A little while ago we talked about Battlefield 2042, today… Put on your best anti-radiation gear, we’re going on a trip to Chernobyl! Chernobylite is an adventure that mixes survival, management, role-playing, first-person action and the occasional touch of the paranormal. Is this Chernobylite now coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X any good? We tell you about it in our review! 😉
It isn’t our intention to reanalyze Chernobylite as a game, but we’ll briefly summarize what it offers. Its name gives an idea of the place where this story that combines science fiction and a bit of horror takes place: Chernobyl power plant, famous for the 1986 nuclear catastrophe that was recently told by the award-winning HBO series, a threat that has been recalled again these days by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Leaving aside the true story, The Farm 51 weaves with this background a fictional plot in which a scientist harnesses the strange chernobylite element that emerges in the incident as an almost inexhaustible source of energy.
In addition to this fantastic part, which includes opening portals with wormholes, there is a personal plot about Tatyana, the protagonist’s beloved who disappeared in the reactor explosion. From the beginning we have visions of her, we hear her voice acting and remember the past; a somewhat confusing narrative but that turns out to be one of the strong points of Chernobylite, as well as the personality of the companions that we’ll find and that will be essential to solve a series of missions in the order we want.
In the purely gameplay aspect we have a game that combines a multitude of influences, although without delving too much into any – hence not exploiting its full potential – as action sections where the usual thing is to pull by stealth, since the weaponry isn’t exactly surplus; in fact everything is scarce, and it will be necessary to collect all the material that falls into our hands, whether materials, medicines, food and resources that we’ll use to improve our base. A management that also goes beyond the classic health bar, as we also have a mental stability bar -which is affected by killing enemies and seeing certain scenes- or hunger. And it’s not just about the unique mechanics of your character, you’ll also have to distribute rations and keep your companions happy with a cozy shelter. A healthy party will allow you to send these partners to solve side quests and thus recover more resources.
The gameplay, however, doesn’t stand out due to a somewhat limited artificial intelligence and an approach that we have seen on many occasions, and better executed. It’s in the whole where it shines best, combining a story that allows you to make decisions that affect the rest of the game, the feeling of survival in a hostile land and all the management part. If you delve a little deeper into the behavior of the enemies or the gunplay part of this magic falls apart, but it is still something forgivable in an AA production like this.
Chernobylite is a resultant game, especially in the outdoor areas, as long as it isn’t plagued by bugs -something that at launch happened in all versions- or technical problems -serious on consoles of the last generation-.
Luckily, the game’s performance is better than what we’ve seen on PS4 and Xbox One, and the update is free for these buyers. In addition to the graphical improvements that also come to PC with the Enhanced Edition we are offered two options: 4K at dynamic resolution and 30 fps, and another at 1080p with 60 fps. In both cases the graphics improve the detail of the previous consoles, and in the resolution mode there are even more improvements in shadows, environments, texture quality and ray-tracing.
On the other hand, coinciding with this release, comes the “Blue Flames DLC”, which brings a new silent weapon -a crossbow-, new activities and free events, as well as a pay pack. More missions, weapons and game modes will arrive in the coming quarters, so it can’t be said that this is a bad time to enter the Chernobylite world, quite the contrary! 😉
The best thing that can be said about Chernobylite is that it has personality, even if its ingredients are well known. The game set and the way of telling its story improves a survival game with stealth and action just right, but that you can enjoy if you are at least a little interested in this kind of games and science fiction stories.
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