Should I play Stalker 1 first?

[Simulacrum111]

Should I play Stalker 1 before playing Stalker 2?

[maloce]

Nah. Just be ready for the zone.

[Crow]

Don't have to but first one is a must if you can handle playing old games, and this is how you will know if Stalker 2 is for you. It is on special on GOG last time I checked.

[Simulacrum111]

Originally posted by maloce:

Nah. Just be ready for the zone.

What does ready for the zone mean? I am completely new to the Stalker series.

[InternetPeopleSuck]

Originally posted by Simulacrum111:

Should I play Stalker 1 before playing Stalker 2?

That's personal preference if you prefer to play the older games first or not, or you could look at a video that describes the lore of the original games.

You don't really need to play prior games to enjoy stalker 2, or know the story in stalker 2. There are hints, and nods to the original games as well as characters from the original making a turn.

Ultimately, it is up to you on what you want to do.

[perochialjoe]

You don't necessarily have to but it wouldn't be the worst thing. Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl and Stalker Call of Pripyat are both still great games. You can probably skip Clear Sky unless you really want to find out why it's the meme game of the series.

[DomEReapeR]

You don't HAVE to and they're a bit difficult to wrestle into submission/find a good mod for a first playthrough, but I HIGHLY recommend it as there are a lot of characters and story in Stalker 2 that will have zero impact on you if you don't.

[InternetPeopleSuck]

Originally posted by Simulacrum111:

Should I play Stalker 1 before playing Stalker 2?

I could also recommend you mods for the older ones that fix up the older ones, but don't shy away from the vanilla aspects of them!

[DomEReapeR]

Originally posted by InternetPeopleSuck:

Originally posted by Simulacrum111:

Should I play Stalker 1 before playing Stalker 2?

I could also recommend you mods for the older ones that fix up the older ones, but don't shy away from the vanilla aspects of them!

Damn straight, don't jump straight into Anomaly or gamma, there are lots of mods that improve the game and add some quality of life while still maintaining a vanilla feeling.

[goodbye_bonito]

There is not much need, but if you want to understand lore you probably should. A lot of returning characters from previous games and story started in 1st kinda goes to it's finale here

[Zulu]

If you do, get Zone Reclamation Project. Shadow of Chernobyl is amazing.

[Josh]

No. Don't have to. This will feel too samey, just better looking. Unless you truly LOVE it, its like playing it all over again. After a long break, for most people, there is a little freshness, but its essentially a re-imagining of the original games, with a little more budget.

[Ericius161]

No. It will Spoil the "Played Stalker for the first Time" Expirience.
I would like Stalker 2 to be my first time inside the Zone.

[InternetPeopleSuck]

Originally posted by DomEReapeR:

Originally posted by InternetPeopleSuck:

I could also recommend you mods for the older ones that fix up the older ones, but don't shy away from the vanilla aspects of them!

Damn straight, don't jump straight into Anomaly or gamma, there are lots of mods that improve the game and add some quality of life while still maintaining a vanilla feeling.

Yeah, I mainly play vanilla-esque mods for those games because I suck at Anomaly and GAMMA, lol

[Dante Errante]

well... yes and no. I think that anyone who hasn't played the original trilogy will be a little lost at some points in the story, as well as missing the references to iconic locations from the original games. But in this case it is more of a bonus than something necessarily mandatory. The first game is extremely jank and very difficult, but if you have the patience to learn the mechanics I would say it's totally worth playing.

[Coolverine]

If you want to, not absolutely necessary though.

The 3 original STALKER's are excellent though, especially if you like this type of game.