Wanna get into the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Should I start from the Shadow of Chernobyl?

[Kalnet]

I've been really curious about this series for a long time now and never really got into it. Every year or 2, I'll see a thread or another website talking about this game being one of the most brutal but amazing pc game during the early 2010s and having such a huge cult(?) following from time to time. Surprisingly, until today, I have not known much about this game other than it being, legitimately scary with monsters and scarily hard with the survival gameplay so if I ever go into it, I'll be going in blind.

So the question is, should I start from Shadow of Chernobyl or just go straight to the latest one which is Call of Pripyat? Is there anything I should know or do before going into the game? Thanks!

 

[Soph]

Yes, start with Shadow of Chernobyl, it'd be criminal to skip the best game after all.

 

[texhnolyze]

Is controller support a thing yet? Through Steam community configs or mods, as I'm aware the game doesn't have official support.

 

[Mafro]

I think Call of Pripyat is the much, much better game but you'll miss a lot of good stiff skipping COP.

 

[ColdSun]

You should absolutely start with Call of Chern.

 

[Ulbrick]

CoP is the better game.

SoC isn't bad, but they evolve on the forumula with CoP and it's just *chefs kiss*

Clear Sky doesn't exist either, ignore it.

From a self-confessed obsessed STALKER fan.

Edit: That bolt you have in yer inventory comes in VERY useful.

 

[Condwiramurs]

go with Shadow of Chernobyl
for a first playthrough only install the Zone Reclamation Project (just bug fixes) and the absolute nature and structure texture packs (keeps the vanilla art style)

 

[disgraciau]

Is controller support a thing yet? Through Steam community configs or mods, as I'm aware the game doesn't have official support.

Click to shrink...

Those games were designed for Keyboard and Mouse. So no official controller support. You may try it through the Steam Controller tho.

 

[JustTom]

Man, totally forgot abouth these games. I remember my level of hype back when S.t.a.l.k.e.r. was announced. I even got my hands on an alpha version back then where you could throw screws into the anomalies. Sadly I never got around to really play the games, just touched the surface. Now that I have a Shadow PC I might just give'em a shot, thanks for reminding me.

 

[Kalnet]

Thanks guys! I'll start with Shadow of Chernobyl then. I'll be playing it next weekend since I'll be on a short break from work.

I don't mind knowing about bug fixes files that I need to download. I won't be installing any mods. Will be playing it vanilla.

 

[Leonsito]

Yeah I would go with the first, and vanilla. It can be pretty rough, but it is an unique experience.

 

[disgraciau]

OP, I may recomend you STALKER Starter Pack, which is a mod pack with ZRP + visual enhancements which don't alter the gameplay keeping it like Vanilla:

STARTER PACK mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

Collection of mods that improve visuals and remove bugs while keeping the vanilla gameplay intact.

www.moddb.com

If you want to keep it simple, install just ZRP then.

 

[Cheesetriangles]

Start with Shadow, skip Clear Sky, finish with CoP

 

[EatChildren]

Clear Sky is enormously underrated and has some of the best emergent NPC behaviour in an open zone game you'll see, but it's also a catastrophically buggy mess and AFAIK still runs likes hit.

Call of Pripyat is the most polished of the bunch, but Shadow of Chernobyl is always going to be the most quintessential embodiment of STALKER when concerning the vanilla builds of all three games and is home to some iconic locations and sequences.

 

[Kalnet]

OP, I may recomend you STALKER Starter Pack, which is a mod pack with ZRP + visual enhancements which don't alter the gameplay keeping it like Vanilla:

STARTER PACK mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

Collection of mods that improve visuals and remove bugs while keeping the vanilla gameplay intact.

www.moddb.com

If you want to keep it simple, install just ZRP then.

Click to shrink...

Thanks! I'll bookmark this for the bug fixes. Might download the visual enhancements once I'm well into the game to get an experience of the vanilla textures.

Wow I didn't know Clear Sky is badly reacted. I guess I'll see some short youtube vids of clear sky to see why it's not well favoured.

 

[Lightjolly]

Play all three, it will give you a better understanding of the world and story. Chernobyl > Clear Sky > Pripyat

While Clear sky is much weaker than the other 2, it still has some of the good qualities of the stalker series, and explains chernobyls plot from a different perspective, so don't skip it.

 

[Deadlock]

Yes start with SoC then just move on to CoP, skip Clear Sky, it doesn't offer much unless you're super into the story. Modded CoP is immersive sim heaven.

 

[KyouG]

go with Shadow of Chernobyl
for a first playthrough only install the Zone Reclamation Project (just bug fixes) and the absolute nature and structure texture packs (keeps the vanilla art style)

Click to shrink...

Listen to this person and follow their instructions. Do not install SoC Complete.

 

[Deleted member 12323]

Listen to this person and follow their instructions. Do not install SoC Complete.

Click to shrink...

Why skip soc complete? Just curious

 

[misho8723]

Definitely.. Clear Sky is totally fine, but really buggy and you can skip that if you don't want to really play as STALKER games.. CoP is just as SoC definitely worthwhile

 

[Grimminski]

Why skip soc complete? Just curious

Click to shrink...

It's old, buggy and makes the game incredibly easy.

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

I bought Shadow... on Steam earlier last year and must've tried to get into it at least four times by now.

I can't even beat the first enemy encounter and have zero idea what to do apparently. The shots from the starting gun don't even seem to register on enemies and I get killed within seconds every time.

I just deleted it and gave up. I don't get it.

 

[Deadlock]

Once you're done with the base games I suggest you try STALKER Anomaly, a standalone mod that adds a ton of stuff.

Just take a look:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat - Mod DB

It's currently the top ranked mod on Moddb too.

 

[Mentalist]

Shadow is the scariest of the 3, as it has the best horror moments. Also, rough as fuck, but has unbeatable atmosphere.

Clear Sky is a lot weaker structurally, --it very much feels like an expandalone rehash- but it actually felt like progression of your equipment mattered the most- probably because you start out in an absolutely miserable tutorial zone, before coming back to the Cordon.

CoP is a very polished and refined experience, that's got a cool story, but also feels the most "theme park RPG-y" .

Overall, they're 3 very unique games, and you should try them all.

 

[mogwai00]

Shadow of the Chernobyl is the only correct answer.

 

[Murfield]

I prefer Call of Pripyat, but you should probably start with Shadow of Chernoybl. Skip Clear Sky, its awful.

COP feels like a polished version of SoC but more open. It has a lot of the features that were cut from SoC.

There are mods that add in the removed features from SoC, I think Stalker complete is one, and oblivion lost is another.
The main thing you will miss (without mods) is the ability to repair shit. Its probably not a rabbit hole you want to
go down on your first playthrough.