Review – Chernobylite (PC) –

Do you remember the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster? That’s right, I’m talking about the one that everyone in the world knows about, where nearly a million people were evacuated, the entire region around the plant was evacuated, and the plant itself was completely destroyed. I guess you could say that the games industry has a thing for nuclear disasters, too, as it seems every year a new game comes out about Chernobyl, the disaster that happened just a few years ago. For this, we’ll have to look at a game called Chernobylite, which was released on the PC in 2014.

We’ve been waiting for the latest entry in the Just Cause series for a while now, but while it has been advertised as a prequel to the original and a straight-up ‘reimagining’, the truth is that it’s little more than a collection of old Just Cause 3 assets repackaged for a new engine. It looks great and plays OK, but there’s little to distinguish it from other sandbox games out now, and it’s certainly not a good reason to get back in the cockpit of the Blackbird jet.”

Gamers who have played the original Chernobylite will get a warm welcome from this game. This is a game that (sadly?) teaches you the reality behind a nuclear disaster.

What happens when you mix a survival game, a horror game, and a first-person shooter with a robbery plot? You get Chernobylite, which is a mash-up of a variety of genres that really work well together. Chernobylite, which was first published in Early Access in 2019 and had a positive response for the most of its original time, has now been released into Version 1.0, so let’s see whether it was worth the wait.

There’s an obvious allure to this place.

The game takes place thirty years after the Chernobyl disaster. When the strange substance known as Chernobylite is found, Pripyat is now controlled by a private armed organization known as the NAR. You take on the role of Igor, a scientist who worked at the Chernobyl Power Plant and is an expert in the Chernobylite resource. After discovering proof that his wife Tatyana, who went missing under strange circumstances, is still alive and being kept at the reactor, he returns to Pripyat. 

As Igor discovers the truth about Tatyana, the Chernobyl incident, and the element Chernobylite, complete with its own dimension Igor can travel through, an engaging and compelling story ensues, with plenty of twists and turns, ranging from more personal stories to espionage, and even delving into the supernatural. It’s a little corny at points, with some over-the-top voice acting and narrative twists that were all too obvious, but despite these flaws, I truly liked the tale. 

While it’s a story-driven game, similar to Farm 51’s previous effort Get Even, the gaming experience has been much enhanced, which is excellent news given Chernobylite’s far larger scale. For example, the gunplay has been much improved. Using the E and Q keys, you may safely line up a headshot by leaning out of cover. Because of the small amount of time needed to kill, firefights are typically brief, but this adds to the excitement of each encounter. You get a handful of Chernobylite-infected opponents known as Shadows and a totally lackluster final boss battle in addition to a couple of NAR troop variants. This makes Chernobylite seem a little repetitive, particularly as the twenty-hour campaign nears its conclusion. 

Chernobylite isn’t scared to go off the rails.

It is often discouraged to shoot your way out of difficulties. Any opponent you kill will damage Igor’s mind, resulting in a distracting screen effect and nothing more. Fortunately, there are recipes that can totally nullify it. To be honest, with basic line of sight and sound rules, most of the gameplay is really intended to emphasize stealth. It’s functional, but it lacks the complexity to make it interesting, particularly later in the game, when the discouraged form of fighting becomes a far superior choice. The AI isn’t much better, forgetting about you in a matter of minutes after losing sight and failing to summon assistance, making the punishment for being caught very minor. The greatest parts of Chernobylite are the more scripted scenes when you are presented with more intriguing situations. 

Chernobylite is located on smaller, more constrained maps that you will explore on a regular basis. At the start of each new day at the base, you and your friends will be sent to various locations throughout Pripyat to collect supplies and perform tasks. There are two types of sidequests available: main narrative missions and choice supply sidequests. As a result, you’ll be repeating the same zones, but unexpected occurrences, weather, and opponent locations may alter your strategy. If you don’t create specific things to combat the increasing spread of Chernobylite Storms and radiation, you’ll eventually encounter the Black Stalker, who becomes a much more persistent danger. 

Your decisions will have an effect on the environment around you as well as the narrative. Chernobylite was one of the few games that made me think about my decisions as much as it did, forcing you to balance your own views with the relationships amongst your crew members. Because your team’s incentives are often at conflict with one another, you’ll have to make some tough decisions to keep everyone happy. I won’t go into detail about the mechanisms that surround player choice since I don’t want to give anything away. It was also great to have the game acknowledge my decisions, although I wish the conclusion had been a little longer.   

Mr.X-style menace, the Black STALKER pursues Igor throughout the game.

Back at your base, you’ll have to keep an eye on your colleagues’ morale and health. Sending them on missions may cause them to be injured, so it’s up to you to make sure they have the resources they need to recover. If you don’t, they’ll become more irritated with you, and you risk losing them to the robbery. There’s also the issue of making beds for your allies, as well as general comfort and radiation defense. You may also construct a variety of workshops to make weapons, attachments, and other field resources. Unfortunately, it isn’t the most comprehensive base-building method, since the placement of your foundation components isn’t very important.

Chernobylite seems to be a beautiful place. With a magnificent reproduction of the Pripyat Exclusion Zone, where the developers photographed and 3D scanned the landscape. With an atmospheric atmosphere and lots of details, the effects are obvious. However, there are some poor textures and disappointing effects at the major moments, so it’s not ideal. Another interesting feature is the sound design, which includes the option of playing the whole game with Russian voice acting, which is by far the finest way to enjoy this tale.

Chernobylite is a fantastic, one-of-a-kind game featuring a variety of gameplay features that set it apart from other post-apocalyptic survival games. It incorporates aspects of survival, base construction, choice-driven narrative, and a mild (but welcome) dose of horror. Even though it has flaws, such as a monotonous gameplay cycle and an unequal emphasis on stealth, I would strongly advise you to give Chernobylite a try. Greetings from Zdorovie!

On the PC, Chernobylite is now accessible.

Reviewed on PC with an RTX 2060, Ryzen 5 3600X & 16GB RAM. Game installed on SSD 

The publisher supplied a copy of Chernobylite.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Chernobylite cost?

Chernobylite is a rare gem that can be found in the game. It costs $100,000.

Can my PC run Chernobylite?

Chernobylite is a game that requires a lot of processing power. It can be played on older computers, but it will not run as smoothly or at all on low-end PCs.

Is Chernobylite a coop?

Yes, Chernobylite is a coop.