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

Game aged well, still a lot of fun

An improvement to SoC in just about every facet, I played through this one on Master too and it was far more enjoyable with hardly any annoying jank. You can get access to weapons that aren't terrible very quickly, the atmosphere is even better (keep the dynamic music off), using the different detectors was fun, and everyone hunkering down during an emission really drew me in

I feel like this went under the radar. I played the first Stalker when it was release but I was unaware any other had come out. I was blown away when i found this and played it. It is awesome! Great game play, very immersive, believable atmosphere. I had loads of fun and I think I may play again after seeing it was release on GOG.

Stalker is one of the most atmospheric and super real games. For those like me, who want to live a virtual life throughout a video game, this is the best choice. I read about real accident and watched two documentaries just to be closer to the story line and atmosphere. That's mastery of impact on player. That's the best game in genre I ever played.

Call of Pripyat is a significantly smaller game than Shadow of Chernobyl. It's notecably shallower in every aspect but the equipment aspects and quest variety, but it doesn't stop this game from eating through your free time as soon as you get engaged with quests. This game has a lot of value thanks to relatively rich game world - there are plenty of abandoned undergrounds to visit, plenty of quest related items to find and there certainly is horror feeling to some areas, the only drawback of new level design approach is that all key locations are somewhat tightly packed close to each other, making it a bit too easy to reach to safer areas - doesn't feel lonely enough, really. Handcrafted, branching quests are real saviors of this game. This quest system actually plays out like in Fallout 2 where you can see consequences of your actions in the end. The quests are in fact so well made, Bethesda could envy GSC. It's a solid game which could have been better if the developers took another few months and focused on art-style, weather system and ambience as well as repeatable quests and better base gameplay mechanics. At least it was extremely stable even without patches. Definitely recommended, just wish this game was larger!