What I really want to know about Stalker 2 is how the game is going to push the series forward, to take the basic premise and mechanics of those early games and use them to conjure new experiences, without simply regurgitating the experiences of the past. What seemed radical in 2007 is now familiar, while the space that Stalker used to occupy alone is now thronged with imitators. My concern is that GSC finally achieving their original vision won’t be enough to make Stalker 2 stand out. Compared with that, Shadow of Chernobyl doesn’t go that. At the beginning, you can expect easy quests that provide you with even more good stuff and help to get comfortable with the game. Stalker 2 has further competition going forward, with games like Chernobylite and Atomic Heart demonstrating a similar tone and atmosphere. Lastly, the Call of Pripyat is the best STALKER game for new players to get into the franchise because you start with a rifle, a gun, medkits, and food. Stalker isn’t even the only open-world shooter featuring a dilapidated Eastern-European setting, with Metro: Exodus having encroached on Stalker’s territory in 2019. Far Cry alone has five (soon to be six) games in the series, while the subgenre extends to games like Borderlands, RAGE, and even Fallout. Far Cry-the first game to demonstrate the potential of shooters where players could choose their approach-was only a couple of years old, while Crysis wouldn’t release for another nine months.Įven in its compromised state, Shadow of Chernobyl was trailblazer, lending it an appeal that made it much easier to look past its weird structure and wonky presentation. When Shadow of Chernobyl first released, the idea of an open-world shooter was relatively new. The industry has changed enormously since Stalker’s debut in March 2007. But this might not be enough to attract new players. For most Stalker fans, a Stalker game that’s basically a re-run of Shadow of Chernobyl, only with modern production values and a properly interconnected open world, will be enough to get them on board.

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