izigame.me

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl is a cult classic for those who dig the Russian/Ukrainian aesthetics coupled with some minor RPG and survival elements. Visually the game can be dated looking and same applies to the feeling of the game with it's controls and UI. To many new stalkers the game might come off as very weird, unappealing, or boring to people who start out for the first time. The atmosphere and world has a slow way of drawing you in slowly until you're deep into the game and it's setting.
The setting and atmosphere is definitely the strongest thing this game has. You explore the outskirts of Pripyat and the notorious Chernobyl NPP after a strange second disaster happens and alters the world and defies both science and reality itself with Anomalies and artifacts. The world is fairly decent sized and split into sectors. You'll explore most of them multiple times. The underground labs are probably some of the most horrifying experiences I've had in a long time with the sound design and darkness.
The gameplay is probably the weakest part of the whole experience. Guns have a tendency to be inconsistent but scoped weapons reign supreme due to how long range engagements can me along with seeing where your bullet went. Bodyshots are easily shrugged off by even lowly bandits so headshots are essentially a must to win. Mutants on the other hand are either weak or bullet sponges. The player character no matter what difficulty is weak. You might have to resort to abundant use of quicksaves and some save scumming since the game is fairly difficult in some sections.
The economy in this game is fairly brutal meaning you'll have to do some jobs and grinding by taking artifacts, loot, and risking your own life to make small amounts of cash only to save up and blow it all on buying that expensive ass new suit with exoskeleton support that looks awesome. Different traders offer different prices for specific items, such as the ecologist paying top dollar for any artifacts or mutant pieces you bring them. However everything has durability meaning when you purchase anything be ready to chuck it away or sell the broken gear for a mere fraction of what you payed for before. The game is also not very friendly to loot hoarders with bullets and all other things that go into your inventory taking up weight. The game punishes you for stocking up on too much gear (such as having like 1000 extra AK rounds) you do not need basically forcing you to take the bare essentials.
Now let me get into the artifacts. These are a staple of the game's experience and what really makes this game from shiny silver to absolute gold. Artifacts are found in stashes you find locations for or inside an anomaly which will instantly eviscerate your character. These things are high risk high reward and you can easily find them with the naked eye. Not all artifacts are good or sell for much. A number of them are pretty much junk artifacts that irradiate your character or offer very little benefit however when you find something like maybe 4 moonlight artifacts you can pretty much sprint infinitely even when you're carrying too much. Some items can effect different aspects of the gameplay such as stopping bleeding, increased resistances, increased health, and radiation removal. A lot of these do come with downsides such as emitting radiation, making you weaker to specific attacks, and overall increasing the bleed out rate.
The story in this game is basically next to non-existent. Like it's there but at the same time it's really nothing special. I know I said the gameplay is the weakest part but I think I take that back now. There are 2 main endings with the one having sub endings based on what you did and yes there is a true canon ending if you go out of your way to figure it out.
NO FAST TRAVEL. Expect to do some walking and rationing your gear alongside avoiding fights from point A to point B if you have to.
I'd say S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl is a must play game. It might not be for everyone but it is definitely one of the best for what it is. Also if I find someone who calls this game series Russian Fallout I will borderline hurt them.