REVIEW : Chernobylite (PC)
There is certainly no need to present at length what happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986. A tragic accident that has affected hundreds of thousands of lives in one way or another. In the action stealth via Chernobylite from the Polish studio The Farm 51, Igor was also among those affected. Still, for whom the disaster had an even more personal dimension. His beloved fiancée then disappeared without a trace, and it was the hint that he could finally uncover her fate that forced him to return to the Chernobyl Zone after three decades.
Another world zone
You don’t have to wait for a documentary probe into the causes and effects of the accident. Chernobylite is a classic sci-fi storyline, so instead, get ready for the torn veils of reality, alternative dimensions, strange creatures penetrating the Zone from unknown corners of reality, the mysterious mineral Chernobyl offering unsuspected possibilities of application and the like.
And with a pleasing smile, I can say that the story is not a bad thing at all. Unfortunately, the most significant revelation can be estimated in advance, but unravelling the knots of various partial events and revealing the protagonist’s past is still perfect fun. The plot is skillfully dosed; it can arouse curiosity and the desire to learn more. In addition, it allows you to interfere quite significantly through several important decisions and choices.
Elections have a tangible impact on the development of the story, and, for example, a series of unfortunate decisions can make a crucial character and so on. But, of course, one then bitterly regrets it because if he knew what he already knew, he would have behaved differently. And at about that moment, the game draws the last trump card: Decisions can be returned and changed!
I will not reveal how and why, and it will certainly not surprise anyone that it will not be ultimately free and without hooks, but Igor will manage to interfere with reality and rewrite it. And this fact will only spread a rich mosaic of possibilities, a cobweb, through which you will try to dance so that, if possible, everyone survives, no one from revenge stabbed you in the back with revenge, and Igor could at least try to find out why he came to the Zone.
The AI of the enemies is quite suitable during the fight; the soldiers do not stand still, sometimes they try to get around you or at least surprise you from the side, and although you do not have to wait for any ingenious manoeuvres, the opposition is not just cotton wool intended for thoughtless shooting. And that’s good, of course.
When the event itself is fun, of course, one is also far more lenient, so in the end, it is not such a problem to close one’s eyes to the stereotypical content of the mission. The problem would not cease to exist, but when replacing lead showers, there is simply no time to despair over it.
Refuge
The last unmentioned mechanics is base management. And I should slowly look at the prayer corals because I will repeat the same mantra: a more profound, more complex solution would have been appropriate.
Don’t get me wrong; the opportunity to equip your base not only with various desks but also with furniture and decorations is excellent. And even though the building is entirely primitive, going back to a haven after your mission, which you have arranged yourself according to your taste, will somehow warm your heart. That cannot be denied.
For completely ignoring the mouse when working with the interface, someone, on the other hand, would need it. All craftsmanship and construction menus are controlled exclusively by the keyboard. If you need to disassemble the engine, they had an electric screwdriver next to each other, but instead, they tried to do so with a blade of grass. In Chernobyl, it is mechanically built like in Fallout 4, where, as you will recall, it was also more of a punishment.
Even more annoying, however, is that the game influence is minimal. Your home has several gauges – clean air, comfort, a place to sleep and the like, but keeping everything in positive numbers is so easy that it would not work, perhaps only if you purposefully try to fail.
The bleak Zone Join
An aspect on the other hand that no objections can be raised in the atmosphere. She did first. A deliberately unpleasant colour palette in a duet with moody lighting and string compositions conjures up a first-class kind of nervousness, distress as you look around the ominous silhouettes of abandoned housing estate buildings or dive into the exploration of ancient Soviet bunkers.
Graphically, this is not the top, but that does not mean that the game is ugly. On the contrary, especially in scenes with dense vegetation, it is a pleasure to look at Chernobyl.
Chernobylite is not exactly a horror movie, although, true, it has a few rather unpleasant snares in its repertoire. No, it’s more of a thriller that can draw players into the scene with casual carelessness. However, there is no denying that he has style. A specific spell is inconspicuously hidden in a gas mask. Soul, as they say.
But it’s not a perfect game. There are several shortcomings, but he can still entertain well, and then it’s not such a problem to turn a blind eye and overlook some of the design imperfections here and there.
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