Chernobylite

A game carried by a good story, great atmosphere and solid gunplay, but let down by routine missions and bland non-combat features. Even so, the result is fun to play.

I’m sure anyone who loves a good survival or post-apocalyptic game will enjoy this one. Yet, I can’t help but wonder how much better the game would be had Farm51 chose to focus on what made it unique instead of adding in a bunch of other elements that were underdeveloped.

Of the good twenty hours Chernobylite will take you to lower the curtain, you will no doubt be absorbed by the thick atmosphere of the game, by the stories of its characters as well as that of yours, and will enjoy managing your base to offer food and shelter to your brothers and sisters in arms. If we regret a fairly limited amount of different environments, a confused combat part and an AI clearly not up to the task, this melancholy escapade in the heart of the exclusion zone is a good surprise, quite targeted concerning the public that it is aimed (FPS aficionados from the East, you are welcome), but oh so immersive and intriguing.

Chernobylite certainly has ambitions beyond being a rote shooter and although not everything meshes and the gears of its systems sometimes grind, the setting feels authentically haunted and foreboding. There’s a lot going on in Chernobylite, and sometimes the melancholic love story at the center gets buried under unnecessary game play complications, tepid combat or shifts of tone. In other words, it’s all still a bit messy but interesting and worth playing for shooter, RPG or horror fans, especially those fascinated by this particular moment in modern history.

Chernobylite is not gonna make up for the lack of the new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game in your life, but even so it's a good enough title to dive into before the release of the next GSC Game World project.

Chernobylite's divergent paths bolster its replayability but its inconsistencies in other areas drag down the experience.

This is a slower, more painful, and in many ways more failure-prone sort of game. But for players who enjoy the option of a slower ludonarrative and want to experience a build through this difficult situation, stalking the wreckage of the exclusion zone is going to be a lot of fun. If you’re willing to be patient and survival-minded, you’ll find a lot to enjoy here in Chernobylite.

Chernobylite is a solid package for any player looking for an original survival FPS with a lot of heart in it. The story is sufficient, but the game will really satisfy players who are looking for a difficult experience without holding their hand too much. For players looking for much more than just the gameplay, however, they may be left wanting.

Chernobylite is a frustrating game. It’s far from unenjoyable, but there was so much potential here for something greater. At its core, it’s a fantastic recreation of Chernobyl that’s inundated with mechanics that aren’t required to enjoy this game. The Farm 51 nail atmosphere and the world, yet never seemed satisfied with what they actually wanted the game to be. It doesn’t ruin the overall experience for Chernobylite, which manages to hit the goalpost of greatness before rebounding into the net of mediocrity.

While full of ambitious ideas, Chernobylite is incoherent and at times ludicrous, like a three-legged mutant with a fish tail.

In the end, Chernobylite felt a lot like scavenging for supplies in the Zone. There are certainly interesting things to unearth, but the laborious process of revealing them was barely worth the hassle. If Chernobylite is a loop, it is one that brings increasingly diminished returns with each completed cycle.

It’s difficult to say if Chernobylite is worth someone’s time or not. At about twenty hours, the game never overstays its welcome and none of its composite elements are major detractors. There’s a pleasing amount of fun to be had executing the heist at the end and in interacting with the cast. However, it is a game that sets out to do a lot of little things, none of them deep or meaningful. As an RPG it’s a fairly light endeavor, but the workmanlike quality and some cool decisions will do enough to keep plenty interested throughout its whole runtime.

For me, Chernobylite has one problem above all: it wants too much at once. Shooting, crafting, developing skills, managing the base and team - because of all the Gampelay features, the makers have somehow lost track of everything. In the end, the genre mix seems a bit half-cooked. It's a shame.

A game with some interesting ideas and concepts, that sometimes manage to provide meaningful content to the players but are too often obscure by the deeply repetitive nature of gameplay and quest design.

It’s easy to recommend Chernobylite to Stalker fans – The Exclusion Zone has never looked better, and an ambitious choice-lead approach to storytelling means that your decisions always have very tangible consequences. Despite this, a repetitive formula and shortcomings with the base building system prevent Chernobylite from taking that last great step to irradiated greatness.

Have you ever played a game that has so many intriguing ideas that are begging to work but never quite reach that level? Chernobylite is that game for me. Never boring but never keeping me on the edge of my seat. Most of my investment here lies in the potential it shares. Donning your gear and risking your life for precious rarities may very well be worth it if you’re part of the hardcore survival fanbase and waiting on something new. If not, bunkering down and steering clear could undoubtedly do you good.