It can be 'janky' at times, it's not some perfect game, but it does some things that make it stand out and be such a cult game, such as the excellent horror atmosphere (even though it is not specifically a 'scare you' horror game). I followed SoC in particular so long before they released it, the game was always so ambitious and they never delivered on all the promises, but we still got a great game. It's the most atmospheric game I have ever played. That and the fact that NPCs detect you a bit too well in the dark. Fortunately this is simple to do, only takes a few seconds.
The only issue with it I've always had is sometimes you need to adjust difficulty, at certain points of the game (it'll be subjective) because some balancing can be off with enemy hitpoints. Shadow of Chernobyl is an excellent game, cult franchise, in my top 5. On subsequent playthroughs you can use overhaul mods like the excellent Autumn Aurora. Ībsolute Nature & Absolute Structures (texture mods, just higher res, not different) ĭo not install Complete for a first playthrough (or ever IMO), changes gameplay for the worst, makes dumb AI changes, etc. There are some optional gameplay changes like adding a sleeping bag, but nothing significant, you don't need to select them to install).
ZRP (Zone Reclamation Project, they are bug fixes. The only mods you need for a vanilla SoC playthrough are:
