Your gun has jammed. You need to reload.

8/10 still great

I never managed to stick for too long with the Stalker games, when they were released initially. Probably a combination of the decent degree of jank, specific to these AA games, and probably other concerns needing attention. But I always thought the atmosphere and setting was absolutely phenomenal. And playing the game almost 15 years later really did nothing to suppress those strong elements. The atmosphere and mood of it all is still as good as I remembered it.

The game is a very enjoyable open-world, almost feeling like an rpg; but with very little character building or choice and consequence. But what it does have in spades is immersion and survival mechanics. It really works to build the narrative of the lone wanderer trying to get to the bottom of the central mystery while also exploring the most interesting places in the Zone.

The shooting mechanics start feeling off, but you later find out this is mostly due to the very rough state of the initial armory you have access to. But even so, it has a way of making the firefights feel, almost like all weapons are both deadly as hell but you can also miss and hit in the most unexpected scenarios. This really makes the firefights unpredictable and gives a strong vibe to the survival aspect of the game.

The radiation poisoning you suffer in some of the area are annoying, but it all contributes to making the Zone feel dangerous. And even though it doesn't feature direct skills or character development, you basically do that with the equipment you constantly find and change throughout your journey. And luckily the radiation poisoning mechanics aren't as hard to grasp as they were in Fallout 1, where I gimped my character due to not being prepared for it and had to resort to a character editor to restore my stats and not die as I walked the wold map.

The story is serviceable, even with a bit expected twist, but it's good enough to drag you by the nose. The characters are also weird enough to become interesting. And the constant banter in Russian really sells the location and keeps you feeling like a fish out of water. But it's obvious the devs did the best they could with what they had, and some of the character are even unintentionally funny and entertaining. I constantly think about the "Get out of here stalker" dude.

I think one of the best parts of the game is the pseudo-open-world they managed to build, by stitching together multiple pretty large maps. And while I intend to also get through the Metro games, that's one element that will be a decent negative against it. Though I hear the 3rd Metro game is considerably more open-world, so that's good.

All in all still a good survival game set in a wonderful post-apocalyptic setting. And while it's nothing close to the rpg that is Fallout 1/2, at least as far as the rpg parts themselves, the setting I have to say is definitely much stronger in this one. Much more unique and more focused on the supernatural horror. And with a lot of potential still left on the table. I hope the upcoming Stalker 2 does a good job to capitalize off of that.

An 8/10.