The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games; Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Pripyat, have been srurpise dropped by Xbox and PlayStation this week, released in a bundle called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone.
The games, released between 2007 and 2009, have been tweaked for both compatibility and playability on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Each now has fully-fledged controller support, including a new weapon wheel, and other modifications to make the game easier to handle on a controller. Welcome news, as the games were designed solely for keyboard and mouse – and even then the controls were clunky at times!
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Its developers have also included some subtle graphical improvements, but they have flagged that more graphical enhancements are due to be added later this year. They’re also planning to release mod support via mod.io.
But what are the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, you say? I’m glad you asked…
Released in 2007, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was a game that came a bit out of left field from a Ukrainian developer called GSC Game World, who was relatively unknown. While they’d had success with a series of strategy games known as “Cossacks”, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was their first proper foray into a story-driven first-person shooter — and what a foray it was.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R., despite it’s acronymic appearance was simply used as a clever way for GSC Game World to get around a copyright issue with the name they wanted to use: Stalker. However, over the years the community created their own acronym for it that helps explain what Stalker can be: Scavenger, Trespasser, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer, and Robbers. In short, the game gives you the freedom to be the type of Stalker that you want to be.
I remember my brother showing me the game after school, explaining how the world reacted to what you did, how the other Stalkers had routines, and how they went about their lives. I didn’t fully grasp how it was possible, but I did wait patiently and watch him play a few hours later and then politely asked for a go; it was a family computer, he wasn’t able to say no.
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The game was hard. Really hard. But you could do what you want, go where you want. It was the type of freedom I was only used to in RPGs like The Elder Scrolls Morrowind and Oblivion. Up until then, the shooters I’d played – and loved – were linear. This was something else!
So, with that in mind: why would a developer invest time and money into adapting a 15-year-old series for the latest generation for Xbox? The simple answer is that there is a sequel coming out — a highly anticipated sequel, I might add.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been in development for … a long time. It was initially announced back in 2010 on the heels of the success of the initial release. However, GSC Game World ran into financial issues and the studio was shuttered for several years.
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The latest attempt at the sequel began in earnest in around 2018, with the first trailer not shown until 2021 with a planned release date of 2022. Unfortunately, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia slowed development, with much of the development team being forced to relocate. The planned release date for the sequel is now set for September 5, 2024.
The good news is that the original games are all available to play right now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
