Chernobylite

A first-person shooter with exploration elements and horror. While exploring locations, the player collects resources to build a base and craft useful items, while also shooting enemies and commanding a squad of allied NPCs.

The action of the game takes place in an alternative post-apocalyptic reality of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, more than 30 years after the 1986 disaster. Players can expect a non-linear storyline that intertwines personal drama, science fiction, and horror.

is a totalitarian USSR. At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, under the control of the KGB, a series of dangerous experiments is conducted on the substance "Chernobylite" and space-time, which leads to the well-known disaster with radiation contamination of the area. Additionally, a portal to another dimension opens, from which creepy creatures emerge, ion storms arrive, and entities that affect the psyche appear (but no anomalies).

Over time, the territory of the Zone is handed over to the control of the NAR corporation. Its fighters guard the secrets of the Zone from outsiders and protect scientists who continue secret research until the events of Chernobylite begin. By this time, the Exclusion Zone has aged significantly and has fallen into even greater disrepair compared to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.: a lot of vegetation tightly entwining buildings and streets; machinery that has sunk into the ground and rusted; crumbling, decaying structures.

And this is not an author's fiction, but realism. The developers visited the real Zone in Chernobyl, photographing many landmarks, buildings, and structures, as well as elements of the landscape. As a result, they managed to recreate the Soviet folk color and familiar architecture, slowly being consumed by nature.

To create a tense atmosphere of post-apocalypse, techniques such as building danger, the need to look around and react to every rustle, numerous screamers, and the ghost of a girl violinist appearing in reality are used. Stereotypical companions, sharing tales over health drinks, relieve the tension.

The main character is a physicist Igor Khimenko, a former employee of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. His measured life away from the Zone is disrupted by an unexpected package containing Chernobylite and a photograph of his beloved, who went missing before the disaster.

Now he wants to get into the destroyed reactor block covered by the "Arch" to find out what is happening there now and why he sees the ghost of a girl in his head, hallucinations, and foreign memories. He will be assisted by five fully developed companions, each with their own stories, skills, and contributions to the common cause.

The plot of Chernobylite is well-written and develops on different levels: relationships between characters and their motives; interaction with the Zone; processes that can affect all of Humanity. Chernobyl folklore, the theme of time travel, and alternative universes are actively woven into the narrative. There are also truly unexpected twists.

Each quest, dialogue with a companion, or even a found clue shapes a space of decisions that affect the subsequent narrative and can influence the ending, of which there are several in the game. Thanks to the fantastic properties of Chernobylite, there is a possibility to replay previously made decisions. For this, the protagonist just needs to die to enter another reality and from there change, or even completely remove, a certain decision. And the game will recalculate all the developments of events.

In Chernobylite, there is no open world; the action takes place in 5 small locations: the village of Kopachi, the Duga radar, the Red Forest, the port, and the center of Pripyat, each with its unique design and iconic objects. Levels will have to be stalked multiple times, completing story missions and personal quests for allies, peeking into one corner or another.

Quests in terms of gameplay are monotonous: find-kill-bring. You can always pull out a weapon and fight your way through, but there is also stealth that allows you to sneak past enemies unnoticed, saving ammunition and the hero's health; the main thing is to find the optimal route. Regardless of the play style, the AI of the enemies is rather dull.

For each mission, the protagonist goes alone, where he does not shine with survival skills. He barely aims, cannot shoot from the hip, is weak in hand-to-hand combat, and every wound turns him inside out. To survive, it is necessary to maintain mental health, physical health, and armor at an optimal level, as well as fill the inventory with useful gear.

In terms of weapons, Khimenuk has only a revolver, an AK-47, and a shotgun. They can be upgraded and even change the firing type through modifications, and over time, more powerful energy weapons with their upgrades will become available.

The goal of each outing is not so much to shoot as to gather as many resources and items for crafting as possible, which are highlighted around the hero by a scanner. All collected loot is spent on developing the base, upgrading weapons, creating ammunition, first aid kits, and other gear.

Playing through the game is not only stealth, action, and horror, but also a detective story. The player needs to gather clues and memories, restore the picture of the events that occurred, and seek the truth or avoid it. All the collected information is processed by Khimenuk, like Sherlock Holmes, in a VR headset at the base.

However, every extra moment in the Zone makes his situation increasingly precarious. The game keeps track of survival days, and with each new day, the chances of success diminish, enemies get closer to Igor, and the number of supernatural dangers increases.

Additionally, moving through the game world can lead to heavily polluted environments, where strange or even supernatural threats may be encountered. They are caused by the aforementioned "Chernobylite," which can also be collected and will come in handy for a "good" playthrough.

At the base, the player will not find peace either. The stalkers who join the team are just as human as everyone else. Their morale and fighting spirit need to be supported by improving the state of the base through building objects (like beds), completing mini-quests for loyalty, and finding compromises during decision-making.

Managing the squad also includes assigning tasks to each squad member, which they will complete alongside the protagonist throughout the day. They may also disappear or get injured — it's important to place helpers considering their strengths and weaknesses. In the end, the player and the squad will storm the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which will summarize all the decisions made, the hero's development, and the relationships within the group.

As the game progresses, the protagonist accumulates experience, which translates into levels. The higher the level, the more opportunities the player has, including for upgrading their skills. This is facilitated by mini-quests, where squad members effectively train Khimenuk: teaching him to shoot better, be stealthy, carry heavy weights, and so on.