S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy

STALKER: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is a compilation of the first three games under the STALKER brand, combining the FPS genre with elements typical of RPGs and survival horror games. The package, which is the result of a collaboration between the GSC Game World studio overseeing the brand and the Polish team Mataboo, includes the games: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl (2007), S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (2008) and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (2009).

Plot

The action of the games making up the set S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is set in the titular Zone - it's the vast territory around the nuclear power plant in Chornobyl. Twenty years after the 1986 accident, which resulted in a gigantic ecological disaster, an even larger explosion took place there. As a result, mutated creatures and anomalies appeared in the Zone, which led to it being surrounded by the military. In addition to the soldiers, access to the Zone was given to the titular stalkers, i.e. daredevils who went there in search of valuable artifacts. Over time, various factions were born within the Zone, dividing it into their spheres of influence.

In the game STALKER: Shadow of Chornobyl, we play the role of a hero suffering from amnesia, who travels through the Zone, learning the laws that govern it, and trying to solve the mystery of his identity. The action of STALKER: Clear Sky is set before the events of the original, and during the game we take control of a mercenary nicknamed Scar, trying to find a way to stop the occurrence of powerful anomalies called emissions. STALKER: The Call of Pripyat continues the story of Shadow of Chornobyl and allows us to play the role of Alexander Degtyarev, trying to get to the very center of the Zone and discover what happened to the expedition that was the first to venture there as part of Operation Fairway.

Mechanics

In the games that make up the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy we watch the action from a first-person perspective (FPP). We travel through atmospheric locations with an open structure. The adventure takes us through places such as the city of Pripyat, the Jupiter plant, extensive undergrounds and finally the nuclear power plant itself. We carry out quests entrusted to us by the inhabitants of the Zone. There are members of various factions among them, with whom we can establish more or less friendly relations (belonging to one faction often ends up with hostility from another).

While exploring the Zone, we must constantly be on our guard, because dangers lurk here at every step. Apart from hostile people we also need to watch out for various mutants. On top of that there also anomalies which can kill our character very quickly. While we deal with enemies using a rich arsenal, we use screws to detect supernatural phenomena, throwing them in front of us to determine their range. As we progress, we accumulate better equipment and modify and improve the equipment we already have.

When working on the console versions of all three games, the authors focused primarily on the controls, which were adapted to the specificity of the gamepad. Changes have been made to the targeting system and navigation in the menu, and a circular weapon selection menu has been implemented, which allows us to quickly switch between weapons and equipment.

Technical aspects

The games making up STALKER: Legends of the Zone Trilogy are not remasters, so they didn't have any significant changes in the quality of the graphic design compared to the originals.