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

The late 2000s were a depressing era for video games. Everything was a generic shooter with a bleak brown realism filter over everything and on the surface S.T.A.L.K.E.R appears no different. It's only through a miraculous combination of small things coming together that it works. You're dropped into a harsh environment with your only direction coming from a surly, greedy, fat old guy. Others have come to the same place for various reasons. They'll reward you if you help them out but mostly keep to themselves. Most dialogue exchanges are brief. Bandits will try to kill you and loot your corpse if you keep to the beaten path. Environmental hazards and hideous mutants are waiting for you if you decide otherwise. Few games can instill such a sense of isolation and paranoia despite feeling so populated and alive. NPCs all have their own agenda, which they carry out in the background, your own input having little effect. The gameplay has a great sense of progression too. It's a shooter, but you're stuck with pistols and the worst shotguns ever for quite a while. The minute you finally get your hands on an AK-74 is pure bliss. As is the moment you get a scope and start sniping. Human enemies are hitscan aimbots up close, so being able to reliably hit them from a distance is a godsend. The game does go wrong in a few places, namely the pointless survival mechanics. Enemies drop resources, especially food, all the time, no matter the difficulty. The hunger stuff just seems to be an excuse to force you to carry more stuff for your weight limit. Some levels like the Dark Valley are thoroughly tedious. And of course, there are object positioning bugs everywhere. But, man. That feel you get when you brave all the dangers of the Zone, all the demons inside and outside your head, go to the bar and trade in your hobo clothes for stormtrooper armor and your hillbilly shotgun for an assault rifle? That's worth at least $20.

I swear this is one of the best stories I've experienced. this game is tons of fun. it is so worth it.

Apparently they give owners of the original version the new Enhanced Edition for free (DRM free as usual on GOG). That alone deserves a 5 star rating.

I have played this game when it was out, and the experience was just MIND BLOWING! To be playing from a chernobyl disaster is incredible. It's like real life. Playing with mods completes the experience. LOVE IT!

This is perhaps the best game I've ever played, it's got great graphics for 2007, a surprisingly gripping story, realistic gunplay and most importantly, small touches that add just that much to the atmosphere - you can relax by the campfire and listen to some guitar playing after ruthlessly murdering thirty military people and almost getting mauled by a horrible mutant. 10/10 if you don't play it, Putin will personally nuke your home