What is the order I should play the three games in?

[Rabblerouser]

I have Call of Pripyat, Clear Sky, and Shadow of Chernobyl

[Cajun Rabbit]

play them Shadow of Cherno, Clear Sky, and then Pripyat

SoC sets the stage, Clear explains it, then Pripyat is the second act

[kaay]

It does not really matter what order you play them in.
As Rabbit said above, the "default" is the order in which they were made, but that is not necesary.
Each of them is a stand alone game, CoP story is unrelated to the other two, and the story connections in CS and SoC are minimal, so it really doesnt matter.

Try all of them, see which one seems more interesting to you and go with that.

The main complaint of new players is difficulty, so start with the one that seems more playable to you.

[Cyrus9mm]

Yeah, ShadowOC first. I think it's also the easiest. CoP is probably the better game though.

[Garrad]

CoP explains everything which happens in SoC. If you're looking for the best expirence play CoP.

[Painkiller]

I do not know why people post questions about the obvious! play the games in order of release period. i have played all the games in the order of release date-year cos I'm a STALKER fanboy (Ifreely admit to this as it is without doubt one of the best games (Made for PC) ever made) have clocked up thousands of hours and played each game vanila and with various mods and still the only way to play is in order of release date. Good hunting Stalker.

[jV]

Originalmente postado por kaay:

It does not really matter what order you play them in.
As Rabbit said above, the "default" is the order in which they were made, but that is not necesary.
Each of them is a stand alone game, CoP story is unrelated to the other two, and the story connections in CS and SoC are minimal, so it really doesnt matter.

Try all of them, see which one seems more interesting to you and go with that.

The main complaint of new players is difficulty, so start with the one that seems more playable to you.

This makes me not feel bad for starting my Stalker adventure with CoP. Playing CoP just makes me want to play SoC though so I can immerse myself further into the Stalker environment, but sadly I was stupid and only bought CoP and CS when they were on sale :(

[Rabblerouser]

I'll stick with SoC, CS, then CoP.

I'd hate to have spoil myself on CoP, then go back in the series. I'd be less tempted to go on if the gameplay is less enjoyable going back.

[Drug Cyborg, FBI]

CoP pretty much throws all of your decisions in CS and SoC out the window and assumes you did the most ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ things when given the opportunity, sorta like Metro: Last Light assuming everyone got the bad ending (admittedly, that does make for a better plot hook). Personally, if you already understand the lore behind the series and it's mythology, I'd suggest playing Clear Sky and then Shadow of Chernobyl because that's the chronological order and it makes for a slightly better narrative, but it's really up to personal preference.

[kaay]

Originalmente postado por jv209:

Originalmente postado por kaay:

It does not really matter what order you play them in.
As Rabbit said above, the "default" is the order in which they were made, but that is not necesary.
Each of them is a stand alone game, CoP story is unrelated to the other two, and the story connections in CS and SoC are minimal, so it really doesnt matter.

Try all of them, see which one seems more interesting to you and go with that.

The main complaint of new players is difficulty, so start with the one that seems more playable to you.

This makes me not feel bad for starting my Stalker adventure with CoP. Playing CoP just makes me want to play SoC though so I can immerse myself further into the Stalker environment, but sadly I was stupid and only bought CoP and CS when they were on sale :(

Yep i started with SoC but couldnt play it, seemed too hard at that time.
Then a few years later i saw CoP in the store cheap and bought it.
I was sucked in right away and played it to the end, becoming a big stalker fan.
I played SoC after that and enjoyed it greatly, then played CS and had some issues at first, but in the end it became the stalker game i played most.
I understand when players recommend playing them "in order" but the truth is it simply doesnt matter.
If you like one of them, you most likely will end up playing all of them anyway and the order wont affect your game experience, at least in my case it didnt.

[D.M.E]

Play in order of release.

SOC
CS
COP

As the games matured they added features that you will miss if for example you play COP first and then play SOC.
To get the most from all three games play in the release order.

[Rabblerouser]

Originalmente postado por Mindjacker:

If you play CS before SOC you will exclaim after why can't I repair anything when you play SOC?

If you play COP before CS you will exclaim after why can't I sleep in CS?

If you Play COP before SOC you will exclaim after why can't I sleep and repair stuff like in SOC.

So.. I'm guessing this is in favor of release order? SoC, CS, then CoP?

[kaay]

I think the key to enjoying all the games in the series is to play each as a separate game, enjoy it for what it offers and dont expect to find the same features as in the game you played before it.
If you do that, then the order of playing wont affect you, if you dont, then even if you play in order you might have issues.

Last but not least its also a matter of taste: some players wont like some game in the series while they will enjoy the other, and that regardless of the order they played in.

[I'm Feelin Perky]

Clear Sky, Shadow, then Call. That's as chronological as it gets.

[mr_burble]

SOC then throw Clear Sky in the toilet and play CoP. Unless you hate yourself, then just play Clear Sky.

[Painkiller]

Originalmente postado por mr_burble:

SOC then throw Clear Sky in the toilet and play CoP. Unless you hate yourself, then just play Clear Sky.

Utter tosh!! Clear Sky is a very good game in its own right, all are very good games Clear Sky apart from everything else is probably the best game in terms of Graphics. I recall once sitting on the roof at night in the Clear Sky base looking at a Thunderstorm breaking over the Zone and thinking OMG! at that moment gaming did not get any better. Just play the games in order of release and make your own mind up.