Prior to 2022, if would ask an average citizen to share a fascinating information about Ukraine The vast majority will likely respond by saying some variation of “Isn’t that where the Chernobyl thing happened?” and aside from the occasional ill-informed observation about chicken Kievs, it’s likely to be the case. It’s sad, then that it’s taken the tragic and heartbreaking twist of events to spur the masses to expand the knowledge they have of Ukrainian geography political, history, and geography as well as a growing desire to know more about the nation and its inhabitants.
If you do delve into Ukraine’s impact on the media beyond the beautiful folk songs you’ll find the reason why those events that occurred during the Chernobyl incident are extremely common to Ukraine’s culture – they were responsible for inspiring some of the most beautiful artwork and artistic pieces that immortalize the tragedy by revealing the beauty and the philosophies in the core of an incredibly human tragedy.
It’s not surprising that so many directors, writers and game designers risk becoming clichés to examine the issues of the Chernobyl catastrophe; the most notable example is HBO’s superb TV show Chernobyl as well as the amazing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of games, and some of the best levels within the Call of Duty franchise.
Explore Chernobylite is a horror, sci-fi kind of survival game that appears to draw a lot of inspiration from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. along with The Metro series, yet without borrowing any of its ideas directly from these. The game places you in the shoes Igor Khymynyuk, a physicist who was employed at the power plant prior to the explosion. Igor is a busy man with a lot to do, since he’s trying to discover the fate of his fiancée Tatyana who mysteriously vanished thirty years ago. He’s searching for Chernobylite which is a unique power source that was created in the aftermath of the meltdown. Igor must accomplish his objectives while staying clear of his mysterious black Stalker which is known as a variety of evil characters and monsters, ensuring his mental state in check while making supplies and resources and create an infrastructure to keep his friends well and happy. He really needs some time off.
Chernobylite is a blast (in an almost sad manner) to play. The missions can be quite short however, scavenging for items to bring back home could prolong the playtime There are a lot of choices to be made which will affect the plot, for instance the decision of which characters to align with and what missions to take on and others have a more subdued nature, for instance, the possibility of killing enemies, or enduring stressful situations could cause harm to Igor’s mind, which means it is necessary to make a decision about whether you want to fight to earn more treasures or snoop through the radioactive waters and save your mental sanity. To get a deeper review of the game and its mechanics, I highly would recommend reading our analysis of the initial version of the game that was released in the month of October.
Then, what’s new for Xbox Series X|S owners? The majority of what you’d think of – the game offers the possibility of playing using Resolution mode. This gives the game to 4K with 30 frames per second using Ray Tracing, or in Performance mode, which plays at 2K, and a silky smooth 60 frames per second. It’s refreshing to see a game running in performance mode in 2K, rather than 1080p and it looks stunning. The lighting effects are stunningly atmospheric. Exploring basement bunkers in the dark gave me the exact sensation as playing Condemned: Criminal Origins back shortly after the release of Xbox 360; that same sensation of fear and dread and twitching each whenever a shadow shifts or you come into contact with objects.
It truly looks stunning and the photo-scanned environments are a great way in bringing the player into the world of the game. Similar to when you’re out in the woods and god-rays are piercing leaves, it is incredibly real, which is exactly what a game of this kind requires. The framerate is flawless and provides an extremely smooth gaming experience even when the game is kicking off and there are particles and bullets flying everywhere.
Chernobylite’s 4K mode performs as it states on the tin . However it is typical that switching to this setting directly from the Performance mode causes the framerate drop obvious. It was difficult for me to change, since moving and aiming began to feel slow and even the menus seemed slow. The enhancements to visual quality weren’t sufficient enough to justify the loss in performance The Ray Tracing effects look nice however the lighting is stunning in Mode Performance that it’s tough to justify a drastic reduction in performance due to lighter lights and darker shades.
Don’t consider this to be the sole reason to be critical of Chernobylite however. It actually speaks to the game’s strengths that it simply looks amazing in the Performance mode, to the point that it is difficult to imagine why someone would choose to change into this Resolution setting. The game is smooth and looks stunning it loads fast and the lighting effects are creepy and atmospheric, and other than the fact that nothing has changed from the previous game. The only thing I encountered playing was some stuttering in the hub’s main areas; thankfully, it doesn’t appear to be a problem on the outside and the hub region is very small, therefore it shouldn’t cause any problems.
If you’re a fan of Chernobylite and you can’t be satisfied or you’re interested in trying it for first time, you’ll find that Xbox Series X|S version is an excellent purchase. If you loved S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Metro 2033 or other media that is tangentially related to it, like Tarkovsky’s dazzling film Stalker which is based on the popular novels of the post-apocalyptic genre Roadside Picnic, you could not do better than giving Chernobylite to try in your series X|S console.
It is possible that you won’t end up knowing a lot about Ukraine however, you will become a better person after making a radioactive suicide room with just a few mushrooms and a few chemicals. Don’t ask.
