I still remember how excited I was in 2007 when I was waiting for STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl to be released. The pictures I saw in the famous PC Player magazine completely convinced me. It promised a world in which one could freely explore the mysterious and infamous area surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Unfortunately, these promises had to be significantly scaled back after the release delay, as studio GSC Game World promised more than it could deliver. When the game finally came out, it was divided into four or five different zones, each with its own atmosphere. When I finally inserted the CD into my old PC, the game ran poorly, but it was playable, and what a game it was!
Since then, the uranium-rich water flowed under the bridge and there were three more games in the series. As you may already know, GSC is preparing to release a fourth game in September, and so these first three have been released as a collection, available on modern console formats for the first time.
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The first thing you notice when starting the game is a message from the developers greeting console players and indicating that this collection was created in the middle of the war in Ukraine. Of course, it’s sad that this keeps happening and that the developers had to not only give us a good trilogy, but at the same time try to… well, survive. Additionally, they claim that they retained the less politically correct elements of the series to keep the mystery of the Zone as it was 16 years ago. That’s true, because the game is a more or less faithful recreation of my first experiences in the Zone, hunting Strelok, and my own memories as The Marked One.
The game follows the popular pattern where the character has lost his memory and must make his way through the Zone in search of his past and Strelok, referenced by the predecessor of the modern telephone called “PDA”. Like the original version of the game, the voice acting is sparse and the characters you meet speak in Ukrainian. That’s acceptable, but the biggest problem is the fine print, which can be challenging for my aging eyes. Additionally, there is no way to adjust the font size, which is a problem for people with vision problems who can’t sit very close to the screen. In the later games STALKER: Clear Sky and STALKER: Call of Pripyat, more English is spoken, but the text is still difficult to read, which is a shame since the story in all three games is very exciting and mysterious. The characters have a lot to say and the player has a lot to read. There is a bit more voice acting in the later games, but reading is still a very important part of the gaming experience. This type of issue should have been fixed when updating older games as technology has evolved and updates should reflect this.
This may seem a bit strange, but I would rather take the time to say that these games are, in every sense of the word, a mere collection with no new tweaks or reworks, good or bad.
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And I’m not done criticizing the console versions of these games yet. One would expect the series of games to improve significantly almost ten years later, perhaps not through revisions, but with a bit of tweaking to ensure they can perform at their best. However, this is not the case.
I understand that the developers in Ukraine are in an unusual and alarming situation, but STALKER Legends of the Zone Trilogy doesn’t bring much new for old players or almost nothing in general. The only additions I could find in the game were the increased resolution up to 4K/60fps. The graphics are the same as the original, and while the game runs smoothly and fluidly, it’s not exactly a feast for the eyes. The game wasn’t the prettiest when it first came out, and it clearly hasn’t improved with age. One could have expected more from the developers. The positive part is that the game retains its dark and mysterious atmosphere, so new players will have more or less the same experience as I did when I played STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl for the first time.
Almost nothing changes in the collection, as there aren’t many changes beyond small things like the auto-aim and refresh rate improvements mentioned above. It seems more like a faithful but half-hearted compilation of some wonderful games. This may sound like a misplaced complaint, but we’ve seen what RTX Remix’s automatic adjustments can do for older games. Just a small change to some of the harsher graphical elements could have made a big difference in terms of gameplay. And yes, some additional functions are also missing.
Fortunately, the qualities of the original three games still stand out. The atmosphere is still intense and the game design is still excellent. The zone is dangerous and dark, with mutated animals, deadly stalkers and deadly anomalies hiding valuable and rare artifacts that are very valuable for both sale and survival. The zone remains as treacherous as ever, a trait that fortunately has not been lost over the years. STALKER Legends of the Zone Trilogy still manages to take us into this dark but fascinating world. I still like these games as much as I did 16 years ago.
STALKER The Legends of the Zone Trilogy continues to give us quite complicated games. Stalkers are formidable opponents, and if you come face to face with them, your chances of survival are close to zero. Even on the lowest difficulty levels, it’s not easy at all. You have to move stealthily and surround the enemies to avoid dying. The weapons are realistic and fun. You’ll quickly find your favorites that fit your playing style. The ability to upgrade weapons with scopes and silencers is also interesting. The tactical element is often essential for survival.
Is the console worth buying? If you played the games on PC, the console versions offer virtually the same experience. In fact, the PC versions can be modified to look and play even better than the originals. If you’re new to the genre, these three fantastic games with such an immersive atmosphere are like a time capsule of what good shooters looked like in 2007.
