š® ā¢ļø S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Review on PlayStation 5. Part One: Shadow of Chernobyl
In anticipation of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, releasing on the 5th of September 2024, we all had a nice surprise ā S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy, after 17 years, made itās way to modern and last-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles, giving us a chance to re-experience this awesome game one more time.
The first game of the original trilogy ā S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl released on March 20th, 2007. It was and still is my favourite game. I donāt usually cover games on this blog, mostly talking about productivity, but this is an exception. So grab a coffee and enjoy.
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What is S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy?
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is the original three S.T.A.L.K.E.R games (Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat) bought to PlayStation and Xbox by GSC Game World and Mataboo studius.
For this review, I complete only the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl game. But, you can now enjoy all three PC cult classics on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Highlights of the port
As a casual gamer, without counting pixels, I think we are talking native 4k here (or close to that), max PC settings (back from 2007) and a 30/60 FPS toggle, plus new aim assist. My experience with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was smooth 60 FPS on PS5. However, on the first location of Clear Sky (on Clear Sky and Duty bases), I noticed some dips in particular areas. But the gameplay is locked to 60 on PS5 still.
Console gameplay
Ports didnāt introduce any autosave system enhancements, so you only have autosaves when moving between locations. Thatās not enough. On PC you can press F5 and save, but on PS5 you need to open the menu, go to the āsave gameā menu, select a slot and save. Then, return to the game. On the first and second locations I frequently had to go back and replay 30 min of the game due to death. Then, you develop a habit of saving every 10 minutes. Itās also a PC game from 2007, so you will die a lot even on easy difficulty.
The second quirk of the console port is the need for quick access items. Yes, on PC that was introduced only in Call of Pripyat (3rd game)
But, on PC, when you open the inventory, you can browse it using the cursor. Here, on consoles, you click through items so getting to the med pack could be tricky and you die even faster š«£
My playthrough
The playthrough of the original game took me about 25 hours. I beat the game with 63% of the trophies earned. Iām a completionist, however, I played the game the old-fashioned way, as I did on PC back in 2007, not trophy-hunting for specific achievements, unlocking them naturally.
For example, there is one trophy to achieve which you need to kill an NPC and take their pistol that is unique in the game. I didnāt do that as that NPC was friendly to me and I had a quest to save them. Things like that, I didnāt do. Also, I havenāt completed the game on master difficulty š«£
Crashes
2 times I thought I had broken the game and would not be able to progress. First ā at the Agroprom location, I had a crashed save in the catacombs. It was crashing the game right away, even when I just hovered on it. The issue was that it was the latest save and so, each time I selected the āload gameā menu, this save was highlighted (as it was the first in the grid) and the game crashed on me. In 30 min I have found a workaround. I started the new game, so this bad save was no longer the latest one and then I went to load the game and scrolled up (not down) from the latest save to the first one (it only worked as this is a PC game in its core). After that, I loaded the pre-crashed save and it worked just fine.
I work in IT and Tech, so I have a lot of experience with software that doesnāt work š
The next point of me thinking āI wouldnāt be able to progressā occurred at the Powerplant location. When entering the sarcophagus, the game was crashing. 15 times in a row. How I fix this? Just re-starting the whole location (I think the save was bad as well).
Also, throughout the game, I faced multiple crashes (more than 10), but all of them were on auto-saves when changing the location and on the next try havenāt happen.
Side quests
Later games improved this, so I donāt think the problem is with the port, but rather with the original game. But! The side quest system is bad. I donāt like it. Quests would fail after the main objective is complete and you just had to collect revard. The only way to make sure you complete the quest is to prioritise it, as time limits are strict!
What makes the game great in 2024?
The game aged like wine! The graphics are really good. Excellent texture work and dynamic lighting have done their job. Weapon and character models show the gameās age, but itās still very enjoyable in 2024, after 17 years!
The story is awesome as well, focusing on conspiracy and human nature (no spoilers here).
Verdict
If you like PC gaming, and you are a fan of games such as Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R. and Fallout 3 ā S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl will be right up your alley. And now, you can play it on consoles. For me itās 10/10 and probably one of the greatest games I ever played.
Want to play it ā check it out on the PlayStation Store or Steam and good hunting, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.!