Разработчик: GSC Game World
Описание
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Prepare to enter the Zone for your own risk striving to make a fortune out of it or even to find the truth concealed in the Heart of Chornobyl.
* EPIC NONLINEAR STORY IN SEAMLESS OPEN WORLD
* VARIETY OF ENEMIES AND HUNDREDS OF WEAPON COMBINATIONS
* LEGENDARY MUTANTS WITH DIFFERENT BEHAVIOUR MODELS
* ARTIFACTS OF INCREDIBLE VALUE AND UNFORGIVING ANOMALIES
Discover the legendary S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe!
About the Game
A military expedition to the center of the Zone has mysteriously disappeared. To figure out the reason and status of the personnel, is your task as Major Degtyarev, a Security Service of Ukraine operative in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.
UNCHARTED LANDS
The Exclusion Zone around the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant flames with anomalous activity stronger than ever before. Emissions of destructive energy flood it day by day, as its heartlands are finally free to explore for the most experienced and brazen ones. So set your path through swampy Zaton, industrial zones of the "Jupiter" plant, the ghost town of Pripyat, and the top secret catacombs in which no stalker's foot has set since the catastrophe.
NEW THREATS
The Zone becomes even more unpredictable and dangerous, distorting the fabric of reality with its energy. You'll have to seek shelter during abrupt emissions and show great ingenuity in order to deal with the new types of anomalies. Get ready to face Chimera – the most fierce predator of these lands at night and telepathic mutant Burer at the darkest abandoned places.
THE SEQUEL TO THE STORY
The lone stalker lifestyle is neat – but in Call of Pripyat, you've got a special objective. Along the journey, you'll meet plenty of vagabonds and dwellers. Be far-sighted and careful in your decisions: some of them can help in your investigation or shed some light on the mysteries of the Zone.
Game features:
- A combination of action, horror, survival, and role-playing elements in the setting of dark Eastern European science fiction.
- The unique atmosphere of loneliness in a dangerous place where time has stopped forever.
- Numerous endings that are formed by your decisions during the passage.
- Improved upgrade system for armours and weapons.
- A reworked A-Life life simulation system based on the best solutions of the previous parts.
- Expanded side quest system and many new unique characters.
- Random Emission mechanic that can now take you by surprise at any unexpected moment.
- New mutants: Chimera and Burer.
- Locations of Pripyat, recreated according to real prototypes.
- Four multiplayer modes with battles for up to 32 players on one map.
Поддерживаемые языки: german, english, french, italian, russian, spanish - spain, ukrainian, polish
Системные требования
Windows
- Supported OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP(Service Pack 2)/Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4
- Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz / AMD XP 2200+
- Graphics: 128 MB DirectX® 8.0 compatible card / nVIDIA® GeForce™ 5700 / ATI Radeon® 9600
- Memory: 768 MB RAM
- Sound: DirectX® 9.0 compatible sound card
- Hard Drive: 6 GB free hard disc space
- Supported OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP/Vista (SP1)
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 / AMD 64 X2 4200+
- Graphics: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c compatible card* / nVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GT / ATI Radeon® HD 2900 XT
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Sound: DirectX® 9.0 compatible sound card
- Hard Drive: 10 GB free hard disc space
Отзывы пользователей
Worse than shadow. Cant run for more than 2 seconds without resting for an hour, engaging in any combat is downright NOT FUN. It's a game, it should be. Obviously I'm aware of Anomaly and Gamma but good lord... I was ok walking across all of SOC but I cant even walk to my next objective. This has further turned me off from this series, as the base story was straight cheeks, and I'm truly ashamed so many people put this game on such a high pedestal.
One of the greatest games about stalkers. You don't want to miss the experience and immersion/
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat
Gameplay: The gameplay is a bit rough which makes it more difficult, the graphics are not bad but they lowered the quality of the game (I played it in ULTRA graphics). The story is very good, since now the military are allies once and for all, including new game mechanics such as weapon conditions, artifacts and secondary missions. Including the issue of somewhat hidden missions with favorable rewards. However, the method of searching for repair kits is somewhat annoying.
Map: It only has 3 areas which are very large but it would have been better if they had added something else like the previous titles, knowing that Call of Pripyat is based more on new areas such as swamps, railways and suburbs.
Soundtracks: In certain areas it would have been much better if music such as Freedom or Duty in propaganda or even more propaganda on the walls, including music such as the 100 RADS bar. But other than that, the combat music and some ambient effects are fine.
Easily the best out of the original 3 games. I enjoyed the protagonist and his main objective, along with how straightforward the various locations were presented and used. My favorite part of the game were the side quests, the characters introduced within them, and the unique rewards granted upon their various completions.
This is the game that I enjoyed the most among the original stalker trilogy. Combat feels fluid and the in game economy is well balanced. The story itself is quite interesting, especially the side quests. The underlying story in the side quests allows the player to interact with the world on a deeper level compared to some fetch stuff or kill mutants quests. It all boils down to say that the best features from the two previous games were perfected here. I had a lot of fun palying this game.
this game actually good lmao, unlike previous game this game feels more proper and finished(not feeling i'm paying to play alpha-beta game), but still this game still feels unfinished anyway, the credit and the intro are the highlight. Gameplay? 8/10
atmosphere? its Stalker game buddy the atmosphere are the best, dialogues? its Stalker game buddy its dialogue always cheesy and awful, anyway Good Hunting Stalker.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
GSC GAME WORLD, 2010
"Guns are accurate."
If you get all the tool kits and deck your favorite weapon out.
Otherwise, you're in for a bad time, especially after coming from Clear Sky + SRP's Alternate Ballistics patch.
Good luck finding those tool kits! It's a big world out there and there's only two of each!
A notable plus of this part of the series is that here most of the locations are different, which do not overlap with Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky. For this respect. In my opinion, the realization of the best part of the series
Incredible game. I preferred the experience of SoC, but the combat and weapon customization were great in this game. Play it on Master, No Crosshair for the ultimate experience.
Only mods used was a grass distance and changing my FOV.
After playing the faithful trilogy of the stalker series, I can safely say that Call of Pripyat, the third title, is the best of all three. It innovates from the previous two titles, making side missions much more useful and impactful to the story, reworking the way you obtain artifacts, and giving you a reason to come back to several locations. The map is well designed (much better than the other two games imo) and it had a very clear layout. And while the graphics and mechanics of the game themselves didn't change much, the story was definitely a giant improvement.
The biggest issue the previous two titles had, in my opinion, was that I drowned in a sea of dialogue text, not understanding where and why I'm going, and why I should care - I just did it. In fact, I hated that aspect in Clear Sky so much that I stopped paying attention to the story and completed the game as fast as possible. It was a slog for me; CoP is the complete opposite. Dialogue was concise, the actions of the characters (and yours) made sense, the mission tracker immediately pointed you in the right direction and BOOM: you knew what you were doing, plain as day. But most importantly I was interested in the story. And they went a step beyond to give a little narration at the end that state how your choices affected you, your comrades, and the Zone as a whole.
I replayed the Stalker series in prep for stalker 2, and while Clear Sky made it a year-long drag for me to finish (I really didn't wanna play it lol), I think its worth pushing through to experience Call of Pripyat.
What a game. Bleak, brutal and full of surprises. Great atmosphere. Some scary bits. Great gun play. Fun to explore, and there's a lot to explore.. But over all of that is the bleak, hopeless atmosphere. You will have a great time in The Zone, but it won't be easy.
This entry is different from the first two, and personally, I prefer them. CoP lacks the atmosphere of SoC and CS. It's still enjoyable, but it’s the weakest entry in the trilogy
After completing CoP, it was difficult for me to decide if I liked it more than SoC or not. There are a lot more new mechanics here, but the map is smaller than in the first game. The story is also great, it's a nice closure to the trilogy. Obviously, the previous two parts are required to play before this one.
When I firstly finished the game, I couldn't wait to see HoC, but at that time it was only announced, now it's finally released and I look forward to the time I'll be able to buy and play it.
Tons of improvements on the original, great story, and still amazing atmosphere, must play
By far, the most polished of the three original STALKER games. Best graphics, least bugs, best UI. The story is easier to follow and you can actually understand where you have to go and what you have to do. The authentic STALKER atmosphere is untouched.
Provably best STALKER from the first Trilogy. More polished game play. Economy for weapons has been balanced. The story continues being interesting and engaging. And about graphics; everything maxed out with DX10 improvements makes this game to look pretty solid.
Many people discuss weather or not this is the best STALKER game. I honestly believe this has to be on every list of must play games as well as one of the best games overall, even with it being slightly rough around the edges and certain animations showing the games age. this in my opinion would be a fantastic games to introduce new players to our favorite ZONE.
Some stalkers want you to cover them? sure! ... Oh there are zombies. Oh im dead
Best of S.T.A.L.K.E.R Series – Call of Pripyat
I love this part of the series the most. While the first game holds a special place in my memory, Call of Pripyat is unquestionably the best entry in the original trilogy (not considering S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2). It feels like the culmination of everything great about its predecessors—refined, more complex, and balanced in a way that elevates the experience.
It takes the atmosphere, survival mechanics, and other aspects, that made the series iconic and polishes them. This is the definitive S.T.A.L.K.E.R experience, combining the best elements of the originals into a masterpiece.
Everything from the past 2 games bought to the peak of what Stalker means. Loved every single detail from the choices actually meaning something to the random events and weathers and lastly the way armour and gear is handled with it being allowed upgrades and repairs.
The main story was good but lacked behind the first games story. (still a solid story) and the best and IMO the way it's meant to be played is Side Quests have meanings and outcomes always as you'll see what you do in this world is final to run its fate.
This is the best Stalker game in terms of overall experience, polish.
Gameplay -10/10
Story - Short, but wraps up a lot of loose ends and the side missions,
esp unmarked ones are really good. 7/10
Graphics - DIsappointing, a downgrade from Clear Sky, but just use Atmosfear or smth. 6/10
Just a damn good STALKER game. Definitely tied with SoC for me.
Late to the party, but its an absolute gem. Still to this day.
Best game of the original trilogy, you can really see the refinement of ideas in this game, Shadow of Chernobyl took forever to get around, Clearsky was very compact but added armour and weapons upgrades, this game struck a nice balance between the two, gun play is solid.
Artefacts are good but not as OP as some of the ones in Clear-sky also in complete contrast to Clear-sky radiation is a non issue in this game, but honestly I'm not that bothered about it.
The other games could be frustrating because they still needed refinement, but this was a joy to play all the way through.
I played through Stalker 2 recently and it was super cool to see so many designs and areas in their original form and how true to the original they kept a lot of visuals in the new game (with better graphics of course)
Minor spoilers ahead:
I am super easy to please in terms of story, but I like this game a lot, its a simple but effective story that makes sense in the world. There is also a goofy Strelok cameo which I honestly thought was funny and charming in an old video game type of way, like they thought "Oh shit, well it can't be a stalker game without Strelok at least one appearance".
There is even a bit where you can give him notes from his old friends if you bothered to collect them and he thanks you, which is kind of wholesome(?), more than anything, this game is more stalker and I love it. I'm glad I went through and played these games.
Gameplay wise is perfect. Very enjoyable and i loved the storyline too.
The last act, in Pripyat was a little buggy and disconnected but still very good.
On to Stalker 2 now :D
loved how in this stalker you were able to build up a team for you as you go on the last story mission and find the truth of whats going on with what you've been instructed to find out in the zone
A thrilling conclusion to the trilogy, Call of Pripyat takes the series into its most refined state and delivers through meaningful quests and gameplay.
I just finished S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat in 14.5 hours, and it is by far the best of the original three S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. It manages to improve on almost every aspect of its predecessors while staying true to the series’ unique atmosphere and gameplay style.
The graphics are significantly better than the first two games, and while part of that is because Call of Pripyat is newer, the art direction also feels much more refined and immersive. The Zone looks breathtakingly bleak, with hauntingly realistic environments that make every moment feel tense and atmospheric. Whether it’s the eerie silence of the abandoned buildings or the foreboding skies over Pripyat itself, every location oozes mood and personality.
One of the most pleasant surprises was the lack of bugs. After the frustrating experiences with Clear Sky (especially without mods), playing Call of Pripyat felt like a breath of fresh air. The game was stable, smooth, and glitch-free, which allowed me to fully immerse myself in the world without worrying about broken mechanics or random crashes.
The story is another highlight. It dives deeper into the mysteries of the Zone and expands on the lore established in Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky. It’s well-paced, with engaging main quests and meaningful side content that adds depth to the world. Unlike the previous games, the story feels more polished and cohesive, making it a joy to unravel the secrets of the Zone.
Gameplay-wise, Call of Pripyat retains the survival mechanics and open-world exploration that define the series but refines them for a smoother experience. The addition of mechanics like sleeping and managing hunger enhances the immersion, while the improved AI makes encounters with both mutants and human enemies more engaging. The game’s open-ended nature encourages exploration, and the three main areas—Zaton, Jupiter, and Pripyat—are packed with side quests, hidden treasures, and environmental storytelling.
The weapon and gear progression also feels much better balanced than in the earlier games. The repair and upgrade systems add a layer of strategy to how you approach combat and exploration, making every decision feel impactful.
Overall, Call of Pripyat stands out as the definitive S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience, offering a polished, bug-free adventure with excellent storytelling, refined gameplay, and an unmatched atmosphere. It’s made me even more excited to dive into S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl. If you’re a fan of immersive survival games or the post-apocalyptic genre, this is an absolute must-play.
In terms of narration, story and gameplay it feels like a step up. A lot of issues from Clear Sky have been fixed. Story is being told in a more straight and robust manner.
But after Clear Sky this one is a serious visual downgrade, it instantly feels like a console game, with all downsides: much less objects, geometry is pretty bad in terms of simplicity, a lot of details gone. Probably visually it is even worse than SOC, original game.
You will visit some new locations, meet few characters from previous games, several interesting side quests.
To sum up, I'd say that:
Story - Shadow of Chornobyl.
Visuals/FX/Tech - Clear Sky.
More polished overall - Call of Pripyat.
Still a solid product, which adds more to the universe :)
Is more than just a video game; it’s an immersive experience that captures the essence of a post-apocalyptic world like few others. Set in "The Zone," a fictionalized version of the area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after a second disaster, the game masterfully blends survival, exploration, shooting, and deep storytelling.
The atmosphere is the true star here. The Zone is packed with desolate landscapes, radioactive storms, and ruins that silently tell their stories. Every corner of this world is filled with tension, featuring unpredictable enemies—both human and mutant—and mysterious anomalies that make every expedition a challenge.
The gameplay rewards careful exploration and resource management. With its focus on realistic survival elements, from managing ammo and food to avoiding the deadly effects of radiation, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. keeps players constantly on edge.
Combat is intense and tactical, where every bullet matters. This is complemented by an intriguing story that mixes science fiction with psychological horror, taking you on a journey full of secrets and moral dilemmas that keep you hooked until the end.
While the game has some technical quirks and a steep learning curve, these elements feel like part of its charm, adding authenticity to the harshness of The Zone.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat is a gem of the FPS/RPG genre, a must-play for those seeking an intense, challenging, and atmospheric experience. Once you enter The Zone, it’s hard to leave.
At last ploughed through the third game in the series. Let me tell you, this was quite a ride and not always a good one. However, this time they got it right... ish.
Why I like it
You're a USS officer going into the zone to investigate the cause of a handful of helicopters crashing. It will not make a huge difference to you, as you will still play as you would have in previous STALKER games. Heck, you can side with the factions through choices in your missions, just not quite as in depth as in Clear Sky. It's a shame they removed the whole affinity and ongoing war mechanics, but I guess they deemed removing it was easier fixing that mess; just keep it simple to avoid f*cking it up. And good for them, because the result is a game that can actually be played without constantly calling the devs names. There were no crazy, quest-breaking bugs this time; you know the kind, "you can't finish the game because you picked up a chicken sandwich before talking to Steve and after obtaining the dragon blade; now you have to start over". And for the record, I completed pretty much all of the side quests and played it without mods.
It's not functionality alone that CoP stands above its predecessors for; there are some really nice additions to the core STALKER experience. For instance, I love the new anomaly landmarks. In previous games you could only find tiny anomalies here and there by exploring the map. In CoP we have landmarks on the PDA, which are big, permanent anomalies. I think this makes a lot of thematic sense; why just have tiny anomalies and not larger areas? It made so much sense when I saw this; brilliant. Something they've introduced - and would like to see grow in future/present games - is anomalies that have an effect on reality, such as the maze leading to The Oasis. In addition, the despicable price variation is gone and the loathsome bullet roulette has been smoothed out; very pleased with these adjustments.
The map is new, which is refreshing. It's divided in 3 sections and Pripyat is the only common area that was present in SoC & CS. Immersive and well-designed as with previous entries, it will not disappoint. One thing I found annoying is that you need a guide to move between sectors - and you have to pay for it. Story-wise, once more, we have a rather simple plot with a bit of an underwhelming ending; not that the endings were ever mind-blowing... SoC still remains the strongest of the first 3 games in this aspect, although the journey is most certainly the critical part of the STALKER series. In any case, I'd love these games to present the player with stronger characters and storylines in STALKER2 and other future content.
A few flaws
Weak story aside, I thought the radiation was almost irrelevant in CoP. It will be an issue during the first few incursions into the wild, but nowhere near the levels of the first 2 games. While I found it annoying whilst playing the older games, it was good annoying; made the game more challenging and thematically it just has to be there. Maybe this is one of the reasons I found CoP to be far too easy on veteran difficulty. Combat was tuned down too; no massive firefights that stood out for me. And of course, there's still no bloody tutorial. It's probably unlikely that anyone would start with this entry in the series, but is it that bloody hard to create a tutorial to run through the basics? I didn't give a sh*t. As soon as I started I knew I had to rebind a few keys, prioritise armour & weapon upgrades, get rid of the worthless detector and get a Veles ASAP, and start hunting artifacts like there's no tomorrow. That's me though. A new player won't even know they can equip an artifact or how important upgrading stuff is. I wish I could have played SoC knowing what I know now. Do you know what would have been even better though? If SoC had had a frigging tutorial explaining the basics so that I didn't have to wish for anything now.
Final thoughts
All in all, I managed to enjoy this game far more than the first 2. General polish, good new features, interesting areas to explore, and strong theme. The perfect STALKER game would have had; SoC's story, atmosphere, and action; CS's faction wars and mechanics, armour & weapon upgrades, and artifact searching; and CoP's graphics, level of polish, lack of bugs, and anomaly landmarks and effects on reality. I'm hoping all of these things are a long-winded way of saying "STALKER2", but I suspect it is not the case.
Advice for new players
1. Don't start with this entry, play SoC first
2. Mod the shit out of SoC
3. Search for a proper beginner's tutorial online
4. Skip Clear Sky; it's utter rubbish
5. Play this one
first played this game when i was like 7 or 8, everytime i got attacked by a bloodsucker i would pause the game and leave it out of fear, now 7/6 years later i take them down with barely any problem lol. 10/10
Just started playing this game for the first time and already i'm a little blown away. This game is everything a stalker game should be.
It also makes me realise Stalker 2 really does reuse like half of it's assets and almost all of it's characters from the older titles.
I can not get this game to launch on my Steam.
The tiny green and black logo comes up and then it goes straight back to my Steam app.
I used to be able to play it but now I can't.
I don't understand what is wrong.
I uninstalled and reinstalled the game twice already.
"S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat" is a game that masterfully combines tension, atmosphere, and freedom of choice. From the very first minutes, you are immersed in the grim yet captivating world of the Zone, where every sound, every rustle of the wind, or distant growl of mutants keeps you on edge. The story of Major Degtyarev, sent to the Zone on a crucial mission, captivates with its simplicity and depth. The game subtly pushes you to explore mysterious locations, where beneath every anomaly might lie either a valuable artifact or a deadly trap.
The locations — Zaton, Yanov, and Pripyat itself — are breathtaking in their detail and realism. Abandoned houses, rusty vehicles, and deserted bases all breathe history, creating the illusion of a living, forgotten world. Encounters with other stalkers add even more depth, as each character has their own fate, goals, and fears.
The gameplay strikes a perfect balance between simplicity and challenge. You must conserve resources, constantly monitor your gear’s weight, find safe routes, and prepare for the unexpected. Completing tasks is engaging, and the narrative twists are influenced by your choices. While the game doesn’t feature an overwhelming number of enemies or events, this is compensated by the sheer intensity and sense of real survival.
Yes, Call of Pripyat has its flaws: minor bugs and occasionally predictable enemy behavior. But these pale in comparison to the overall harmony of gameplay and atmosphere, which make you forget such trivialities. The game perfectly concludes the trilogy, leaving a sense of closure while simultaneously making you want to return to the Zone.
"S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat" is more than just a game — it’s a unique experience that everyone curious about the mysteries of the Zone should live through at least once.
If you have the time before playing STALKER 2, I cannot recommend enough that you play the OG trilogy, including this game which is in my opinion the best of the 3. GSC have outdone themselves, improving upon everything from the first 2 games and delivering and absolute classic. I could go on and on about everything that this game does well - interesting story and characters, phenomenal weapon selection and gunplay, one of the coolest settings for exploration and discovery of unique and freaky anomalies and enemies, and a bevy of main and side content to keep you entertained. I beat the game in a little over 20 hours but I did not complete all of the side missions so you could easily get more out of it if you are a completionist.
Fair warning about some negatives though - the game has some jank. When launching, for me it would always launch in a weird little window, which I had to fix by going out of and back in to fullscreen mode every time I wanted to play. There also are multiple graphical issues, and unfortunately there are some parts of the game which can glitch and cause soft locks in progression (I had to load a previous autosave after getting stuck in a dialogue with an important character later in the game, without spoiler the mission named "One Shot" caused this issue). These issues are mostly minor annoyances thankfully, and overall do not change the fact that this is an absolute gem. I highly recommend giving it a go if this genre interests you at all, I loved it from start to finish and you probably will too!
Amazingly fun for a slow paced open world shooter
Best Stalker out of the originals. The mods for this one are insane 9/10
for me this game is perfect and i would recommend to people that have played stalker clear sky or shadow of Chernobyl
runs well on older builds and is even at the worst graphics possible extremely fun to play.
An enjoyable game, it might feel a bit empty here and there, but it's fine.(A Fallout type fast travel option would have been great to have) Only had one game breaking bug/issue other than that nothing serious. It's a shame that they weakened the effects of some favourite artefacts, also the weapons and armour breaks with more ease.
This is the best part of the classic trilogy Stalker,because there were fewer bugs
(in nutshell this game Deserve every cent and yeah you must be play the trilogy before your small brain decide to play anomaly bc you wouldn't know what the hell is happening here so better play the trilogy first for the lore and trust me,you dont want to miss such unforgettable experience )
the game is old yeah but you can make it look way more with patching up some mods
the story is not great as shadow of chernoby but hey better than clear sky lore
the best about the game is:the world(that includes the npcs,world environments,locations,atmosphere)and the game play(that include the mechanics and missions,AI)
the bad negative things about this game is:the bugs especially when you want to put some mods but just for sake of god use mod organizer to not fucked up the game files and now you had to reinstall the whole game again,but hey at least its less buggier than most Bethesda game AKA fallout games.
and thats it,i hope you enjoyed my yapping session about this game,cya <3.
Для меня Чистое небо и Тень Чернобыля оказались скорее испытанием. Атмосфера, локации и сюжет, безусловно, хороши, но многочисленные недоработки и баги немного портили общее впечатление. Зато, когда я начал играть в Зов Припяти, то понял, что это действительно отличная игра во всех отношениях. В ней исправили всё, чего не хватало в предыдущих частях, и убрали всё лишнее.
The final entry of the original STALKER trilogy, Call of Pripyat, is the most polished and coherent game of the three. Which is to be expected, considering that GSC Game World already had nearly a decade of experience with the X-Ray Engine at this point due to how long Shadow of Chernobyl's development cycle lasted. It's so polished, in fact, that I actually could play this on Master difficulty completely vanilla! No mods whatsoever, and the game ran mostly fine (unless I put on DirectX 11, which the game turns into a complete stutter-fest) with few major bugs, which is a huge step up in comparison to both Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky where I practically needed a mod pack to stabilize the game.
There's a ton of improvements and quality-of-life changes introduced in this game that make the experience so much better as a player. In terms of changes from the prior two entries:
- Multi-tiered bleeding is toned down drastically, and both bandages and medkits are frequently dropped by enemies, so you're never really on the verge of running out. This sounds like it'd make things too easy, but considering how fast you get shredded by bullets in the first place, this is a very welcome change to what Clear Sky had and makes fighting actually worth a damn.
- Weapon accuracy is much better. It's not "bullet goes where your crosshair is" perfect, but it's way more manageable and overall reasonable. I had countless deaths on the prior two entries due to the game arbitrarily deciding I wasn't going to hit anything, and while there were some instances of that in Call of Pripyat, they were very few and far between. The upgrade/repair system introduced in Clear Sky also is overhauled considerably and is much more incentivizing to partake in, since the cost for both is relatively low.
- The A-Life system has been noticeably expanded and works really well in this game. You frequently come across mutant hordes, other stalkers, bandits, or Freedom and Duty members when traveling across the map, and it does wonders in making this game feel more lively. It might not be as in-depth with enemy tactics like Clear Sky's faction war system, but, in my opinion, it doesn't really need to be.
- Sprinting can be recharged when walking (fucking thank you). You can also get to a point where you can essentially sprint indefinitely if you pack lightweight enough, which is very welcome, even if the maps here aren't as big as the prior two games.
- Enemy grenade usage has been toned down considerably so that whatever the hell Clear Sky had for its enemy grenade mechanics doesn't happen here.
- Artifacts have a bit more purpose to them and are more fun to collect in this game thanks to the new points of interest feature on the PDA; generally speaking, any anomaly point of interest will have artifacts to collect in them, which helps give more incentive to searching for them rather than aimlessly wandering around.
There's plenty of other improvements under the hood, as mentioned prior with its relative stability compared to the past entries -- the game is overall much more fun to play due to all of this.
With that said, though: while this is most definitely the best game of the trilogy, I'd argue it's not the best STALKER "experience". A lot of that has to do with how the game is structured in comparison to the other two entries.
I kind of alluded to this prior, but the overall scale of the game world has been decreased pretty significantly. The environments in this game are restricted to three primary zones: Zaton, the Jupiter plant area (later known more generally as Yanov in STALKER 2), and Pripyat, with the latter being the only returning environment from both Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky, and is only really seen in the last hour or two of the story. While this allows for much more focused and refined gameplay with a lot less running around, this change also has the effect of making the game world feel...a lot more cramped in comparison. One of the things I liked about Shadow of Chernobyl was the environmental detail and overall atmosphere, and while that is still present in Call of Pripyat, it's much more subdued in comparison since there just isn't much variety. I also feel like the improvements to A-Life ironically contribute to this "cramped" feeling -- it's nice to have the areas be as lively as they are with constant new things happening, but it gets to be a bit much when I'm hearing gunshots in the Skadovsk 24/7 from fighting outside or having dogs up my ass any time I exit a point of interest.
On top of that, the game is honestly pretty short. You can breeze through the main quest in five hours or less if you wanted to. A lot of this game's content comes from optional side objectives -- which isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but I feel like it relies a bit too heavily on it to pad out the game's length. I will say, though, the side missions are more thought-out than the fetch quests of Shadow of Chernobyl and have more staying power (i.e. there's actual in-game reasons to do them outside of "give me money"), which does help this aspect a bit at least slightly.
In terms of more minor things that I thought were questionable:
- The currency system in this game is way too easy to break. I never once felt like I was struggling to get by due to how generous this game is with its drops, and as such, the only usage I ever really had for money was to upgrade or repair my stuff. This isn't a huge problem, but it takes away a pretty sizable chunk of difficulty.
- As cheesy and frankly low quality as some of the CGI intros and endings were for both Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky, they had infinitely more personality than what this game has -- both sequences are literally just slideshows with a voiceover and hard-to-read text stapled onto them. It's not bad, but it isn't as engaging or interesting as the prior two entries.
Overall, though, this is a really fun game. I can see myself replaying this if I ever want a quick open-world single-player experience. And it doesn't even necessarily have to be single-player either -- there's a co-op multiplayer mod for this game that works surprisingly well, all things considered, and it's how I first experienced this game. Definitely give it a shot if you haven't already.
What else can I say?
It's not Clear Sky.
I started playing the S.T.AL.K.E.R. series in order to play the latest installation,STALKER 2. They got me pretty hooked already but man is Call of Pripyat AMAZING! Don't miss out on them!
With the excitement of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, some people are unaware of this little treasure and the similar joy this brings. The graphics still hold up and the story line is great. A highly recommended bundle of horror. Be prepared for a lot of walking as there is no fast travel in the zone! Happy hunting Stalkers
Good times. Ending was a bit sudden, I never even got to go back to give the tier 3 tools to the mechanics. I can't wait to explore Jupiter in Gamma...
This game introduces some nice improvements over the first 2, such as a new detector, a weapon ordering system, and achievements.
However, there are a lot of negatives. For instance, the atmosphere—as many other reviews point out—is essentially nonexistent. In the first game, Shadow of Chernobyl, there were several moments, such as in Lab X-18, where I experienced such intense paranoia, fear, and total immersion that I had to turn up my brightness and take off my headphones just to get through it. In contrast, this game never evoked any similar feelings. At one point, during a laboratory sequence, I literally came across a door and said, “A door? Poggers!!!” That’s how plain and unengrossing this game feels.
Every location—Zaton, Jupiter, and Pripyat—instead of being fairly linear areas like the first 2 games, have been made into empty, repetitive open ones, turning them into bland expanses with some trees and buildings scattered around that feel like the same map with different set dressings. For instance, take the city map in this game, Pripyat, and compare it to the one from Clear Sky, Limansk. The latter is a realistic, interesting linear map with a well-thought-out layout, plenty of places to hide or be ambushed, and a unique feel that sets it apart from other locations. By contrast, Pripyat is indistinguishable from Zaton and Jupiter, aside from a few unique props. It’s just another mostly open, empty squarish space with scattered trees and buildings. It feels like this shift was an attempt to chase the trend of open worlds in gaming, much like the addition of the “how your actions impacted the world and its characters” slideshow at the end of the game, that was clearly inspired by popular games like Fallout.
The stash system has also been changed. Instead of finding stash locations by looting corpses, they’re now tied to quest rewards. This not only strips the system of its personality but also removes stash descriptions, turning them into characterless green circles on the map.
There are many other things this game does poorly, but frankly, I can’t be bothered to list them all. On top of these issues, the usual S.T.A.L.K.E.R. flaws persist, such as weapons being so inaccurate that you could aim at someone’s head, fire 10 shots, and miss with six of them while the remaining four hit them in the chest.
Ultimately, the only good reason to buy this game is to access the excellent mods available for it, such as Anomaly.
Most polished stalker game to date, with all the bells and whistles of what makes the original trilogy strong truly mastered. It does have its own atmosphere and is kind of easier compared to the 2 earlier ones, but is most accessible and fleshed out.
Degtyarev is also a cool, character and just like the other 2, he offers yet another new and unique perspective/ experience of the zone, with his own motivations as a cool kgb undercover agent who is not afraid to get his hands dirty and assimilate with tha localz.
Call of Pripyat is one of those game that people just seem to miss. Extremely atmospheric game that definitely deserves to be given a chance. This game feels like the fully realized, polished version of two previous games. Don’t get me wrong - i loved entire franchise, but they was undeniably rough around the edges in many ways.
Starting with its predecessors gave me the foundation i needed to really hit the ground running in this one. Absolutely golden!
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Дополнительная информация
| Разработчик | GSC Game World |
| Платформы | Windows |
| Ограничение возраста | Нет |
| Дата релиза | 24.02.2025 |
| Metacritic | 80 |
| Отзывы пользователей | 96% положительных (9031) |