Story and Gameplay
Immediately when you see the title, Chernobylite, you know you are in for something unique, different, sometimes, even a bit obtuse but you know it’s not going to be anything that is standard fare. From the incredibly well-crafted and atmospheric intro, the folks at The Farm 51 have crafted something that is beautifully haunting, terrifying, and mystifying all at once. From the surreal dreamy instances of the beginning to the harsh reality of post-apocalyptic Europe sprinkled with modern pop culture references, this game does not fit into a single genre or description and I mean that as a compliment in the biggest way.
A mix of survival horror, FPS, base building, crafting, and more, it’s hard to describe or even between to explain all the components of the game. Just as a PSA, since this appears to close to the STALKER series and yes, there are some similarities in tone and environments, that’s about where the similarities end. This is not an open world shooter. It’s more compartmentalized with focused experiences and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Searching for the woman of your life, you mainly spend your time gathering mats and goodies to improve your base, items, and weapons to progress through your story and meet new companions. Anything else I describe would be a disservice as it’s all part of the journey and discovery. In the end, this is an incredibly unique story and mix of gameplay elements. It’s old school and there is not a lot of hand-holding. I love that in an age of bloated tutorialed games.
There are so many haunting yet beautiful moments scattered throughout the game. It truly is a piece of art.
Visuals and Audio
Probably one of the stronger points of the game beyond it’s unique elements of gameplay and storytelling are it’s visuals. Complete with the latest NVIDIA goodies such as DLSS, there is a ton of eye candy in both creepy special effects and dilapidated yet gorgeous surroundings of Chernobyl and realms beyond. The game can be quite demanding on even the latest hardware but there are plenty of switches and toggles on the PC version and if you own a 3xxx series NVIDIA GPU, DLSS is truly a godsend. Overall, this is an extremely impressive title graphically.
Audio is just as good as the visuals with complete Russian or English audio but to keep with the mood, I stuck with the Russian audio where almost everything is voiced acted impressively. Sound effects and music are also strong, clear, and concise. No complaints here. Crank it up.
Stunning scenes like these come often in Chernobylite.
What It Could Have Done Better
This is truly a difficult section to write because as I think of some things that could make the game better like more tutorials, more open world elements, and more variety in levels, I realize that could take away from the games’ biggest strengths. This game is mainly great because it isn’t like any other game on the market out there so, what could be better? I don’t maybe some of the writing? Maybe some bigger levels and scope? I really don’t know how to answer this question if I truly think about it. The game is good as it is despite a few wonky controls and switching equipment.
Verdict
Chernobylite is a journey. It’s peeling back layers of simple yet complex components. It’s going back in time where games don’t have to fit into a mold and they can be something beautiful even if it’s dark and covered in radioactive fallout. You can tell the devs put a lot of effort into the game and it’s a labor of love. It was definitely apparent when we received the media kit and saw something lacking in many gaming companies and even PR reps these days: detail, heart, and soul. This game isn’t for everyone as there can be a lot of fumbling around trying to figure things out but it’s truly rewarding for those who want to lose themselves in another world for hours on end.
