S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

So, I bought this (probably like most) based on the exceptionally food reviews on this site. It's got a 4.7 start rating currently, which is, to emphasize it, almost --perfect--. Yeah. It's good. Very good at times. But that's it. I know about the difficulty debate and it kinda makes sense to me, but more deaths and more careful planning would not change this review. It's an atmospheric shooter. The action elements are very well implemented, feel real, tons of fun. Magical Upgrades come on the form of so called artifacts, which give you special powers. They're used mostly to find more artifacts. You explore the world, kill zombies, mutants, dogs, whatever. All fine. I read somewhere there's a deep lore.. must have missed that. Cough. So, here's my problem. I expected an open world survival game where you could actually do stuff. You can't. There's nothing to do. No crafting, role-playing, and most of all no real exploration. It's a shooter first. The map, which is quite small compared to other titles, is mostly empty and, of course, ugly as hell (well, post-apocalypse, but still. You want to show ugliness, put it next to something nice). When I got to Pripyat I wandered through the city and found nothing. Empty buildings, some enemies, a new gun, mainly dogs. Went back and finished the main story. Sigh. I completed this game in 10h. I did not try to beat it this fast, and was pretty disappointed when it ended. I did as many side quests as I could without getting too bored. Go there, fetch this, kill that. People will say 'you missed so much!'. Problem is, I don't care. The quests I played do not make me want to go back for more. There are a couple of scripted sequences which are a lot of fun though. So, all that sounds very negative. But as a shooter, I really liked it. Just wasn't anywhere near the experience I had hoped for when reading these reviews..

I've always been fascinated by Chernoybl and urban exploration and this game is the closest thing to scratching that itch for me. The atmosphere (sometimes literally!) is great - storm clouds, oppressive rain, fantastic ambient soundtrack (look up "STALKER Call of Pripyat theme of Zaton Day" on YouTube) and you're surrounded not just by decaying and brown vegetation but the feeling of disaster that Chernoybl should. Wrecked boats on a now-drained bay...Rusted power substations, crashed HIND helicopters. There's so much to explore and discover. But within that death the game somehow has created a living, breathing world. The NPCs are lively and have their own agendas that seem realistic and your choices have consequences. I remember I cleared out an area of tough NPCs in an epic gunfight and while hiding in a tunnel during an "emission" storm, some bandits moved in to the building - only to leave after they say I stripped it clean. Many of these games have repetitive side quests but I felt the ones here were not only engaging and showed excellent effort in their design, but were actually more interesting than the main storyline. And that means a lot in a game like this. As a newbie to the series, it gave me no tutorial - dropped me in a forest with a vague mission guideline and told me to go. That was amazing as I started to figure things out on my own. Also, the game has the right balance of combat and exploration to feel like a "realistic" game world vs. a shoot-em-up. But to call it a walking simulator is very wrong. Highly recommended for FPS RPG fans or anyone interested in urban exploration or Chernobyl itself.

avant tous, c'est une ambiance avec un grand A, un jeu qui ne vous prend pas en main, qui laisse le joueur libre de ces actions. Le meilleur des 3 .

I bought this on sale years ago and then forgot about it. When my gaming laptop died, I had to look for something that would run on my other laptop, and this one caught my eye. I went in with no real expectations, never having read a review of it. What a game. Immersive and complex and with a terrifying world to explore. The first time there was a radiation event I actually panicked. Exploration of the sandbox world is well rewarded. Resolving quests gives you real benefits. And there are elements of real terror. The graphics are fine, perhaps not as polished as you'd see in more recent titles, but these are still good enough to carry the game.

For some context, this is my first S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, and I've only started playing it recently. At first, I was just lost. Roaming around with little purpose besides exploring as much as I coud, tackling some quests on the way, dealing with the usual STALKER business: trying to get rich and avoid being mauled by roaming mutants or bandits). As I kept exploring, the game just clicked for me... I grew to love the atmosphere. From the (relatively) cozy shelters, the abandoned power plants, the old decaying railways, among others, the environments carry a wealth of character and, at times, ooze history. The encounters only enhance the sense of danger, and they can be satisfying to overcome. Discovering new anomalies that piqued my curiosity as I continue patrolling the zone has always been a treat. All in all, despite its faults—such as poor voice acting (which can be charming, I must admit), occasional bugs, and a forgettable main story—I love this game and believe it deserves the praise it has received.