The STALKER franchise has been somewhat a two edged sword. On one hand, it’s an amazingly atmospheric game and one of the creepiest out there. On the other hand, it’s always been lacking on the technical side, from bugs and glitches, to gameplay issues. Developer GSC GameWorld tries to rectify much of what was wrong with the previous games, and while it does that to some extent, it doesn’t leave room for many new features. In most aspects, it’s still STALKER, it’s still tough and relentless, and the margin for error is very small — but that’s what always made STALKER stand out.

But besides that, STALKER fans won’t be disappointed — Call of Pripyat is still creepy as the other STALKER games. In fact, on the technical side, it might be the most polished STALKER game yet, and while it’s not perfect, the flaws won’t ruin your game like they did before.

Call of Pripyat takes place after the first two games, and you play a Alex Degtyarev, a new character who’s main objective is a mission into the Zone to find out what happened to a series helicopters that were sent in there and disappeared. Like the previous STALKER games, you’ll have a huge open space to explore, collect items and artifacts, trade with others and so on. The core aspects of STALKER are all there, and you’ll find yourself at home right away. You’ll start off with nothing, and will have to do a few side quests and collect some money and better gear (e.g. weapons) before you take on the big missions.

Gameplay wise, the action is still highly realistic, a few well placed shots will take an enemy out — or you. Also, your weapons will wear out over time, decreasing in accuracy and will even jam. So will your armor, which will lose effectiveness over time. And just as before, it’s not enough to get a simple med pack, oh no, you have to patch your own wounds, dear friend. And as usual, you have to watch for radiation and remember to eat food as well. Yes, it’s quite complicated, but once you’ve played for a few hours, all this surprisingly blends in well, and almost becomes second nature — almost, because you’ll always forget something.

The shooting part of the game tends to get a bit frustrating at times, mostly because almost all guns are quite inaccurate, to the point where it seems unrealistic. It makes the gameplay slow at times, as you’ll fire a clip or two just to take out one enemy, getting into cover after every burst. That’s a shame, because STALKER invites gun play and action, but there’s very little actual running and gunning — doing so will get you killed instantly. Instead, you need to time and plan your approaches and fire fights.

Visually, the game doesn’t look much better than previous STALKER installments, however, it does run smoother, which is always welcome. And as previously, the soundtrack is immersive and always sets the right mood. This time, there’s also a multiplayer mode as well, where you have your usual death match, team death match and capture the flag modes, and honestly, it’s nothing special — the main feature about this game is the campaign, which is great and will keep you busy for a long time. However, it’s still not a game for everyone, and the learning curve is still quite high.

The Good:
Immersive atmosphere
Good amount of quests
Great soundtrack

The Bad:
Steep learning curve
Unforgiving

Overall score: 8/10