Recent reviews by アケウル

Around 15 years later, here I come in the Zone again
STALKER series was my one of the, if not the most, beloved series since my childhood, when i haven't even started going to school. It's atmosphere, it's setting of a god-forgotten, cruel place which looks like some wasteland, but which still gives you warm feeling when you see how your fellow stalkers sitting in front of a campfire, telling jokes to eachothers, playing guitar and just having a peaceful moment in the Zone. It's always ensnared me.

And that's why i was waiting for this sequel.
I was sceptical about it, and I'm happy I was wrong. The game itself haven't changed much from it's ancestors. Surely it got better. Gunplay is better now than it was before (however i do enjoy how the OG series' gun were shooting and being felt), there's more impact, the sound does feel more realistic. The visual design is bleak and dark, territory filled with vegetation and falling apart building - just as the Zone should be looking.
And the story - god i love it so much. It's such a joy to watch a good story lines, well animated first-person cutscenes and such charismatic characters. Especially the cutscenes - they're so good animated, so much good that i could imagine myself in Skif's place, imagine that i see all of the actions by my very eyes. And I just can't express my emotions when i was watching for Korshunov, Dalin and their interactions and the cutscene in which Strelok is being introduced god it's was so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ awesome. However, I didn't enjoy Richter and Scar as a characters because they were pretty schizo, despite it being explained why in the story. Schizo braggings about how "zone is beatiful" and "there's dark and white sides of the Zone" and "Zone gives and takes" and bla-bla doesn't suit me. Also, i wish i could hear this story on Russian language. I guess that's because i got used to it in the OG series, but alas it won't be happening for understandable reasons. Well, at least the Ukrainian voiceover was made good and with a soul (what unfortunately couldn't be said about English).

What i also enjoyed about STALKER 2 - that is it's non-linear story. Throughout the game you make many choices. Important choices. And there choices feel like they matter, and they DO actually matter, as i hear from other's people experience. For example, you can join Varta or Scar's group. And it's not just deciding some text in the dialogue, it's actually changing how your story goes, how key characters treat you and which consequences of your actions you encounter.

And what i didn't like - it's a feeling empty Zone. Not sure that the deal is in not working A-Life 2.0 at this moment, but the Zone feels pretty empty. Rookie village, Rostok factory, Skadovsk - i felt lonely in these safe areas. Stalkers were there, sure, but they were just standing, they weren't doing their things, they weren't making these places alive, they weren't sitting in front of campfire or bar table, telling jokes and stories, and all of this make the feeling of an empty Zone. Also, one more reason of this feeling is that they're not so much side quests for some reason. Well, at the start of the game, in the Small Zone, they're plenty of them, but after that they're rarely seen. I wish there were more of interesting (or, well, at least some) substories.

So, overall, i liked STALKER 2. It had tough technical state at the launch (and still has), truly, but, despite that, i was still playing it (plus, it isn't as bad as, for example, cyberpunk at launch was). I just couldn't stop playing it. Even with 25-40 fps (and random drops to 7fps which required save reload or even game restart to fix), even with spawning from behind enemies and some quest-breaking bugs, It kept me interested by it's story, gameplay, cutscenes and charismatic characters, and it ensnared me by it's atmosphere, just like around 15 years ago.

At the end, STALKER 2 is truly one of the game
And i do look forward for GSC to fully fix the game so i can fully enjoy it again when i will replay it for some other storyline route in the future

Historically accurate Slovakia

i wish i were him

Best visual novel i've ever played

This game made me feel lucky for not having big boobs