Hey, Miguel. Today, I was supposed to pick up my wife from her workplace, but you dropped this vid, so I have to watch at least 4 times. What do I tell my wife now??
@@cantgameright Do you want a big dinner plate emoji my guy? Are you so hungry boy? Are you? They did not feed you home? Why are you so starved in your life so hard that you got to beg for views when you take out of context stupid stuff and you do not do a react to the whole video? Why does the game has holes? Please ADRESS and explain all the issues Luke Stephens said bro, why are you so hungry my dear? Do you need help ? You surely cannot watch a video alone... Dear Lord!
tell her the anomaly in the toilet broke it bylat and you got lost in Zone trying to fix it. so that lady would come home to repaired toilet comrade ! That way you can tell her the terrible word that haunts the lives of stalkers wives. "I'm going out there again."
No fr tho. It’s like, what did u think it was going to play like? It spawned mods or games that would be some of the most brutal and realistic games on the market.
I don't mean to be an asshole, but Luke Stephens has a track record of ill informed opinions. He just tends to miss the mark on little things and seems to "go with the wind' often times.
I mean Luke Stephens is terrible anyway, so being an asshole to him is probably the least bad thing you could be doing. Dude is a grifting tourist with milquetoast opinions while still being pompous as fuck with them.
It’s all opinionated. You can’t expect everyone to have the same opinions as you. Luke likes what he likes. He’s never played Stalker. If he doesn’t like Stalker 2, who cares? He might lack experience and knowledge of the franchise, but if it doesn’t draw him in enough to want to learn it and enjoy it, then so be it. It’s not his kind of game. If that bothers you, then it says a lot more about you than it does about him. And that goes for anyone, not just you and Luke.
@@CyraXFactor I'm not bothered, I'm not even a huge stalker fan. I just don't think his analysis is good, on anything. You can think someone doesn't have worthwhile opinions without being offended by them.
When a game manages to force you to become a more skillful player without having any kind of skill tree, it is a masterpiece. Only the better weapons, suits and artifacts give you the advantage you need. They are all just tools to either make money, get loot or help with a problem at hand. Also the lack of in your face HUD and POI's made the game way more immersive. I would say it even did a disservice to most other games that in their core are enjoyable, but splash the screen with all kinds of extra information that just can't be turned off, turning them to stuff for 12 year olds...
@@itsterres I started Metro Exodus. The first part was kinda dumbed down for introducing the game so I quit before the game even started (IIRC). I hate when a game forces your hand. Even though there may be pointers and storyline that are important for a new player. But man it breaks the immersion (for me at least).
@@itsterres I'm sure I'm missing out. Just wasn't in the mood years back. And I think I should put like 500-1000€ more to upgrade my machine to run it decently.
I mean, this is a guy that is suddenly really hyped for AC Shadows because Ubisoft paid for him to go to an event and sponsored his video (in which he said he’d deliver negatives on the gameplay he saw, but delivered none). He started talking about how the grass could’ve moved better……..
"Only a fool trusts his eyes, the wise Stalker understands that every inch of the Zone is a potential deathtrap. Also, the instant you think you've seen it all or you stop respecting what the Zone is capable of, it kills you." - Rule #1 of the Idiot's Guide to the Zone.
@@albundy7459 When you've replayed every stalker game at least five times on master difficulty, frankly, SoC CNPP is like the only sorta difficult one barring eurojank moments in other parts of the games. I get you're referring to new players who're going to have this as their introduction to the franchise but I'm simply just saying a seasoned stalker can absolutely take down entire armies with 2-3 medkits in record time, no problem.
@@LeSpongedeStardust not happening my guy. This isn’t fallout where you can just run through the entire game. You have to use cover or you’re insta dead.
@@albundy7459 you’re gassin it. yeah stalker is much more difficult than your average modern fps game, but you can absolutely run through SoC and CoP (didnt play CS) after one or two playthroughs. Relax
So the "Gamerbro" journalist youtuber who grew his YT channel/reputation around parroting trends and ripping off other people's content didn't live up to the "game" part of being a game journalist? What a shocker.
@@almac5446 or just have a brain and realize he is being inconsistent and very ignorance about a game and chose anyway to blabber on about it. He is an influencer, not just some guy posting on reddit.
@@almac5446 Also, compare his talking of AC after Ubi paid him off. Some of you fanboys are just so funny to me - as post truth as the people who share Luke's shoddy politics.
@@xBINARYGODx it's his first time playing stalker and he thought he was going to play like fallout happens he didn't play the previous games so he should have done that
As a fan of Stalker I often forget that there are people who didn't play original games, never seen one and might not understand what Stalker is. Maybe they need time to feel the game. You actually gave a good example with Cyberpunk 2077. I also tried it not long after release and couldn't understand it. But last year I tried it again and loved the exprerience.
@@bombyo3634 Basically i was not ready for this game at that moment. Amount of mechanics and huge open world made me stop playing this game. I thought i could easily get into the game and quickly figure out what is what. But that didn't happen. For example i struggled with quick hacking. I was not much of a fan of cyberpunk theme either. And overall perception at that time that the game was not in good state made me think I better not play it. When I tried it last year I was a bit more prepared and hyped up. Also they added Ukrainian language to the game so I decided sure I want to try again. And the game just grew on me I guess. I really enjoyed it.
@user-aquila128 wow that's an awesome explanation. For tw3 it took me alot to understand the mechanics too and after I did I loved it. Cyberpunk wasn't as hard for me to understand because I know the developer style a bit however it did take time to learn things even still. I love that game. It'd shorter then the witcher but I find myself putting 100 plus hours every time. I think I beat it on ps4 pro, then on xsx 2 more times. I plan on another play through for the ps5 pro of they can get some type of path tracing out of it or close to it and it has graphical updates. Bro ima heavy story narrative guy. I'm a bit nervous of stalker 2 I only played 2 hrs of the original and was lost and it felt new. So I'm like u with stalker 2 with u with Cyberpunk. What should I do to prepare for stalker 2 they story scenes look great and the game play. Please help me brother
@@bombyo3634 I think Stalker 2 will be more story based game than previous entries of the series. But this sense of freedom still will be a big part of it. I mean you will be able to explore the Zone in any direction. Gsc said that you don't need to play original games to understand what's going on in Stalker 2, but I recommend it still. See, the first three games are not as complex in comparison to Cyberpunk. Just go where the story takes you. You have it all on the map. If you feel like it do some secondary quests. After Shadow of Chornobyl and Clear Sky it will be easier for you to navigate in this world and you will know what to expect from it. Call of Prypiat is by far the most interesting of the three in my opinion. I encourage you to do more secondary quests there because they better written than in previous games. I think it is a matter of time before you just get used to this games like i did with Cyberpunk and you will enjoy it. Good luck!
It’s cool to hear the other side because I was completely the opposite . I played stalker and stop playing it while cyberpunk I was in love with it since day 1. I’m gonna buy it on Xbox check it out again.
Note about the use of the bolt in the SGF demo. I did not play it, but here is speculation. The demo might have not had the bolt available. It takes place shortly BEFORE Richter throws down a bolt and Skif's monkey brain says "why do I need a bolt".
12:09 "Yes, we're being condescending Yes, that means we're talkin' down to you With all that racket from your lips a-flapping We assumed you didn't notice"
It's part of the whole Roadside Picnic/Stalker legacy that you can't just walk in a straight line to where you want to go, but have to deal with things that aren't easy to see, understand or traverse.
Incredibly well said man, i see a lot of references to Tarkovsky's movie in the last trailer when characters talk about the zone like saying it's beautiful or it's what you want it to be.
I think you're placing a little too much hope in our boi Luke after his Kingdom Come "review", but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and avoid the gatekeeping trap.
Kingdom come was great just as any stalker game is too. The secret is you have to get good to be rewarded it isn't handed to you like every other title these last few decades
Yeah some of his reviews have been great like Witcher 3, RDR2 were he had well balanced review of their strengths and areas of devlopment. His Kingdom come review was really lacking as are his other lasted reviews.
I remember playing Gunslinger mod and making an important save (after finally killing the burer in the aa complex) somewhere bushy around Zaton. An unseen controller kept blasting me with suicide rays and it took me 7 attempts to discover it's location, 4 more to finally find a good cover spot and 5 more to kill the beast. I doubt the gaming journo's experience was anything close.
I don't consider myself a le ebic hardcoar GamerTM, in fact as I've gotten older I've gotten less patient with games. Used to love Soulslikes but can hardly stand them now, and I don't try to "push myself" by choosing the higher difficulties on other games; it's just not fun to me anymore. That being said, this Luke dude just seems kinda oblivious. I know STALKER is considered non-hand-holding and challenging, but it kinda silly that he didn't stop to think, "Okay, if I'm getting rekt by running in guns blazing, I should slow down and think more tactically about enemy encounters." And this isn't OG STALKER which has very jank gunplay, this is a big-budget modern sequel with snappy and responsive shooting. Anomalies aren't that difficult to wrap one's head around either. Sure, some can be tricky to see, and it's inevitable that even long-time STALKER players will run into an anomaly on occasion. But that's another indication that if you get killed out of nowhere, you should slow down and really pay attention to your surroundings. Not just with your eyes but ears as well. So many anomalies have distinct sounds that are easy to track. I don't think this is even an issue of casual vs "hardcore" gaming, it's just using your brain lol (and I don't wanna argue the semantics behind the whole casual/hardcore dichotomy). But I'll give this guy the benefit of the doubt, since he's obviously a newcomer, very likely playing this series for the first time. Plus he had a limited time with the demo, which leads to pressure to see as much as you can in order to get the "full experience." Sadly he didn't realize the full STALKER experience is taking it slow, soaking in the atmosphere, being curious yet wary of the world; and learning the hard way of the dangers of the Zone. BUT still kinda silly of him to run around dying over and over again, and expecting different results.
If you really want to enjoy a game that you know could interest you with it's possible gameplay or atmosphere/setting, you need to push and force yourself to put some hours into the game, and try to understand what it was about, it's like a test of willpower and for your reward you get unique experiences that you don't get from games that you can simply jump into where you understand your goal instantly. Edit: nice video by the way :) earned my sub
*you're being ambushed* "I'm being ambushed!" LOL Seriously some of these games treat us like we've never watched a movie or played a video game before. The handholding is ridiculous. We need more games like Stalker.
8:44 I've played original Insurgency back in 2019 when the devs was givin' it for free in celebration of release of Insurgency Sandstorm. It was my first tactical shooter and it was pretty rought experience (especially considering that i couldn't get more then 30 fps on my old laptop). All those leanings over corners, snipers killing you from their sneaky spot, RPGs and C4 exploding under your feet the moment you leave spawn and so on. But it was fun, put up almost 240 hours, still my 3rd most played game on steam to this day (however Squad might overtake it soon). For some time i was seriously considering buying Sandstorm, but had no fitting hardware at a time. Too bad they now owned by russian Saber Interactive :(
Facing a Bloodsucker with a pkm, getting boiled by radiation and starving every two seconds is what makes stalker...stalker, its a game that's meant to kick your ass until you learn to take an ass kicking, accepting this means accepting S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
I've been playing STALKER since childhood, and STALKER is the type of game that's not fun when it is easy. The fun comes from the difficulty. Although it is advertised as a fps survival horror game, it was always more of a tactical shooter more than anything, you just got to go anywhere you wanted and do what you wanted to do (while avoiding hostile factions, mutants, and anomalies). Before leaving camp, you always have to plan ahead. What is your objective? Where are you going? Which gun should you take? How much food and which drugs should you pack? How do you optimize your storage such that you don't become overweight while looting? It was aspects like these that made STALKER so fun to play. It rarely felt like an action game, just because there's a lot of shooting going on doesn't mean you can wipe the strawberry jam off your screen and get in your enemies faces for cool over-the-top takedowns. That's not how STALKER works nor how should it work.
What a great way to explain how stalker works. I watched Jake’s demo review too and i ended up disappointed (in a way) of how poor his comments were. He clearly expect something different about the game (maybe a cod type of gameplay in an open world?) and just because he didn’t understand the mechanics said it was the worst thing. I’m a new fan of stalker, a console fan actually and I really liked them except clear sky holy shit that game makes me angry every second but CoP is the best for me. The atmosphere, gameplay and side quests were peak among the three. Can’t wait for the sequel
My brother wanted to play stalker once, so I let him play the last section of the game. He was doing fine and was using the Vintar BC, until he shot a monolith on the head, while the bullet was traveling through the air the monolithian managed to fire his RPG and one-shot my brother. That is when I said "welcome to the zone".
Any video game can get you to go to X, kill Y, collect Z. A good game makes it unforgettable, but a masterpiece leaves you with an itch you cannot scratch anywhere else. I havent been this excited for a video game in almost a decade 🎉
Before watching, I was thinking the person in question was just trying to sponge their way through firefights and enemy encounters. But after watching, it was much worse than that.
It is always so refreshing to see someone with a very similar taste in games. Honestly, I think it was important that someone who does not know about STALKER games goes for the demo, because people who know and have player STALKER for years can easily say what the game is about and how similar or improved stuff is there. But no one would have been able to describe the feeling that most of the STALKER fans felt when first getting into the game (I myself dropped SOC around 4 times before getting hooked). And considering that it takes quite a bit of a time before you can actually understand STALKER games and I bet STALKER 2 is going to be even more complex, I think 40 minutes (I guess this was the play time) was not even close to enough to give a judgement about a STALKER games. Though Luke should have did more research and at least should have played the older games or even Anomaly once before trying STALKER 2, but his review only tells me that there is no room for doubt that we indeed are getting a STALKER game and now I am finally pumped.
yeah tbh stalker is not made for everyone. stalker mods like Gamma/Anomaly and EFP are great and definitely open the gameplay to a much wider audience but end of the day the original stalker franchise is definitely for those who enjoy that genre, or develop the acquired taste. I hated Stalker when I was younger because I was trash and some mechanics felt too tedious. came back to it a little older and fell in love. played DayZ Mod and Stalker almost every day for an entire summer. in regards to the screen tearing/graphical bugs, I hope those get ironed out but I know eventually they’ll be able to patch it in if not. I know that bothers some ppl but as long as the core gameplay is good I can’t wait for the screen tearing fix.
Siempre me digo "Quién se haya pasado SoC sin ningún tipo de guía sin sacar el final de quiero ser rico que tire la primera piedra al recién llegado", pero ver personajes como este, me hace pensar que tal vez somos demasiado pacientes, que al final los tilingos del Monolito tenían razón.
To be fair thought the anomalies were bugging out when I watched people play at gamescom. There was almost a universal confusion amongst the players. Things definitely weren’t working as intended then so idk about this test either.
@@willbyrn5920 maybe you are right it could be a bug you were there watching people playing the game and I wasn't, i hope they fixed it by now, we can't say anything until the game comes out let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst
I really appreciate the tone of this video. It'd be so easy to scream 'GAME JOURNO BAD!!', but you take it slow and encourage the person in question to try again. That's more respect than I usually see in a situation like this, kudos :)
I'm new to the stalker series and this actually explains why I'm having such a hard time with the game, this is the first game where I had to actually learn instead of read tutorials thats shoved in my face in the game, at first I was turned off by this type of game since I've always played games which just tells you everything, but now since it makes more sense it makes me want to play stalker again, thanks a lot I really needed this video.
I found stalker anomaly and first played it when I was going through opiate withdrawals. Something about the hopelessness of the in game world distracted me from my own hopelessness. Perhaps my irl issues enhanced the experience. But I was hooked and played it for a week or two as I went through withdrawals (took time off work). Really fkin helped me. But it’s hard to go back to play it since it has that dark time of my life attached to it. Weird really. I will definitely be playing the 2nd one though. Something about roaming around at night in game with the melancholic radio blasting was just magical lol.
Since I played the OG stalker as well as ANOMALY and GAMMA, I am quite aware of the mindset you need in this game. Calm, collected and planning two steps ahead at all times. Most gaming journalists do not have this mindset in general.
I remember my first time playing STALKER and I got my ass handed to me over and over again. I became good because I was forced to in order to survive. One of the best gaming experiences of my life. I can not wait to play 2
What the fuck? There’s a no anomalies mod? Why? That just takes away the experience of stalker, in which I mean separating the games from your typical generic triple A post apocalyptic game. The only survival shooter franchise I would consider close to being as good as stalker would be the metro series.
Seeing that Luke Stephens struggled so much with the game was just what i needed to build some confidence that this will be a worthy followup to the original trilogy.
So many anomaly nerds also go into stalker franchise thinking that anomaly shows them all they need to known about the stalker universe, and it's sad. People really need to do a dive into the classic alpha mods to really see what the franchise/setting/game is capable of (OLR, OGSR, lost alpha, etc)
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of games is not supposed to be played like Call of duty, battlefield, doom, or tarkov where you run and gun or etc. You have to approach everything slowly and intelligently and not blunder-rush into everything cause that's how you perish repeatedly.
My greates example of challenge degradation is Fallout, in 1/2/3/New Vegas, you would only get power armor mid to endgame, in Fallout 4, it gives you one in the first 30 min. People confuse a challenging game and a hard game. A hard game will be hard no matter what, be it bullet sponges, inflated numbers or difficulty walls, a challenging game will be hard as long as you don't know how to play the game.
I was excited to try vanilla Shadow of Chernobyl, but I found the combat/gunplay a bit..lacking. I’ve heard OGSR + Gunslinger mods may help make the combat a bit better?
@@JustDatBoi OWR is enough for me! It's far simpler to mod and much more stable than gunslinger. I did make a video on that topic if it tickles your fancy.
I did the STALKER franchise back when it was on discs. Well, Clear Sky was a real problem as I was one of those that encountered pretty much every single game-breaking-bug it had. Still my favorite series of all time. After replaying the series (with mods) a couple years ago, I even spent well over a hundred hours in ANOMALY just role-playing a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I think 2 will be one of the few games I don't wait for a super-sale for (I'm a cheap olde bastard). Good insights Can't Game Right.
I'd really love a deep dive on your opinion on that one game Stalcraft. I messed around with it for a while as a f2p player, but as I read more into it I kinda was concerned with how a Russian game blatantly stole assets, names and stories from a Ukrainian game. You seem to know a lot about the history and culture around stalker, the game devs and the Ukraine war. I'm really curious about how Stalcraft ties into that, and if GSC has said anything about the game, I looked around a bit but didn't find much. The whole thing kinda just rubs me the wrong way ya know?
I was watching people play at gamescom and to be fair there was a lot of confusion across the board. Everyone was questioning whether or not things were just obscurely implemented or just straight up bugs. I think a lot of it was bugs.
There's going to be a bunch of people who are fallout fans jumping in the stalker 2 and we'll just get annihilated. 😂 I've been playing this series since the beginning and I love that it was never meant for the casual player. I made the mistake of approach again like it was a bog standard FPS game when shadows of Chernobyl came out and I got my fucking shit kicked in so hard I nearly gave up on playing the game. However the more I played it the more I understood it and eventually I just got sucked in and embraced it. I love it for the same reason why I love dark souls... Punishing gameplay, a strange yet beautiful open world, an RPG experience unlike any other and all that mixed in with a little bit of jank.
I completely share this opinion. Lately, I've been trying to articulate what exactly gives this charm. So far, I have come to the point that these games create difficulties not only for the main character, but also for the player. You, as a player, need to look for solutions to problems and find ways to help yourself. And the game gives you such opportunities. You are not limited only by your level and equipment to pass a difficult moment. You can lure enemies into an anomaly, you can lead mutants to enemies, take a partner and he will "accidentally" die.
You get it so well! I'm not really interested in games that take you by the hand and lead you through the path that someone created - I can read a book or watch a movie if I'm looking for that. I'm not interested in killing some mob in the rproper way. When I play games, I look for exploring and using my brain like in real life - I want to feel myself someone else, living a life that I will never live
Ive never played OG Stalker games but got into Anomaly during Lockdown and enjoy it since. Of course the learning curve was brutal steep, I learned to love F5 key also some stuff remains janky but I will not complain about an old greatly modded free game. I also dont need to play at hardest difficulty all the time, Anomaly lets you turn off many thing you dont like and iam not ashamed to use the debug menu from time to time :). Often in games I dont want to manage different ammo types for specific weapons or find the right potion to finally beat that monster. Stalker 2 surely will have difficulty settings ( which Luke probably didnt get to choose) and hard is supposed to be HARD. These days a good tutorial and some handholding ( switchable of course) is expected, I dont want to google everything all the time because a game softlocks/ frustrates me. And its a shame that many new games dont reach a level of enviromental help and storytelling like HalfLife today. Thats what playtests and hints are for, its not easy guiding the player just enough to not let input devices fly around :). I hope this game turns out good and releases with only minimal bugs and jank, its eastern european after all :)
Funny when you said about struggle - my favorite game or at least one that I have most obsession with for last 3 years - Final Fantasy XIV - starts with a really slow and almost painful start where main protagonist is effectively nobody and you're doing menial jobs and it all feels pointless. But as game progresses, if you manage to suffer through boring campaign and get to expansions, game soon becomes more... engaging - story, characters, fights, everything becomes much more complex and entertaining. One of best games of 2023 in my opinion - Armored Core VI has very difficult early game bosses - Helicopter, Juggernaught and Balteus can absolutely crush unprepared played and many have not even completed first chapter because of them (some say that Sea Spider is almost unbeatable, but I've wrecked that bitch every single time it raised its ugly head at me) Hey, people say that Elden Ring is hard and they love that shit! So I think this is what it is - games like this are... well, they have to give challenge to players that when challenge is done and player has overcome the difficulty and mastered the game - that's where fun goes. For me beating Alea Iacta Est ending in AC6, getting through Shadow of Chornobyl or beating living shit out of Ultima Weapon in the Ultimate raid was equally important - I felt that I did something. Something that many other people probably never would even start doing. I persevered through hard and fun thing. Much better than persevering through real war tho, don't do it, don't go to Ukraine until war is over, it's really bad.
Half of us on here play some form of mod just to make the stalker games harder. When you play a game thats supposed to be hard. Its going to be hard. You cant always rush threw a game an dive into everything as fast as possible. All hes done is make me more excited for the game to come out.
Hey, Miguel. Today, I was supposed to pick up my wife from her workplace, but you dropped this vid, so I have to watch at least 4 times. What do I tell my wife now??
Pinned because we both need suggestions
@@cantgameright just show his wife ur video, now she'll be trapped as well. Profit.
@@cantgameright Do you want a big dinner plate emoji my guy? Are you so hungry boy? Are you? They did not feed you home? Why are you so starved in your life so hard that you got to beg for views when you take out of context stupid stuff and you do not do a react to the whole video? Why does the game has holes? Please ADRESS and explain all the issues Luke Stephens said bro, why are you so hungry my dear? Do you need help ? You surely cannot watch a video alone... Dear Lord!
tell her the anomaly in the toilet broke it bylat and you got lost in Zone trying to fix it. so that lady would come home to repaired toilet comrade ! That way you can tell her the terrible word that haunts the lives of stalkers wives. "I'm going out there again."
"IDINAHUI SYKAAAAAAAAA IM WATCHING STALKEEEEEER BLYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT"
No way, a game that's advertised as being difficult ends up being difficult?
Next they’ll tell me the elden ring dlc is hard 🤯
@@lynchmobb119Unironically what morons are mad about...
Yeah but it'll have no doubt been dumbed down a bit for a larger audience.
@@JayV426 when it’s not dumb enough for this Luke guy
@@lynchmobb119 me when I know nothing about Luke
Gaming journalist when the game don't play for them
@@MadWatcher He means in general, not exclusive to this game presentation.
No fr tho. It’s like, what did u think it was going to play like? It spawned mods or games that would be some of the most brutal and realistic games on the market.
I warmed my heart to see him getting cooked in his own comments 💀
Yeeeeeeeeeep.
Deserved 😂
When I play STALKER 2, I'm cranking difficulty up to max as it's intended.
Such is the way of the zone brother
Same
100% ❤
It made the old games easier tbh
Good hunting fellow STALKER
I don't mean to be an asshole, but Luke Stephens has a track record of ill informed opinions. He just tends to miss the mark on little things and seems to "go with the wind' often times.
I mean Luke Stephens is terrible anyway, so being an asshole to him is probably the least bad thing you could be doing. Dude is a grifting tourist with milquetoast opinions while still being pompous as fuck with them.
Wrong
It’s all opinionated. You can’t expect everyone to have the same opinions as you. Luke likes what he likes. He’s never played Stalker. If he doesn’t like Stalker 2, who cares? He might lack experience and knowledge of the franchise, but if it doesn’t draw him in enough to want to learn it and enjoy it, then so be it. It’s not his kind of game.
If that bothers you, then it says a lot more about you than it does about him. And that goes for anyone, not just you and Luke.
@@CyraXFactor I'm not bothered, I'm not even a huge stalker fan. I just don't think his analysis is good, on anything. You can think someone doesn't have worthwhile opinions without being offended by them.
He's a good guy. I like Luke. He does go with the wind, but so does the majority of youtubers.
When a game manages to force you to become a more skillful player without having any kind of skill tree, it is a masterpiece. Only the better weapons, suits and artifacts give you the advantage you need. They are all just tools to either make money, get loot or help with a problem at hand. Also the lack of in your face HUD and POI's made the game way more immersive. I would say it even did a disservice to most other games that in their core are enjoyable, but splash the screen with all kinds of extra information that just can't be turned off, turning them to stuff for 12 year olds...
Souls games, terraria for that matter
and metro exodus
@@itsterres I started Metro Exodus. The first part was kinda dumbed down for introducing the game so I quit before the game even started (IIRC). I hate when a game forces your hand. Even though there may be pointers and storyline that are important for a new player. But man it breaks the immersion (for me at least).
@@HulluJanne dude play the game at least till u reach the volga and u will be surprised
@@itsterres I'm sure I'm missing out. Just wasn't in the mood years back. And I think I should put like 500-1000€ more to upgrade my machine to run it decently.
Guys get ready for " Mixed reviews " that means it's exactly the game we want.
The Zone is saved, billions will smile.
I mean, this is a guy that is suddenly really hyped for AC Shadows because Ubisoft paid for him to go to an event and sponsored his video (in which he said he’d deliver negatives on the gameplay he saw, but delivered none). He started talking about how the grass could’ve moved better……..
He liked Odyssey and not Vahalla this the team that made the former. Just because its popular to hate on ubisoft does not mean everyone does.
Yeah he's never fully hated Ubisoft. And he's totally entitled to that opinion. I happen to love AC as well.
"Only a fool trusts his eyes, the wise Stalker understands that every inch of the Zone is a potential deathtrap. Also, the instant you think you've seen it all or you stop respecting what the Zone is capable of, it kills you." - Rule #1 of the Idiot's Guide to the Zone.
Damn straight.
You can’t just run through stalker. You have to take your time and be patient and methodical or you’re going to have a real bad time.
sounds like a, and I hate to use the term, "skill issue". Of course you can.
@@Ultradocker no you can’t, unless you play on easy and can tank a bunch of shots.
@@albundy7459 When you've replayed every stalker game at least five times on master difficulty, frankly, SoC CNPP is like the only sorta difficult one barring eurojank moments in other parts of the games.
I get you're referring to new players who're going to have this as their introduction to the franchise but I'm simply just saying a seasoned stalker can absolutely take down entire armies with 2-3 medkits in record time, no problem.
@@LeSpongedeStardust not happening my guy. This isn’t fallout where you can just run through the entire game. You have to use cover or you’re insta dead.
@@albundy7459 you’re gassin it. yeah stalker is much more difficult than your average modern fps game, but you can absolutely run through SoC and CoP (didnt play CS) after one or two playthroughs. Relax
So the "Gamerbro" journalist youtuber who grew his YT channel/reputation around parroting trends and ripping off other people's content didn't live up to the "game" part of being a game journalist? What a shocker.
Or just have a brain for a second and realizing it's his first time playing a stalker game
@@almac5446 or just have a brain and realize he is being inconsistent and very ignorance about a game and chose anyway to blabber on about it. He is an influencer, not just some guy posting on reddit.
@@almac5446 Also, compare his talking of AC after Ubi paid him off. Some of you fanboys are just so funny to me - as post truth as the people who share Luke's shoddy politics.
@@xBINARYGODx it's his first time playing stalker and he thought he was going to play like fallout happens he didn't play the previous games so he should have done that
@@xBINARYGODxHe was Harsh th Vahalla but liked the other ones.
As a fan of Stalker I often forget that there are people who didn't play original games, never seen one and might not understand what Stalker is. Maybe they need time to feel the game. You actually gave a good example with Cyberpunk 2077. I also tried it not long after release and couldn't understand it. But last year I tried it again and loved the exprerience.
So why didn't u like cyberpunk then but do now. It's the same basically just updated. What aspect do u not like at first?
@@bombyo3634 Basically i was not ready for this game at that moment. Amount of mechanics and huge open world made me stop playing this game. I thought i could easily get into the game and quickly figure out what is what. But that didn't happen. For example i struggled with quick hacking. I was not much of a fan of cyberpunk theme either. And overall perception at that time that the game was not in good state made me think I better not play it. When I tried it last year I was a bit more prepared and hyped up. Also they added Ukrainian language to the game so I decided sure I want to try again. And the game just grew on me I guess. I really enjoyed it.
@user-aquila128 wow that's an awesome explanation. For tw3 it took me alot to understand the mechanics too and after I did I loved it. Cyberpunk wasn't as hard for me to understand because I know the developer style a bit however it did take time to learn things even still. I love that game. It'd shorter then the witcher but I find myself putting 100 plus hours every time. I think I beat it on ps4 pro, then on xsx 2 more times.
I plan on another play through for the ps5 pro of they can get some type of path tracing out of it or close to it and it has graphical updates.
Bro ima heavy story narrative guy. I'm a bit nervous of stalker 2 I only played 2 hrs of the original and was lost and it felt new. So I'm like u with stalker 2 with u with Cyberpunk.
What should I do to prepare for stalker 2 they story scenes look great and the game play. Please help me brother
@@bombyo3634 I think Stalker 2 will be more story based game than previous entries of the series. But this sense of freedom still will be a big part of it. I mean you will be able to explore the Zone in any direction. Gsc said that you don't need to play original games to understand what's going on in Stalker 2, but I recommend it still. See, the first three games are not as complex in comparison to Cyberpunk. Just go where the story takes you. You have it all on the map. If you feel like it do some secondary quests. After Shadow of Chornobyl and Clear Sky it will be easier for you to navigate in this world and you will know what to expect from it. Call of Prypiat is by far the most interesting of the three in my opinion. I encourage you to do more secondary quests there because they better written than in previous games. I think it is a matter of time before you just get used to this games like i did with Cyberpunk and you will enjoy it. Good luck!
It’s cool to hear the other side because I was completely the opposite . I played stalker and stop playing it while cyberpunk I was in love with it since day 1. I’m gonna buy it on Xbox check it out again.
Luke doesn't actually like games. He likes the easy money that comes with making content about them.
It paid for this guy's house. Most people are stupid so they're watching shit like that.
Grifters rule the internet
people now just want to have game that plays itself
when you make your game for your fans and not everyone that's when you can truly get masterpieces
Note about the use of the bolt in the SGF demo. I did not play it, but here is speculation.
The demo might have not had the bolt available. It takes place shortly BEFORE Richter throws down a bolt and Skif's monkey brain says "why do I need a bolt".
Good observation indeed
i been playing leaked dev version and it had bolts build is from like 2021-2022
We will be playing on master+crosshair and compass off, like God (sergey grigorovich) intended
Griga is out of the game. Now it's his brother, and his God-tier haircut, Eugene.
Sergiy Grygorovych*
Sergiej "Pepsi Man" Grigorowicz
buying all that expensive stuff before giving his underlings any money
@@SpecShadow scummy but it's in good hands now
If he intended everyone to play like that, why in every S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game all the hud is enabled by default?
Ah 2007, 14 year old me, scared shitless of every weird sound, every shadow, lost in my noobness.
12:09
"Yes, we're being condescending
Yes, that means we're talkin' down to you
With all that racket from your lips a-flapping
We assumed you didn't notice"
Haters.. isolaters... Noone misses these
It's part of the whole Roadside Picnic/Stalker legacy that you can't just walk in a straight line to where you want to go, but have to deal with things that aren't easy to see, understand or traverse.
Incredibly well said man, i see a lot of references to Tarkovsky's movie in the last trailer when characters talk about the zone like saying it's beautiful or it's what you want it to be.
@@osm3008 Yeah, want to see more of that, the Wish Granter and its genie anthics was basically lifted from the book/movie 1:1.
WE NEED TO SHARE THIS MY CHOOMS.
Babe wake up new CGR vid just dropped
I think you're placing a little too much hope in our boi Luke after his Kingdom Come "review", but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and avoid the gatekeeping trap.
I was flabbergasted that he thought that emenies tackling Henry was a lock-on system bug.
Kingdom come was great just as any stalker game is too. The secret is you have to get good to be rewarded it isn't handed to you like every other title these last few decades
Yeah some of his reviews have been great like Witcher 3, RDR2 were he had well balanced review of their strengths and areas of devlopment. His Kingdom come review was really lacking as are his other lasted reviews.
By the way, 0:22 on the left side you can see real grass, it's toxic, and simply touching it may get you injuries similar to burns.
I remember playing Gunslinger mod and making an important save (after finally killing the burer in the aa complex) somewhere bushy around Zaton. An unseen controller kept blasting me with suicide rays and it took me 7 attempts to discover it's location, 4 more to finally find a good cover spot and 5 more to kill the beast.
I doubt the gaming journo's experience was anything close.
I unsubscribed him 6 month ago , dude is just a walking critic robot who doesn't have any passion for gaming
Same. Dude just goes through the motions.
I feel quite hungry
God be with you, Henry!
LETS GO 100 RADS BAR WOOOOOO
I don't consider myself a le ebic hardcoar GamerTM, in fact as I've gotten older I've gotten less patient with games. Used to love Soulslikes but can hardly stand them now, and I don't try to "push myself" by choosing the higher difficulties on other games; it's just not fun to me anymore. That being said, this Luke dude just seems kinda oblivious. I know STALKER is considered non-hand-holding and challenging, but it kinda silly that he didn't stop to think, "Okay, if I'm getting rekt by running in guns blazing, I should slow down and think more tactically about enemy encounters." And this isn't OG STALKER which has very jank gunplay, this is a big-budget modern sequel with snappy and responsive shooting.
Anomalies aren't that difficult to wrap one's head around either. Sure, some can be tricky to see, and it's inevitable that even long-time STALKER players will run into an anomaly on occasion. But that's another indication that if you get killed out of nowhere, you should slow down and really pay attention to your surroundings. Not just with your eyes but ears as well. So many anomalies have distinct sounds that are easy to track.
I don't think this is even an issue of casual vs "hardcore" gaming, it's just using your brain lol (and I don't wanna argue the semantics behind the whole casual/hardcore dichotomy). But I'll give this guy the benefit of the doubt, since he's obviously a newcomer, very likely playing this series for the first time. Plus he had a limited time with the demo, which leads to pressure to see as much as you can in order to get the "full experience." Sadly he didn't realize the full STALKER experience is taking it slow, soaking in the atmosphere, being curious yet wary of the world; and learning the hard way of the dangers of the Zone. BUT still kinda silly of him to run around dying over and over again, and expecting different results.
If you really want to enjoy a game that you know could interest you with it's possible gameplay or atmosphere/setting, you need to push and force yourself to put some hours into the game, and try to understand what it was about, it's like a test of willpower and for your reward you get unique experiences that you don't get from games that you can simply jump into where you understand your goal instantly.
Edit: nice video by the way :) earned my sub
*you're being ambushed* "I'm being ambushed!" LOL Seriously some of these games treat us like we've never watched a movie or played a video game before. The handholding is ridiculous. We need more games like Stalker.
8:44 I've played original Insurgency back in 2019 when the devs was givin' it for free in celebration of release of Insurgency Sandstorm. It was my first tactical shooter and it was pretty rought experience (especially considering that i couldn't get more then 30 fps on my old laptop). All those leanings over corners, snipers killing you from their sneaky spot, RPGs and C4 exploding under your feet the moment you leave spawn and so on.
But it was fun, put up almost 240 hours, still my 3rd most played game on steam to this day (however Squad might overtake it soon). For some time i was seriously considering buying Sandstorm, but had no fitting hardware at a time. Too bad they now owned by russian Saber Interactive :(
i watched luke for a while and even i was surprised how much of a casual take he had a real cuphead moment there.
Hearing games journalists complain about the difficulty already indicates it'll be a good game
Facing a Bloodsucker with a pkm, getting boiled by radiation and starving every two seconds is what makes stalker...stalker, its a game that's meant to kick your ass until you learn to take an ass kicking, accepting this means accepting S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Luke Stephens is the epitome of a gaystation shillbot. He keeps making Starfield hate videos to this day. 🤣🤣
Does hating Starfield make one a gaystation shillbot?
@@mabybee Starfield was just one of the examples. Anybody with a functioning brain who looks at his videos will see what I am talking about.
@@iwams1 what are other examples? I don’t watch him.
Starfield deserves the hate, cope more
@@Shirou8492 stay extra mad, you lowly gaystation shillbot
I've been playing STALKER since childhood, and STALKER is the type of game that's not fun when it is easy. The fun comes from the difficulty. Although it is advertised as a fps survival horror game, it was always more of a tactical shooter more than anything, you just got to go anywhere you wanted and do what you wanted to do (while avoiding hostile factions, mutants, and anomalies). Before leaving camp, you always have to plan ahead. What is your objective? Where are you going? Which gun should you take? How much food and which drugs should you pack? How do you optimize your storage such that you don't become overweight while looting? It was aspects like these that made STALKER so fun to play. It rarely felt like an action game, just because there's a lot of shooting going on doesn't mean you can wipe the strawberry jam off your screen and get in your enemies faces for cool over-the-top takedowns. That's not how STALKER works nor how should it work.
What a great way to explain how stalker works. I watched Jake’s demo review too and i ended up disappointed (in a way) of how poor his comments were. He clearly expect something different about the game (maybe a cod type of gameplay in an open world?) and just because he didn’t understand the mechanics said it was the worst thing. I’m a new fan of stalker, a console fan actually and I really liked them except clear sky holy shit that game makes me angry every second but CoP is the best for me. The atmosphere, gameplay and side quests were peak among the three. Can’t wait for the sequel
My brother wanted to play stalker once, so I let him play the last section of the game. He was doing fine and was using the Vintar BC, until he shot a monolith on the head, while the bullet was traveling through the air the monolithian managed to fire his RPG and one-shot my brother. That is when I said "welcome to the zone".
Any video game can get you to go to X, kill Y, collect Z.
A good game makes it unforgettable, but a masterpiece leaves you with an itch you cannot scratch anywhere else.
I havent been this excited for a video game in almost a decade 🎉
Before watching, I was thinking the person in question was just trying to sponge their way through firefights and enemy encounters. But after watching, it was much worse than that.
It is always so refreshing to see someone with a very similar taste in games. Honestly, I think it was important that someone who does not know about STALKER games goes for the demo, because people who know and have player STALKER for years can easily say what the game is about and how similar or improved stuff is there. But no one would have been able to describe the feeling that most of the STALKER fans felt when first getting into the game (I myself dropped SOC around 4 times before getting hooked). And considering that it takes quite a bit of a time before you can actually understand STALKER games and I bet STALKER 2 is going to be even more complex, I think 40 minutes (I guess this was the play time) was not even close to enough to give a judgement about a STALKER games. Though Luke should have did more research and at least should have played the older games or even Anomaly once before trying STALKER 2, but his review only tells me that there is no room for doubt that we indeed are getting a STALKER game and now I am finally pumped.
він навіть не дивився трейлер )
yeah tbh stalker is not made for everyone. stalker mods like Gamma/Anomaly and EFP are great and definitely open the gameplay to a much wider audience but end of the day the original stalker franchise is definitely for those who enjoy that genre, or develop the acquired taste.
I hated Stalker when I was younger because I was trash and some mechanics felt too tedious. came back to it a little older and fell in love. played DayZ Mod and Stalker almost every day for an entire summer.
in regards to the screen tearing/graphical bugs, I hope those get ironed out but I know eventually they’ll be able to patch it in if not. I know that bothers some ppl but as long as the core gameplay is good I can’t wait for the screen tearing fix.
Siempre me digo "Quién se haya pasado SoC sin ningún tipo de guía sin sacar el final de quiero ser rico que tire la primera piedra al recién llegado", pero ver personajes como este, me hace pensar que tal vez somos demasiado pacientes, que al final los tilingos del Monolito tenían razón.
I cant trust game journalists.
Do you all remember that little game named Cyberpunk 2077?
Once a legend said - "you don't play stalker, stalker plays you".
5:04 that's exactly what i commented on his video, he thinks if you can't see the anomaly there is a glitch in the game hahahaha
To be fair thought the anomalies were bugging out when I watched people play at gamescom. There was almost a universal confusion amongst the players. Things definitely weren’t working as intended then so idk about this test either.
@@willbyrn5920 maybe you are right it could be a bug you were there watching people playing the game and I wasn't, i hope they fixed it by now, we can't say anything until the game comes out let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst
I love how good-faith this video is towards Luke, it's abnormally nuanced for what people usually do.
I really appreciate the tone of this video. It'd be so easy to scream 'GAME JOURNO BAD!!', but you take it slow and encourage the person in question to try again. That's more respect than I usually see in a situation like this, kudos :)
Hey man, just wanted to say - I really apreciate the content of your channel and your commentary.
Cheers from Poland!
I'm new to the stalker series and this actually explains why I'm having such a hard time with the game, this is the first game where I had to actually learn instead of read tutorials thats shoved in my face in the game, at first I was turned off by this type of game since I've always played games which just tells you everything, but now since it makes more sense it makes me want to play stalker again, thanks a lot I really needed this video.
Hang in there, the zone rewards those who are patient.
@@cantgameright thanks
I found stalker anomaly and first played it when I was going through opiate withdrawals. Something about the hopelessness of the in game world distracted me from my own hopelessness. Perhaps my irl issues enhanced the experience. But I was hooked and played it for a week or two as I went through withdrawals (took time off work). Really fkin helped me. But it’s hard to go back to play it since it has that dark time of my life attached to it. Weird really. I will definitely be playing the 2nd one though.
Something about roaming around at night in game with the melancholic radio blasting was just magical lol.
Since I played the OG stalker as well as ANOMALY and GAMMA, I am quite aware of the mindset you need in this game. Calm, collected and planning two steps ahead at all times.
Most gaming journalists do not have this mindset in general.
Do you know why because they rush the games
I remember my first time playing STALKER and I got my ass handed to me over and over again. I became good because I was forced to in order to survive.
One of the best gaming experiences of my life. I can not wait to play 2
Yo why is the video production quality so high for such low sub count?
I think we know who the “no anomalies mod” was made for.
What the fuck? There’s a no anomalies mod? Why? That just takes away the experience of stalker, in which I mean separating the games from your typical generic triple A post apocalyptic game. The only survival shooter franchise I would consider close to being as good as stalker would be the metro series.
Finally, it was said! Stalker is a game about diving in and searching. Thanks to you and thanks for the content you make.
Stalker and Elden Ring have become my favorite games to play because of how much they don't hold the players hand
Seeing that Luke Stephens struggled so much with the game was just what i needed to build some confidence that this will be a worthy followup to the original trilogy.
It was always a niche series, the fact that someone didn't immediately click with this game is about the least surprising thing I'll hear today.
11:23 Tbh the anomalies aura are a bit broken; in my play through I got caught in anomalies by walking next to them.
Your video is making me want to replay the original trilogy. Thanks.
Im convinced Luke Stephens doesn't like any games. Every video sounds like a toddler sad they haven't gotten dinner yet
So many anomaly nerds also go into stalker franchise thinking that anomaly shows them all they need to known about the stalker universe, and it's sad. People really need to do a dive into the classic alpha mods to really see what the franchise/setting/game is capable of (OLR, OGSR, lost alpha, etc)
STALKER is such a sick series. You will suck at first but thats the charm. Get good and you will be rewarded!
after playing metro exodus i wanna make every game i play on the hardest difficulty and turn off all my hud for maximum immersion
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of games is not supposed to be played like Call of duty, battlefield, doom, or tarkov where you run and gun or etc. You have to approach everything slowly and intelligently and not blunder-rush into everything cause that's how you perish repeatedly.
That guy sounds like me when I first started playing the game and it was just pain.
My greates example of challenge degradation is Fallout, in 1/2/3/New Vegas, you would only get power armor mid to endgame, in Fallout 4, it gives you one in the first 30 min.
People confuse a challenging game and a hard game. A hard game will be hard no matter what, be it bullet sponges, inflated numbers or difficulty walls, a challenging game will be hard as long as you don't know how to play the game.
re4 is a masterpiece but damn that first village contact on the ps2 filter a lot of people, a friend of mine give up
Nice to see someone is calling Luke for the hack he is.
If he's struggling on STALKER 2, don't show him GAMMA. He won't even make it out of rookie village without dying
I was excited to try vanilla Shadow of Chernobyl, but I found the combat/gunplay a bit..lacking.
I’ve heard OGSR + Gunslinger mods may help make the combat a bit better?
@@JustDatBoi OWR is enough for me! It's far simpler to mod and much more stable than gunslinger. I did make a video on that topic if it tickles your fancy.
Nice rendition of Professor Sakharov!
I did the STALKER franchise back when it was on discs. Well, Clear Sky was a real problem as I was one of those that encountered pretty much every single game-breaking-bug it had.
Still my favorite series of all time. After replaying the series (with mods) a couple years ago, I even spent well over a hundred hours in ANOMALY just role-playing a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
I think 2 will be one of the few games I don't wait for a super-sale for (I'm a cheap olde bastard).
Good insights Can't Game Right.
Didn't play stalker but after this really wanting to play stalker 2
Perhaps the game is unpolished, most likely in fact, doesn't make it a bad game.
I like that Stalker 2 is continuing the tradition of filtering casuals.
POV everyone who played all the last games coming to take this game on like its nothing
I'd really love a deep dive on your opinion on that one game Stalcraft. I messed around with it for a while as a f2p player, but as I read more into it I kinda was concerned with how a Russian game blatantly stole assets, names and stories from a Ukrainian game. You seem to know a lot about the history and culture around stalker, the game devs and the Ukraine war. I'm really curious about how Stalcraft ties into that, and if GSC has said anything about the game, I looked around a bit but didn't find much. The whole thing kinda just rubs me the wrong way ya know?
I don't know much about stalcraft because it is not my type of game, however, your suspicions are correct. Stalcraft doesn't do STALKER much good l.
Keep your grubby CODified hands OFF my STALKER, normies!
hey guise im luge stefens and i am game zournalist and i gant see anomaly in de ground blease help me it was nod gommunigated do me
I’ve never played Stalker….but after this video it sounds right up my alley. I’m gonna buy the trilogy now…I liked Chernobyl game, Chernobyl Lite ?
I was watching people play at gamescom and to be fair there was a lot of confusion across the board. Everyone was questioning whether or not things were just obscurely implemented or just straight up bugs. I think a lot of it was bugs.
There's going to be a bunch of people who are fallout fans jumping in the stalker 2 and we'll just get annihilated. 😂 I've been playing this series since the beginning and I love that it was never meant for the casual player. I made the mistake of approach again like it was a bog standard FPS game when shadows of Chernobyl came out and I got my fucking shit kicked in so hard I nearly gave up on playing the game. However the more I played it the more I understood it and eventually I just got sucked in and embraced it. I love it for the same reason why I love dark souls... Punishing gameplay, a strange yet beautiful open world, an RPG experience unlike any other and all that mixed in with a little bit of jank.
I completely share this opinion.
Lately, I've been trying to articulate what exactly gives this charm. So far, I have come to the point that these games create difficulties not only for the main character, but also for the player.
You, as a player, need to look for solutions to problems and find ways to help yourself. And the game gives you such opportunities. You are not limited only by your level and equipment to pass a difficult moment. You can lure enemies into an anomaly, you can lead mutants to enemies, take a partner and he will "accidentally" die.
You get it so well! I'm not really interested in games that take you by the hand and lead you through the path that someone created - I can read a book or watch a movie if I'm looking for that. I'm not interested in killing some mob in the rproper way. When I play games, I look for exploring and using my brain like in real life - I want to feel myself someone else, living a life that I will never live
i shall go pro in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
Luke Stephens is the new YongYea.
Wasnt the guy in the intro in the hbomber guy vid?
Yeah
Damn that Italian impression was on point 🤣
Damn… It’s probably my favourite Stalker 2 video. You have a new sub)
You are like a likable dude and a friend i have never had. Need streams from ya
Ive never played OG Stalker games but got into Anomaly during Lockdown and enjoy it since. Of course the learning curve was brutal steep, I learned to love F5 key also some stuff remains janky but I will not complain about an old greatly modded free game. I also dont need to play at hardest difficulty all the time, Anomaly lets you turn off many thing you dont like and iam not ashamed to use the debug menu from time to time :).
Often in games I dont want to manage different ammo types for specific weapons or find the right potion to finally beat that monster.
Stalker 2 surely will have difficulty settings ( which Luke probably didnt get to choose) and hard is supposed to be HARD. These days a good tutorial and some handholding ( switchable of course) is expected, I dont want to google everything all the time because a game softlocks/ frustrates me. And its a shame that many new games dont reach a level of enviromental help and storytelling like HalfLife today. Thats what playtests and hints are for, its not easy guiding the player just enough to not let input devices fly around :).
I hope this game turns out good and releases with only minimal bugs and jank, its eastern european after all :)
on my first run of stalker soc i didn't even knew about bolt until i reached Kruglov escort mission
Funny when you said about struggle - my favorite game or at least one that I have most obsession with for last 3 years - Final Fantasy XIV - starts with a really slow and almost painful start where main protagonist is effectively nobody and you're doing menial jobs and it all feels pointless.
But as game progresses, if you manage to suffer through boring campaign and get to expansions, game soon becomes more... engaging - story, characters, fights, everything becomes much more complex and entertaining.
One of best games of 2023 in my opinion - Armored Core VI has very difficult early game bosses - Helicopter, Juggernaught and Balteus can absolutely crush unprepared played and many have not even completed first chapter because of them (some say that Sea Spider is almost unbeatable, but I've wrecked that bitch every single time it raised its ugly head at me)
Hey, people say that Elden Ring is hard and they love that shit!
So I think this is what it is - games like this are... well, they have to give challenge to players that when challenge is done and player has overcome the difficulty and mastered the game - that's where fun goes.
For me beating Alea Iacta Est ending in AC6, getting through Shadow of Chornobyl or beating living shit out of Ultima Weapon in the Ultimate raid was equally important - I felt that I did something. Something that many other people probably never would even start doing. I persevered through hard and fun thing. Much better than persevering through real war tho, don't do it, don't go to Ukraine until war is over, it's really bad.
Luke isnt the smartest box of tools in the Crayola shed
Half of us on here play some form of mod just to make the stalker games harder. When you play a game thats supposed to be hard. Its going to be hard. You cant always rush threw a game an dive into everything as fast as possible. All hes done is make me more excited for the game to come out.
This is why i love metro and stalker great imerson with no hand holding
11:10 someone should make a mod replacing default sounds with this