4/5 ★ – administrator's review of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.

Pretty much every game has a sense of progression at its core, a foundation upon and around which story, gameplay and design orbits. You start with nothing, you obtain skills or spells or items or levels, your power increases, and the game hopefully throws more difficult challenges at you to keep you engaged and retain the aforementioned sense of progression. When done well, you are what the industry typically refers to as "hooked." Now, STALKER. This is one of the very few games I have played where I actually prefer the start of the game because you're weak. I found that too much progression made me enjoy the game less. Don't get me wrong, the game is pretty good throughout (and keep in mind I played this before all the essential mods to fix things came out, and I have replayed it with some of those mods, too) but there's something... desperate about the start of the game. Weapons jamming, scrabbling for resources, rushing to pick up an enemy weapon because you just fired your last eight bullets for the one in your hands. Your survival relies on keeping your wits about you, careful use of resources, and a bit of luck. I fondly remember spending *hours* in the first three or four areas of the game scavenging and sneaking about, taking my time, collecting resources and trying to survive. There was no urgency, nobody shouting at me to move on to the next story beat, no forced progression. It really appealed to me and when I find games that instill or enable this feeling, I stick to them like glue. Now, in general the game is pretty good as mentioned, but it's buggy as hell. The community has come together in the way it does for games like this and pretty much fixed and improved every aspect. Even so, underneath the bugs and mods lies something special, a game where - at least at the start - you're just another person in the zone. You're nothing special. The game doesn't protect you. In fact for your average and new player, if you take a right turn instead of a left turn just outside the starting area you're pretty likely to just die. The zone itself is apocalyptic and mysterious, with mutated creatures and strange anomalies to get you thinking and speculating. Careful players will gently ease around tears in reality, watching their flanks as best they can in case some monster or bandit takes it upon themselves to drain your blood. The design of the levels is pretty good too, allowing the player to explore and find some hidden stuff - in fact there aren't all that many invisible walls keeping you locked into the area, though I feel that this is probably an oversight rather than a design decision. I appreciate it though. Weapons feel good, with bullet drop and great sound. Distant gunfights draw your attention and either pull you in or make you want to go the other direction. There are some areas of the game that are very spooky - you know something is creeping around, stalking you, but... you just can't find it. Or find your way out. A game that makes you panic whilst simultaneously enjoying the experience is a good game by default. The endgame felt rushed, perhaps that's why I prefer the opening areas, but overall if you can ignore the bugs and have that 'survival' itch, you can't go wrong with Stalker. Just make sure you get the appropriate mods to enhance your experience.