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

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is one of those series that you keep hearing good things about, even from your non-gamer friends. So, naturally, I picked up the first game, 15 years later, and yeah... boy was I disappointed... The first thing to note is that the base game (vanilla) is hardly playable. Ridden with bugs and filled with a lot of technical and balance issues. This is such a big issue because when someone is talking about this game, they are probably talking about a highly modded version or a "total conversion", which makes the overall rating system pointless. SoC is not a typical FPS by any means. It's specifically engineered to give the player a bad time. For example: - weapons have an accuracy rating, influenced by a lot of factors, which makes shooting feel like a total lottery - damage is totally inconsistent across the game, raging from one-shot kills to unloading a full shotgun at point-blank and still having the enemy walking. The same can be said about your armor. - there is a carry limit which drastically limits your inventory. This is paired with a stamina system which makes going from A to B, a total nightmare if encumbered. - ammo weighs a lot - stealth is almost nonexistent with the sole exception of using a "stealth" head-shot. Anything beyond that will be impossible as loading a save will load all enemies in a alert state, basically knowing your every move. - enemies respawn after a few hours and sometimes they spawn right near you The list goes on and on but there's a character limit to this review. There are two positive aspects though: the ladder climbing mechanic (which is probably the best up to that period of time) and the music, and especially the guitar songs. In order to have a somewhat good time, playing this game with gameplay mods is essential. Going vanilla (or ZRP mod) up to a point would let you better appreciate various community tweaks. My rating is for the vanilla version, so your experience may vary wildly based on your mod choice.

The fact that this series appeared on GOG just blew my mind! And here I was with the resolution to save up some money. The game has one of the best atmospheres in gaming. Personally I couldn't play it for a long time because of the overwhelming grittiness of the portrayed here post-chernobyl world. After a few hours of playing SoC I felt so "crushed" and "darkened" (if that makes sense :P). It's hard to describe that specific factor of immersion in the game that makes you take a break because it's just "too much". That's what makes the STALKER series stand out among games. If you look through sometimes clunky controls, seldom random glitches and occasional stability issues you are in for a ride you'll never forget... and now DRM-FREE! Now let's go drink some vodka to drop our radiation levels...

As the title implies, the game is barely playable as is. No, I am not talking about technical problems or crashes - I have not experienced any. The game is barely playable because of bad design (I have not tried any mods yet, not sure if I care to try): - nothing is intuitive and nothing is explained and there is nowhere to get relevant information (do you use anti-radiation meds before entering an irradiated area or after? so trial and error meaning save/reload A LOT); - a survival/horror game like this should have perfect directional sound so you can determine from where potential danger comes (if some people on my left five yards away are talking, their voices should be coming from the left, not from the center of my head like a mono song from a headset); - I have a noise meter showing how likely someone is to hear me, but I can never hear anyone approaching - no enemy movement sounds to speak of; - graphics are rather bad, vegetation moving in the wind is jerky and unnatural; - Inventory management is clumsy; - weapons are extremely inaccurate; - "awesome atmosphere" means it is always night or twilight and it is always raining; - you spend 50% of play time pressing R (reload weapon) and quick save/quick load buttons - by the time you finish the game you will have pressed each of these buttons 20 thousand times (automatic reload anyone?); - you will die and reload last save a horrible LOT - so where's "immersion"? - most side missions are not doable because they are on a timer, so to do them you must review but NOT accept the missions and only accept them once you've found the required item, then just accept and complete right away; - wire or bolt cutters are non-existent and everywhere there's barbed wire that you cannot penetrate (you are funneled through the game world... open world my a$$) GOG now limits review size, so I have no room to list all the "great features", but I guess you get the idea. Save/reload A LOT is not my idea of fun. Is it yours?

This game has the best russian experiece best game overall just got the retail version using the cd key to get this on gog strong mod community and more alive multiplayer

When I think back to this game it's like journey memories. At first very intimidated by the Zone, I ended up feeling at home there. It's dangerous. Odd. Realistic and surreal. Living. Creepy. Everything in the environment was whispering to me, like, "This time the humans with their ideologies and technology have really, really screwed up. To the point where reality itself has some bugs. Some anomalies. And now it's too late." But the autumn night wind was still blowing through the poplars, a few lost Stalkers still warmed their bodies and hearts around a flaming barrel, sharing guitar tunes, vodka and anecdotes to make dawn rise faster, perhaps also to stop hearing the distant grunts... The devs managed to communicate to me a part of their emotional connection for the region of Ukraine where they grew up.