35 years have passed since the terrible accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. For the players, this event is remembered by the series of games "ST.ALKER" There were a lot of reviews and articles on this topic and it is difficult to tell something new on the topic. But I would like to share my personal impressions of the passage of these cool games.

I would like to note that this is not just the release of a game from developers from the CIS and which is successful all over the world. For us, it has become a real cultural event. Argue as much as you like, but despite the development problems and disappointed expectations, the stalker is a huge success. These games became very familiar to us, they reflected the flavor of our life. Old diesel locomotives, abandoned factories, jokes around the fire, gopniks with their "b ... guys, I caught an olive tree", you walk around this world and feel so warm in your soul, ehh.

Of course, this is not only the merit of the developers, but also of the fans. They have made a great contribution to the development of the universe like Stardew Valley Rancher or Tiller.

• Modifications that improved the world of the Zone, as well as global story mods, which are still successful to this day.
• Many books on this universe have appeared that greatly expanded the lore of the game. They even wanted to shoot a series, it's a pity it didn't work out.
• ZONE appeared in the real world: lightning and airsoft wars on the Stalker theme were very fun.

Let's freshen up the whole series a bit. And let's start, of course, with the first part. Not everyone needs to "freshen up", because many people still play STALKER, maybe even right now it is just minimized.

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl

What could be more beautiful, in rainy, cloudy weather (especially when your PC is at the window), immerse yourself in your favorite world. I played the first part when it was already completed and bugs were fixed. The development process at that time was not followed so zealously, and therefore I was just a guy who launched an interesting new toy that I had once heard about. Therefore, the impressions of the passage were not spoiled, at all.

I went through it from start to finish and was satisfied. But then I went through it again and again and again. Every time you learn something new for yourself. Wander around the world of the Zone and not just inspect places, but lick every corner of the location. This part of the series was remembered in its own way. Bar "One hundred X-RAYGEN" is worth a lot, you remember and immediately in your head this music. The arena is another cool place where you can prove how cool you are with just one knife.

Shooting, no matter how scolded it, at that time it was beautiful, even now the shooters are not so good. It was difficult to pass it on high difficulty, when you gape a little and you are a corpse, and sitting behind a stone get heels of grenades at one point. Without first-aid kits and bandages, a couple of snorks will tear you apart, and of course, don't stick your nose into the radiation without vodka. The plot was unusual and hooked me, as well as prompted me to read a lot of fanfiction as Stardew Valley Fighter or Scout

STALKER: Clear Sky. I shouldn't have waited for her ...

How many bugs were there. Moreover, most of the bugs were impassable. Each patch on the disc from Igromania is like a "ray of hope" to finally complete the game. And when almost all errors have been eliminated, you can enjoy the process.

Something I forgot to remind, from which we burned. Rescued "Vasyan" from a pack of dogs, and he remained on the stone; the commandant at the Svoboda base has not appeared or the head of Svoboda does not want to accept the task. But the worst thing for me is a machine gun in the cordon, an anomalous one that does not require a military man, can kill or maybe not. Okay, there were a lot of bugs and thanks for fixing them.

The game itself has become a cut above the first part. The tasks turned out to be more interesting, the plot was not inferior to the first part. A more sophisticated system of hiding places, and not a field of stumps from "Shadows of Chernobyl". Added mechanics for modifying armor and weapons, cool. I liked very much that we worked out the habitats of stalkers and bases of groups. There are more bars, it's nice. The new locations turned out to be very atmospheric.

But the relationship of the groups and their interaction with the GG became both an interesting idea and a disappointment. Poorly thought out how this would affect the passage of the plot and tasks, or did not take into account at all. I entered into debt, the plot at Svoboda sends you to ... and vice versa. You cannot completely take out the grouping (I played without mods, maybe you can do it with them).

Over time, I fell in love with "Chromatic Orb 5E" when it worked and there were no bugs throughout the passage. Passed 10 times for sure, not always to the end, you know.

STALKER: Call of Pripyat

The culmination of the series at that time. Oh, how good she was.

In the process of passing, I did not meet a single bug, everything was clear. Yes, others had them, but in comparison with other parts, this is a drop in the ocean. The improved engine gave a gorgeous picture. Three huge locations packed with factories, caves and a bunch of cool places, each with its own atmosphere. The world became more alive and the A-life system worked with a bang. Stalkers went about their business, collected artifacts, fought and died at the hands of monsters.

This part was 10 goals higher than the first one. Each task, secondary or storyline, was interesting. There was non-linearity in the quests, and the lives of many characters depend on you. And there were much more of these characters, and how gorgeous the chains of tasks turned out, and each had some kind of zest.

The modification of weapons and armor was improved even better, the stealth began to work (a little crooked, but it works). Hiking for artifacts has become a gold mine and this is the biggest minus for me - so you can easily save up at the very beginning for an exoskeleton. STALKER, must be poor "collected artifacts, earned money, bought equipment and first-aid kits and put it aside a little." This is how the Zone works, this is how it does not let go of these people.

They have improved the monsters. First meeting with Bloodsucker - my compliments and a couple of bricks. Chimera, frightened 5e, and sometimes more, and was such a tenacious creature. In general, "Call of Pripyat" was a success.

In this part of the series, the Zone has changed a lot. There were not enough old locations, but this was compensated by a good study of new ones. We added a bunch of new elements to the game, diversified medicines, reworked weapons. The artifacts, which I already wrote about above, their extraction has become more interesting and meaningful, the anomalies have become more alive. The plot turned out better than "Clear Sky", Major Degtyarev fit well into this world. In general, we were practically presented with what they were talking about during the development of the first part.

I repeat the Call of Pripyat from year to year. She doesn't get bored at all, even if you've just been collecting artifacts and exploring the area all day. Knowing each bush, you still want to plunge into this world again. For me, there are no such games yet.

STALKER 2

The entire fan community froze waiting for it to come out. Someone re-runs the series, someone reads books and follows the news. Previously, we just hoped that there would be a continuation. It is still a mystery to everyone why such a successful project was canceled 10 years ago. The network says that Grigorovich did not like the vision of the game, maybe so, or maybe the money just ran out or a midlife crisis and the man burned out. In any case, I'm glad that after so much time, STALKER 2 was announced and I believe they will succeed.

During the development of the STALKER series, the developers did a lot of messing with the technical part of the game, overestimated expectations and fed them "breakfasts". So why are they waiting for him anyway? And why do they believe in the success of the project? The atmosphere is the main engine of this game. And with this, they never got it right, on the contrary, they strongly "stuck", went to the exclusion zone for photographs and impressions in order to better convey the atmosphere of that area.

I consider it obligatory to mention that the team was inspired by the story and the film "Roadside Picnic". It doesn't look so good now, but I liked it. The game turned out to be gloomy, like the event that preceded it. Due to its versatility, it gives a lot of emotions: here you have a horror and a shooter, RPG elements coupled with survival and of course the dullness of this world of the Exclusion Zone. I know that initially they made a completely different game, but they realized well in time that it was trite and made STALKER what it is.

STALKER 2 will definitely come out and hopefully very soon. I really got goosebumps during the announcement. Excellent graphics on the new engine and it all looks like a new STALKER ... Many graphics mods very smoothed the game(Firebolt 5e) and the atmosphere of that same stalker was lost. And here, judging by the teaser, everything is fine and the developers understand what they are doing.

Considering the crumbs of information that are now walking the network, the return of old workers, the involvement of modders and not obtrusive PR, all this is only a plus for the future of the project.

The fans are waiting, the fans are believing.