stand in the open in most of the map and enemies won't even bother you, and most of the enemies aren't super threatening. Sometimes "hard as nails but fair" is something someone likes, but not everything needs to be paced like that, and sometimes a good gameplay loop is plenty.

Поиграв в данный проект не долгое время, могу сказать плюсы и минусы. Плюсы: + Разнообразие локаций и растительность сделаны не плохо и довольно большие. Можно исследовать. + Раскраска своего оружия как ты хочешь, очень понравилась данная фишка. Однако хотелось бы возможность рисовать и тонкими линиями, чтобы написать или сделать рисунок точнее. + Оружие сделано хорошо, когда берешь его в руки не кажется, что держишь просто палку. + Лут разнообразен и иногда даже ловишь приколы с детских игрушек или видюхи) Минусы: - Хоть локации большие, они довольно пустые, особенно квартиры или здания, часто видел пустые комнаты. - Рюкзак мне показался слишком имбовым, так как ты можешь туда запихивать все практически без ограничения. Это забавно, но как по мне портит погружение в игру. - Баги с предметами, часто было. Что предмет упал за текстуры или в текстуры, потом ищешь его долго. Так же предметы часто любили "скользить" по поверхностям. - Боты, они кажутся умнее, но бесит то, что если они заметили тебя, то скрыться практически не реально. Нужно убивать их или умирать самому. - с некоторыми монстрами не понятно как сражаться, хотелось бы возможность узнать о мутантах раньше и где они возможно обитают. В данную игру я время от времени продолжу играть, чтобы точно определится с моими ощущениями, но я не могу назвать эту игру плохой. Видно, что авто приложил не мало сил в разработке. Оцениваю эту игру с уже сыгранными играми как ITR и CONVRGENCE.

Really good game! If you like Into the Radius but want more of a Stalker/RPG feel, you'll find this VR game to be one of the best. The shooting is good, quests are interesting, and optimization is solid. Looting is better than in ITR because you can find unique, high-quality guns—sometimes even better than what's in the shop. Monsters are interesting, with creepy and distinct sound design. The human NPCs are just okay, but their voice acting is good, and they can battle monsters too. You might run into minor bugs, but nothing game-breaking. If you do find one, the developer always responds and helps out. One small downside: there's a low variety of textures—all boxes and bricks share the same look. Trees and bushes in particular are too thick and simple (the swamp area consists of just one model type). I've played with Russian voices and those are good too.

Местами фепесы падают, но в целом нормас

It's very good.

It took me a couple of hours to really get into this game, and honestly, I almost refunded it multiple times during that period. The beginning is pretty difficult, the starter guns (unless you buy the starter pack) feel like pea shooters so your ammo disappears in so fast when you're in a shootout, and I’d spend thirty minutes grinding through a quest or scavenging items only to die at some point before going back and lose everything. It was incredibly frustrating, and I kept feeling like I was making zero progress. But then I finally made it through one quest, unlocked a new area, and found a really good gun. I’m actually having a lot of fun now and finally understand why people love this game so much. I’m someone who easily slips into a flow state when I play, so dying always feels more punishing for me. It completely cuts off the dopamine rush and makes me not want to play for a bit. Having to redo everything I just did is honestly my least favorite part of games (even though I love games lol). But now that I have better gear and more confidence, though, I’m enjoying it way more. Gameplay-wise, it’s excellent. I never played the original Stalker games, but I put a ton of time into ITR1 on Quest. I loved that game, but I think this one is the better version overall. What I appreciate most is how alive the world feels, unlike ITR1, which was mostly just anomalies, this one has humans, animals, and a much more realistic atmosphere. The graphics are also stunning, easily on par with Half-Life: Alyx. I haven’t gotten too deep into the story yet, but from the notes and quests I’ve found so far, it gives me slight Metro vibes, which I really enjoy. If you’ve already played the Stalker games, I’m sure you’ll love this. But if you’re coming in completely fresh like I was (apart from ITR1) just stick with it. The early game is rough, but once you get better weapons and start making real progress, it becomes incredibly rewarding.