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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.1 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 44 critic reviews
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Based on 392 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: THQ

Developer: GSC Game World

Genre(s): First-Person Shooter, Role-Playing Game

Players: 32

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: March 20, 2007

Summary

The player will become a stalker, a guy who earns money from shoveling embers out of infernal oven of Chernobyl Zone. Returning from the radioactivity-blazing Zone, he will sell anomalous formations to underground dealers and scientists in research camps on the Zone border. With the money procured, the player will purchase equipment, weapons and protective suits allowing him to reach previously inaccessible areas. This is a role-playing game without growing experience of your character, without changing characteristics and levels. We want the player to develop his real mastery, moreover Stalker is an FPS/RPG game and much depends on his ability to fight. [GSC Game World]

Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Guide

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

PC Format

Broken. Absolutely and utterly broken. Not the game, oh no, it's my fragile nerves that have been shattered. Adrenalin is still coursing through my veins as I type, and what's more, I absolutely love it. STALKER is a thoroughly affecting game, and it's got me by the short hairs. [Apr 2007, p.56]

Yahoo! Games

Its setting is superb, its gameplay tense and convincing, and it boasts what are definitely the best fill-your-pants moments in a PC game for quite some time. It's hard to see how it could have turned out better.

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games(TM)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. leaves you no choice but to engage with story and character, deciphering between friend and foe, the truth and the lie. [Apr 2007, p.94]

Boomtown

The atmosphere of the game is so thick that you can cut it...Even though it all ends kind of sudden[ly], S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is still one of the best First Person Shooters I’ve played in a long time, especially if you like the post-apocalyptic atmosphere from games like "Fallout."

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ActionTrip

I have become so jaded with idiotic titles that this one comes as a true breath of fresh air; with its strong attention to the important aspects of game design. This is the type of game I would go out and buy for myself... if that's worth anything to you.

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AceGamez

I loved every single challenging, compelling, atmosphere-laden moment of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. It's just so different from everything else that's out there.

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Game Over Online

The combat mechanics – weapon feel, body point damage system, enemy AI, running and sneaking, encumbrance and fatigue – have all been simulated excellently and with real care paid to balance and playability. The end-of-civilization free for all environment is a very exciting and engrossing setting for an FPS.

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GameCritics

It's an incredibly rich, unique and innovative take on first-person shooters-yet it's also a flawed game, suffering from a few minor scripting bugs and some rough edges in the gameplay that occasionally interfere with what is, for the most part, an exceptionally engaging experience. But despite its imperfections, it is a truly groundbreaking game, captivating in its complexity, its mystery, and its vividly realized world that stands as a milestone in both imagination and engineering.

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Games Master UK

Better than anyone could have honestly hoped for. [May 2007, p.68]

Jolt Online Gaming UK

That the gameplay itself is not of classic status is a shame, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is still a game that anyone with am interest in first-person shooters or richly detailed, immersive game environments should seriously consider buying.

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GameZone

From its alternate reality setting and realistic gun mechanics to its trading system and action horror formula, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is radioactive rareness.

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GamerNode

An epic game with a dark twist. Fans of games like Oblivion should have no problem spending a long time on this one.

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PC Gamer UK

The bravest, most futuristic survival horror game since "System Shock 2"...A singularity in the landscape of PC games, it deserves careful exploration. [Apr 2007, p.90]

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PC Zone UK

As a brave experiment in all-action shootery, STALKER has certainly succeeded, though with its dearth of personality and many peculiar foibles, you can't help but wish that the publishers had granted GSC some extra time to polish their creation. Oh, hang on a minute... [Apr 2007, p.56]

GamePro

An immense treat that offers fresh and innovative gameplay experiences. If I had to level one complaint against the title, it's the fact that it's missing the little bit of extra polish that gamers have come to expect.

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GameSpot

It's got some quirks, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. delivers a dynamic and impressive first-person gameplay experience you won't soon forget.

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Computer Games Online RO

Despite its shortcomings, STALKER is definitely one of the “must play” titles of 2007, whether you’re a FPS fan or not, even though you might do it just for the single-player part, with it’s incredible atmosphere and unique game experience.

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Gaming Target

The things it does well (environment, story, character) definitely outweigh the shortcomings (tough ranged combat, uneven framerates). The multiplayer has the makings of a classic, and GSC is evidently working at improving it, since their first patch was mostly multiplayer fixes.

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GamingTrend

The game starts off a tad bit slow, but once you are engrossed in the story nothing is quite like it (except a movie that is a tad bit similar to this game). I will be returning to this game once some more mods come out and when the vehicle mod is perfected.

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PC Gamer

Installing and playing through S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was like discovering and opening a long-forgotten Christmas present. [June 2007, p.54]

IC-Games

The game can be difficult to master though, so new people to the genre might struggle at first but patience should be used because this could become the classic start to this engines long use in games.

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Game Informer

You’ll likely split your time fairly evenly between cursing the problematic UI and localization, and marveling at the outstanding ambience or frantically trying to shoot or sneak your way out of a jam. If you’re willing to slog through some frustrations, you can find some diamonds in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s rough that you won’t find anywhere else in video gaming.

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IGN

By itself, the game is a fascinating achievement, even if you trip over technical cracks more than you should.

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Play.tm

It's certainly a little rough around the edges, but spend a little time delving deeper into the 'Zone' and you'll find you've chiseled away at a beauty.

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AtomicGamer

The mostly-open, Fallout-style post-apocalyptic world is really engaging and its basis in a real-life event makes it that much more interesting, but the frustrating gunplay, high difficulty, and lack of transportation can get on your nerves pretty often.

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Pelit (Finland)

Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl has arguably one of the most engrossing game environments ever, but it is annoyingly railroaded by tight fencing-in. Also, the constantly respawning enemies are annoying and take away the feeling of free exploration. Luckily, the great end-of-the-world atmosphere keeps the player interested till the very end. [Apr 2007]

Eurogamer

It's a warped behemoth from the Ukraine, and one of the scariest games on the PC. Stalker will remind you of all kinds of prior games, and yet it will also defy your expectations. Like the mythological Chernobyl zone it is based upon, this game is a treacherous, darkly beautiful terrain. Not everyone is going to enjoy venturing into the zone, but some of those who do will find what they've been looking for.

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Computer and Video Games

Littered with a variety of anomalies which can cause the unwary to explode and other delightful stuff, mutant doggies, deserted buildings, weather effects, real-time day/night cycles etc. etc. - it creates a deliciously unique atmosphere.

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1UP

The game's "exclusion zone" setting, a no-man's-land roughly 30 square kilometers surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, is very much "Mad Maxim": post-Soviet road warriors just beyond the containment dome. Bleak as the end of the world (or at least life as we know it), it's an invention as gorgeous as years-old graphics overhauled for a late launch get.

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VideoGamer

It's a survival horror game with incredible ambition, so succeeding in a few areas is still very commendable.

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Edge Magazine

Its troop AI is better than that of "FEAR," and environmentally more aware than that of "Far Cry." [May 2007, p.84]

PALGN

It's amazing that a slightly buggy game that was originally slated for a 2003 release can provide such fantastic gaming. It's almost scary to think just how influential S.T.A.L.K.E.R. could have been, had it been released 3-4 years ago with completely polished code.

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NTSC-uk

The clunky interface, numerous bugs, fractured story telling and underdeveloped ideas do distract from what could well have been a real classic, but the fact that GSC have come through development hell to produce a game as memorable as this is quite an achievement.

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G4 TV

An innovative and engaging game, provided you can get over the steep learning curve.

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GameTrailers

One of those games that hardcore shooting fans will eat up, but the rest will be left wondering what the fuss is all about. It has some unique ideas with its open-ended world and myriad of mission objectives, but it’s all dampened by its questionable gunplay.

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Strategy Informer

Succeeds and amazes in some areas but almost horridly trips and stumbles along in others. Still I find myself liking the game and am willing to overlook its potholes.

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2404.org

It’s a good game that has many bugs and doesn’t seem to be appropriately optimized.

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Worth Playing

From an objective point of view, it suffers so many technical flaws that I would normally caution against purchase. However, from a subjective perspective, I enjoy the setting and ambience so much that I recommend it despite the bugs and inelegant performance.

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Sydney Morning Herald

Patient players looking for a unique experience ultimately will be rewarded by this atmospheric and ambitious shooter.

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GameDaily

Not a fast-paced shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. appeals to a deeper sense of survival, in which players scrounge for valuables and information in a world gone twisted.

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Game Almighty

Stalker attempts to be many things, which is a lofty and worthy goal, but its inability to deliver is a huge disappointment. It wants to be an RPG, offering you an inventory and items with modifiers, and yet has no implementation of experience, skills or adjusting your attributes. It also wants to be a free-roam, huge world, Oblivion/GTA hybrid, but comes across as having bitten off more than it could chew.

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GameSpy

Multiplayer combat is quick and brutal, but straightforward and really nothing to get too excited about. It's really the single-player mode that shines here.

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Total Video Games

A messy amalgamation of storylines and side-quests, coupled with poorly executed Quality Assurance and archaic game saving, STALKER is about as radioactive as plutonium, and should be treated as such - behind thick lead-lined walls of concrete. The lead-lined walls being a metaphor for the high spec required to play the game at a decent performance.

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Cheat Code Central

Flaws abound in the game.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 392 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sweet Kitty gave it a1:
I really agree with the other low reviews. This game is extremely underdeveloped, and I felt as though I was testing a draft. I happened to only play it for 30 minutes and that truly was enough to rate this game. Overall, it's dull and uninspiring. There is no music in the background, and music, of course, is crucial for any game to be fun (that's just fundamentals people). And one guy plays a guitar around a campfire, which is nothing special. The game is also empty, and I mean quite literally. Most buildings have no details inside; there's just slabs of concrete and some boxies (which really gives a bad image of Chernobyl), and no one has anything interesting to say. Everyone just wants to kill everything else. Gang anarchy! That's new. The character walks like a gangster wobbling side to side, which gets annoying after awhile, not to mention I got a headache a few minutes into the game. There's also very little voice acting and too much text messaging, which is mostly fluff and garbage anyways. I had to force myself to read some of the dialogue once I started playing. By now, there really is no excuse for no voice acting. We're in the 21 first century people (even if there was voice acting, the quality of the text was poor). The story is also very superficial and ambiguous; I really don't get what's going on, which is probably because there is no tuturial whatsoever. I just started walking around, and low and behold, 5 dogs pounced on me out of nowhere., and then flashes of radiation randomly killed me. What? Ummm. . . okay. Perhaps some kind of warning could have been helpful? The inventory management is also very poor and clumsy; I felt moving items was really a chore. But what I truly hated about this game was the simple fact that it's way too serious and there's no humor or wit at all. Fallout 3 feels much the same way with the open world (at least in theory) but at least it has some genuine humor and music along with the bloody shooting and gore. In this game, you just go around shooting things, and you really don't know why; there was nothing that compelled me to move forward. No music, no dialogue, no interesting people or plotline, no detailed environments or buildings. There is nothing intriguing or revealing. You just join some arbitrary gang and start killing other gangs. So what? Doom was great with that kind of senseless violence. (I know some die-hard fans may be unhappy with my review, but this is what I truly felt while playing the game. I'm honest here. I played so many shooters and I really see nothing worthwhile in this one. It's one of the worst ones I've ever played. The only thing that stopped me from giving it a 0 was that it ran smoothly on my computer).

Bobby s gave it a10:
This is one of the best games i have played in a long time. By the time you are done with it you want more. Combat and story are superb. It is great just to sit around a campfire listening to the guitar in a post apocalyptic environment.. You never want to come back. Great job GSC

Wes M gave it a10:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is definitely not a game for everybody. It can be brutally difficult, even on the normal setting. It doesn't hold your hand or cut you a break at the beginning--there's not much of a tutorial, early weapons are inaccurate and weak, and you'll die a lot. But that's part of the charm of it all. It's a rough world out there, and it's not meant to be easy to survive. Whereas games like Fallout 3 make the post-apocalyptic world seem almost harmless, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. brings out what you'd expect it to be like. You're no super-human, you're a regular person, a bullet to the head will kill you just like it'll kill anyone else, and those people will try to kill you in return just to survive.

Catalin U gave it a10:
Probably the best FPS in the world :) For me it had a very high degree of re-playability. Finished it over 5 times till now. The game play is very realistic, specially the ballistic system for weapons. Unbelievable multiplayer action!!! Definitely a MUST PLAY game!!!

Steve H gave it a3:
This game is way over-rated in my opinion. It felt like a ripoff of half-life two in a Fallout-3 setting but done very poorly. Both of those games are far better than this collosal waste of time. The graphics arent anything spectacular / the dialogue and storyline are awful / they throw you into the fray with no tutorial at all / the shooting machanics are unrealistic(when you shoot the enemy in the face six billion times and they dont die but they have one shot one kill ability it feels like dirty pool). Dont waste your money on this game. Im just glad it came in a bundle so I didnt pay full-price for it. I ask myself why this gets such high praise from the critics and even players. We need to set the bar higher folks. I found this this game got me frustrated at best so if thats what you find fun then have at it.

Zed T gave it a1:
I'd usually leave a commercial game alone, because no matter how much feedback I give it's not going to change the game a lot. After playing this game for a while though, I'd have to say this is the worst 5 dollars I have ever spent. Having played similar titles like Deus Ex, Elder Scrolls IV (released before STALKER), and Bioshock (released only a few months later), this has got to be the worst attempt at blending the genres. I have no issue with the ideas behind the game: item based character advancement sounds like a refreshing change from ability points and xp; post-apocalyptic world sort of appeals to me. But the entire execution of the game was horrible: hit boxes don't work correctly, i.e. your bullets don't exactly land where they look like they're landing. This is more apparent when you're trying to knife the AI and you find that pressing right up to him isn't quite enough, and the computer sort of rolls a die to see if it hits him. The head bob is horrendous. Quake has headbob, COD:MW and MW2 has headbob, but it doesn't get in the way like STALKER's headbob. Don't give me any of that crap about how it makes the world more real - realism is about not reminding me with a twisted gut and headache that I'm looking at the screen trying to pretend that I'm moving my head like a spring doll when I'm just bloody walking. The keyboard/mouse interface is unresponsive, and simple UI concepts such as being able to navigate the character info/map/inventory with the mouse alone is missing. The inventory system, while could be given credit at an excellent attempt at realism, doesn't work when you're designing a game where you have to keep game balance in mind. The designers of Fallout 3 did the gamers a favor when they assigned ammunition ZERO weight. Not saying that ammunition should be weightless, but that design decision has to be made with reason. If your ammunition weight is going to limit the amount of firepower you can carry such that it actually CRIPPLES the pace of the game, then BLOODY DITCH IT. The abovementioned AI barely qualifies as AI - Half-Life, released in bloody 1998 had better AI than this. Fine, the game was released unfinished (which is not a valid excuse anyway, shame on you THQ), but there are many fundamental flaws to the game, that when put together, makes the game near unplayable. This is coming from someone who dearly loves the fps genre, enjoys a challenge (hard mode and above, unless otherwise directed), and has been following post-apocalyptic gaming since the first Fallout. I am baffled by the sheer number of positive reviews that this game gets.

Nick N gave it a10:
This is a stunning game. I've been playing Stalker for two years and still can't find any game which would deliver a similar experience in the atmosphere. Although, these were the various mods (Russian version of the game) that enriched the game immensely, I got hooked on the original game and still can't shake off its charm.

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

Upcoming &
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