Noted as one of the world’s worst nuclear catastrophe, the 1986 Chernobyl Disaster filled the skies, the water, and the surrounding cities with deadly radiation. Despite the thousands that would have to evacuate and flee their homes, many were still affected by the long-term effects of the fallout. The radiation continues to plague the land near the once-functioning nuclear reactor, and only the brave, or the very reckless dare to get close. Igor, the protagonist, just so happens to be both.
Developed and published by The Farm 51, Chernobylite takes place 30 years after the Chernobyl Disaster. The land is still heavily contaminated, and the nearby city of Pripyat is a ghost town full of dilapidated buildings and the remains what once was a thriving society. Because of this, it would be a death sentence to not only visit once, but multiple times to the exclusion zone. It’s filled with deadly radioactive clouds, hostile soldiers, and dangerous shadows, but for Igor, he would do anything to find his long-lost fiancé, Tatyana. He already has a simple base to plan from and a hired mercenary to help him; he just needs to find more clues of what went wrong in the past.
For Igor to successfully infiltrate the power plant and solve the mystery of how his fiancé went missing, he will need to upgrade his base and build a bigger team. Completing missions throughout the day is key to obtaining more supplies and rations to keep Igor’s teammates happy. Survival is never easy and with limited resources that are scattered throughout the maps, Igor, armed with his trusty scanner, must continuously venture out. Where there are supplies, there are also always enemies and in Chernobylite, they are in the form of NAR soldiers, mutated beings, and the Black Stalker. Stealthily murder them, sneak by, or go berserk through them. Whatever decision is chosen there will be consequences and that’s only if Igor can handle the pressure on his psyche from his choices.
With an open-world layout, Igor is free to wander throughout the land on his missions and search for possible clues. The map isn’t very large, and the green clouds of radiation can be quite the roadblock, but what the world lacks in size certainly makes up with the attention to detail and atmosphere. From something as minute as the disgruntled chatter of soldiers on guard duty, to the loud and bright crashes of lightening in the distance, the atmosphere is positively mesmerizing.
Chernobylite has captured the melancholic, yet threatening ambience of Igor’s scenario and with the constant threat of teleporting enemies and jump scares from what look like haunted dolls, this game is thrilling to play. Despite the relatively routine loop of waking up, missions, gathering supplies, loot, and clues, then returning back to base to craft before sleeping again and starting over, it is still entertaining. The concept is simplistic but addicting to continue building Igor’s base and solve where his enigmatic lover has gone to.
PROS: Fantastic visuals, ambient sounds, and a great thriller with some well-timed jump scares.
CONS: Maps are relatively small, needs more variety on missions and items, and the story can be expanded more.
SCORE: 7.5/10
Check Out the Chernobylite Trailer: https://youtu.be/Zo5vk953np0
Chernobylite releases on PC (Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store) for $29.99/€29.99/£23.99 today, July 28, 2021, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions coming later in the summer of 2021.
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Steam Review
Video games have always been a huge influence in my life and have definitely shaped me to who I am today . Some of my best memories growing up were the many adventures and stories I was able to experience and become immersed in. If my hands aren't either covered in clay, typing, editing, creating, or helping shoving food in my mouth, they would either be gripped to a controller, tapping away at the screen of my phone, or clicking away on my PC. I am always up for trying something new because why live just one life when you can live many.
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