Considering a purchase. How scary is this game?

[By-Tor And The Snow Cat]

Hey, everyone! I've been thinking about buying Shadow of Chernobyl since I recently started reading about it and watching some videos. It seems like a phenomenal game, particularly for someone like myself who loves games that truly work hard to create a unique atmosphere and work dilligently to transport the gamer to a different world.

The only problem is that I simply hate true horror games. A constantly feeling of fearful dread does not appeal to me in any way and only results in extreme tension throughout the gaming experience, as I don't particularly enjoy being frightened by jump scares every moment. The occasional occurrence of such an event is ok with me when it comes to my games, and I do enjoy environments that provide a more oppressive sort of dread (instead of the feeling that any at moment, I could be scared into metaphorical pants pooping at regular intervals).

So, is Stalker a game full of jump scares and the like? To give you a better idea of what I do and don't like when it comes to these games: I enjoy something like Half-Life 2 (if someone doesn't, they're simply a terrible person....there's just no way to get around that!), but if that game was just constantly having headcrabs jump out at you, it would not have been enjoyable for me.

I would love to hear any opinions! The game and its environment/atmosphere/story seem really unique and right up my alley. I just want to be sure that, should I buy the game, I won't stop playing it within the first two hours because of my issue with true horror games (like FEAR and Dead Space, which are excellent examples of games that are very much NOT for me).

Thanks!

[kaay]

Ok for starters im a terrible person because i totally hate Half Life 2 which imo set the trend (and a new standard) for modern bad design in games.
Now that we got this out of the way, Stalker is not a horror game at all.
SoC does have a dark and depressing atmosphere throughout, and some (very) scary moments but they are few and far between.

[Slothrop]

It basically has one relatively frightening section, but even that doesn't have any jump scares, assuming you keep your ears open for things bumping in the dark.

If you really want to be sure, just look up a playthrough of Lab X18 to see for yourself, that's the worst the game has to offer.

[Tusken GA]

STALKER SoC is as scary as your incompetence makes it.

[Tusken GA]

Originally posted by kaay:

Ok for starters im a terrible person because i totally hate Half Life 2 which imo set the trend (and a new standard) for modern bad design in games.

Halo 1 came out in 2001. Halo 2 came out November 9th, 2004. Half Life 2 came out November 16th, 2004. If you're going to blame any game, blame the ones that introduced the two weapon limit, regenerating health, linear levels, and ushered in the era of small-map multiplayer shooters by making them mainstream.

Hell, Halo 1's success is the reason games are made for consoles first and PC maybe later. It's the reason consoles took off like a rocket and pushed PC to the sidelines.

[Яedly Яed.暗赤色@Tsundere-Tiddy]

It's not really scary. It's just pure atmosphere. But it has some really creepy locations still.

[Arrite]

It's so scary, it made me realize that there is a skeleton INSIDE OF ME

[S]

It's one of the most atmospheric games ever made and as a result it can be very tense. If you go into the game blind without looking anything up, then there are moments where it can be quite scary.

There aren't any jump scares, fyi. It's not actually a horror game.

I do enjoy environments that provide a more oppressive sort of dread

This describes Stalker.

[JustOnePepsi]

Originally posted by Tuskan GA:

Originally posted by kaay:

Ok for starters im a terrible person because i totally hate Half Life 2 which imo set the trend (and a new standard) for modern bad design in games.

Halo 1 came out in 2001. Halo 2 came out November 9th, 2004. Half Life 2 came out November 16th, 2004. If you're going to blame any game, blame the ones that introduced the two weapon limit, regenerating health, linear levels, and ushered in the era of small-map multiplayer shooters by making them mainstream.

Hell, Halo 1's success is the reason games are made for consoles first and PC maybe later. It's the reason consoles took off like a rocket and pushed PC to the sidelines.

Oh boo ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hoo. Halo 1 and Halo 2 were great games. You don't like them, go cry somewhere else about it. Video games hipsters like you are the worst. "I liked shooters before they were on consoles"... grow up.

Anywho, the Stalker series is great. There are some legitimate jump scares in the game, and with the way the AI works, pretty much every enemy has a chance to come around a corner when you least expect it and scare the bejesus out of you.

The biggest issue you might have is with the intense atmosphere. As you're roaming around outside and in old dilapidated buildings, you might hear screams in the distance, or the squeels of random mutants, nearby gunfire is common, as well is distant otherworldly howls and moans. It all sets the mood wonderfully and can keep you on your toes. Especially for new players, there's a lot of "wtf was that!? I'm scared now..." moments.

It's not a straight up horror game like Dead Space or anything... but you might feel like you're exploring a slightly less active Ravenholm most of the time.

EDIT: A better comparison, for better or worse, might be Bioshock. Bioshock certainly had its "scary" moments, but I wouldn't really classifiy it as a traditional horror game.

[Panther]

I think COP is scarier/more random than SOC. Also think COP is flag ship title of the series. You can get a key for all three for £5 currently, google stalker bundle.

BTW: Grouses description is spot on. .. Now let's go take care of that blood sucker lare, my man.

[Hackie P4ckie]

About all that's scary in this is lab X18. It's a small level where you enter a hidden lab to get some documents and then leave. About the only scary part of it is the fact that there's a poltergeist that will surprise you at first by throwing a box at you. That's the only kind of scare this game really gave me.

Basically, when you get to X18, turn your volume down and be ready for a box to be thrown at you. That's really all that'll scare you. Other than that, it's just some creepy atmospheric stuff like some odd noises and some creepy enemies, but all they'll do is make you say "Huh. That's odd." instead of scaring you.

Don't worry about the horror aspect.

[Tusken GA]

Originally posted by CVC Grouse:

Originally posted by Tuskan GA:

Halo 1 came out in 2001. Halo 2 came out November 9th, 2004. Half Life 2 came out November 16th, 2004. If you're going to blame any game, blame the ones that introduced the two weapon limit, regenerating health, linear levels, and ushered in the era of small-map multiplayer shooters by making them mainstream.

Hell, Halo 1's success is the reason games are made for consoles first and PC maybe later. It's the reason consoles took off like a rocket and pushed PC to the sidelines.

Oh boo ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hoo. Halo 1 and Halo 2 were great games. You don't like them, go cry somewhere else about it. Video games hipsters like you are the worst. "I liked shooters before they were on consoles"... grow up.

Dude, I never said I didn't like them. My first video game (excepting gameboy stuff) was Halo 3; I bought the Halo 3 Edition Xbox 360 in 2007, and own every Halo up to Halo Reach. I've played Halo 1 and 3 maybe a dozen times, alone and with one of my siblings. I've got the first 100 episodes of Red vs Blue on my computer. I've read half the books (last I checked) and half my usernames around the internet contain the number '117'.

Doesn't stop me from recognizing the franchise's detrimental effect on gaming. Those systems worked for Bungie because they pioneered them; after they got adopted by the rest of the industry though, they simply weren't implemented well at all and were cheapened as a result.

Heck, with Halo ODST and Reach, even Bungie recognized the detrimental effect they'd had on gaming, since they reimplemented a health-pack system.

[By-Tor And The Snow Cat]

All of these replies have been extremely helpful, so thanks very much to all of you!

It sounds like this game may both be for me and not quite be for me. I've wanted to buy it for some time because all I ever hear is how this is one of the greatest examples of developers managing to build a believable, emmersive world that truly demonstrates its own twisted reality in every detail.

The one thing that's now keeping me from it and making me waver slightly is the idea of constant screams, moans, and generally Weird ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Sounds that I imagine will make me afraid to turn around every corner of every interior I explore for fear of a mutant enemy rushing toward me.

I guess the issue is that I play games both to appreciate what good developers have done, but also to relax; unfortunately, I'm starting to think that this might be the kind of game that will keep me consistently filled with dread about what might happen next. When I'm continually walking (virtually, of course) as slowly as possible and trying my hardest not to turn a corner because I think something horrifying is going to attack me if/when I do, I'm usually not enjoying myself. It's ok for a game to have a handful of such moments if the rest is me exploring/shooting/whatever in places where I don't constantly have such an oppressive and concerned feeling; but if such feeling makes up the buk of the game, it's likely not for me.

So, after all of the comments and a bit more explication of my wants/needs here, what should my final verdict be? I'm giving my decision to you, dear STALKERs! Consider it well, for the balance of the world depends on it!

(and also my money)

[Tusken GA]

Originally posted by Icculus The Prophet:

All of these replies have been extremely helpful, so thanks very much to all of you!

It sounds like this game may both be for me and not quite be for me. I've wanted to buy it for some time because all I ever hear is how this is one of the greatest examples of developers managing to build a believable, emmersive world that truly demonstrates its own twisted reality in every detail.

The one thing that's now keeping me from it and making me waver slightly is the idea of constant screams, moans, and generally Weird ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Sounds that I imagine will make me afraid to turn around every corner of every interior I explore for fear of a mutant enemy rushing toward me.

I guess the issue is that I play games both to appreciate what good developers have done, but also to relax; unfortunately, I'm starting to think that this might be the kind of game that will keep me consistently filled with dread about what might happen next. When I'm continually walking (virtually, of course) as slowly as possible and trying my hardest not to turn a corner because I think something horrifying is going to attack me if/when I do, I'm usually not enjoying myself. It's ok for a game to have a handful of such moments if the rest is me exploring/shooting/whatever in places where I don't constantly have such an oppressive and concerned feeling; but if such feeling makes up the buk of the game, it's likely not for me.

So, after all of the comments and a bit more explication of my wants/needs here, what should my final verdict be? I'm giving my decision to you, dear STALKERs! Consider it well, for the balance of the world depends on it!

(and also my money)

It's not a ghost game. When I said above that this game is as scary as your incompetence makes it, I meant that if you are competent, because of how well constructed this world is, you're not going to be properly scared.

Your success or failure is almost entirely dependent on your ability to pay attention to surrounding noise and understand it for what it is. Everything makes noise before it attacks you, and even when it hasn't even seen you yet, so if you're paying attention and listening for it, you won't be surprised.

It's also usually visible a ways off, so you can plan around it.

They aren't creepy except for what they represent. Heavy breathing, growling, barking, yipping, snorting, and roaring, each of them is a different creature, and once you recognize them, once you gauge how far away they are, you'll know whether you should worry about them.

The brilliance of STALKER is that it manages to, for players who stick with it and get past the near vertical learning curve, create a world where a five foot tall boar, a tentacle-faced bloodsucker, and a swarm of 10" spindly mutated hamsters can all be incredibly deadly and yet the player regards them as mundane.

They're just things to keep an eye out for; like pot holes or low-hanging branches (if both of these things could kill you incredibly quickly).

As a result, the noises they make, after a few hours, are just that; noises. Not creepy, not scary, just a warning of danger.

Though the Zombies still creep me out...

[JustOnePepsi]

Originally posted by Icculus The Prophet:

All of these replies have been extremely helpful, so thanks very much to all of you!

It sounds like this game may both be for me and not quite be for me. I've wanted to buy it for some time because all I ever hear is how this is one of the greatest examples of developers managing to build a believable, emmersive world that truly demonstrates its own twisted reality in every detail.

The one thing that's now keeping me from it and making me waver slightly is the idea of constant screams, moans, and generally Weird ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Sounds that I imagine will make me afraid to turn around every corner of every interior I explore for fear of a mutant enemy rushing toward me.

I guess the issue is that I play games both to appreciate what good developers have done, but also to relax; unfortunately, I'm starting to think that this might be the kind of game that will keep me consistently filled with dread about what might happen next. When I'm continually walking (virtually, of course) as slowly as possible and trying my hardest not to turn a corner because I think something horrifying is going to attack me if/when I do, I'm usually not enjoying myself. It's ok for a game to have a handful of such moments if the rest is me exploring/shooting/whatever in places where I don't constantly have such an oppressive and concerned feeling; but if such feeling makes up the buk of the game, it's likely not for me.

So, after all of the comments and a bit more explication of my wants/needs here, what should my final verdict be? I'm giving my decision to you, dear STALKERs! Consider it well, for the balance of the world depends on it!

(and also my money)

The sounds are only a problem for as long as you're new. If you go watch some let's play videos of people playing through various mods and whatnot, you'll notice some pretty creepy/loud noises that they don't pay attention to at all. Because they already know that it's just ambient noise.

There's a reason the Stalker games are widely regarded as having some of the best atmosphere in gaming. You'll hear distant thunder, dogs barking, gunfire, as well as creepy moans, growls, and howls. But after playing the game for a few hours, you'll start to filter out most of those and realize that it's just noise.

It's that deep, heavy breathing you have to watch out for......

[Z3r0_]

]Besides bloodsuckers, the initial encounter with a controller, and possibly one's first encounter with Poltergeists in X-18, the vanilla game doesn't really have intentional "jumpscares". If something startles you in STALKER, then it's usually your own fault for rushing through and not paying attention to your surroundings (unless the AI pulls a fast one on you, which CAN happen but this is again usually a case of carelessness/poor situational awareness on part of the player).

The horror aspect of this game is less sudden terror and more a creeping sense of dread, a feeling that something's constantly hunting you, planning your demise at that very moment, and knowing that you only have what you can carry on you and your own wits to survive another day, then you have to do it all over again. THAT in my opinion is the right way to implement a horror element not just in a game, but in any medium. Jumpscares are easy and cheap - it takes a very careful approach to create the kind of thing that both terrifies and yet captivates you, keeping you going in spite of your fear.