Recent reviews by Sean

It was beautiful.

Having played the game on release and over the years with different mods I finally decided to revisit it this year to find out if it really was a great game or merely just good with mods. And I was pleasantly surprised to see such a solid foundation for a game franchise set within the first game. While the horror aspects may be the weakest part and the story is more of an excuse to have the player move from one area to the next the bleak and sorrowful atmosphere of a post-Soviet Ukraine are represented beautifully. The gunplay in STALKER makes for some of the most tense and near-realistic gunfights in any game and the sidequests may be simple but still provide a satisfactory reason to return to old locations and further explore the game.

As an RPG it is very unique in that there is no leveling up or investing in stats but based purely on equipment. This would feel like a tricky thing to pull off but STALKER does it magnificently with the use of "artefacts" which can dramatically change how you play the game as well as the unique variants of armours and weapons. There's a genuine feel of progression from where you start out as just some rookie with a pistol that can barely hit the side of a barn to an exoskeleton wearing murder machine.

Definitely a highly recommendable game, not just for it's fantastic mechanics but also as a cultural artefact of 2000s Ukraine.

It wasn't bad but was really short and ultimately pointless. As someone who has not seen the show I feel no connection to the characters and you gain very little knowledge about the universe.

GOTY 2022

Don't smoke, kids!

Crashes on launch.

You definitely get to rip and tear until it's done.

The demon (and angel) girls are very cute!

It's over.

A very cute and fun little game that's also very addictive. It becomes a bit too easy once you figure things out though and the plane customisation has very little to offer but that's about it for the negatives. A great purchase during a steam sale you won't regret.