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

This is the best of the series. It may be more constrained but it is largely bug free compared to the other two games. Call of Pripyat is an open world FPS RPG. While you won't be choosing any stats for your character you will be making decisions about firearms and suit mods and you will eventually be able to choose which artifacts you want equipped. She shooting has a heavy emphasis on realism but it is still quite fun. I would recommend switching your gun off of full auto. Think of a combination of Fallout and Counter Strike. I love this game.

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.

Played this game for the first time in 2024, after I completed Shadow of Chernobyl and used the openXRay mod. The core gameplay has been improved and finally delivers on the vision of the first game. Looking for artifacts, avoiding anomalies, killing mutants, sneaking in enemy bases... everything works together and the world truly seems alive and not centered around the player. It also was less buggy, with only a few minor bugs and glitches. The difficulty was also more consistent and fair. However, it's not perfect, the story is pretty bad and far less interesting than SOC, the final area is pretty weak, there are some rough edges (no traders in the final area and you need to pay 5K to travel back and forth), loading stutters while traversing the map, which get worse the longer you play... However, it is still definitely worth playing! Now I just gotta wait until I get a giga gpu so I can play STALKER 2...

One of the better S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games