It’s clear that the developers took inspiration from the mysticism in the real-life disaster zone, as well as games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. that also explore this area. However, if you ask me, it feels as though a lot of their writing and world-building expanded beyond the scope of their original interest, becoming a bit too bloated in scale. It simply felt to me at several points that a character with the powers that he had, working for the people he works for, shouldn’t have been stranded as he was in an area you can drive through in half an hour. The game, at least as it was presented in the demo, would have been a lot more engaging story-wise with a protagonist who was a little closer to the ground, especially one without the ability to “walk between worlds.” [Early Access Review]