Info about S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat - Enhanced Edition:

Official game description:
Back to where it all started — the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Trilogy, one of the most visionary and groundbreaking survival first-person-shooters of all time returns. Now upscaled, enhanced must-play journey for a new generation.
ENHANCED EDITION FEATURES:
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*   Atmospheric visual enhancements including God Rays, Dynamic Screen Space Reflections, and Advanced Global Illumination effects.
*   Redesigned water shaders, upgraded skyboxes, and wetness effects.
*   Improved visuals with upscaled textures featuring more detailed NPCs and environment.
*   Upgraded weapon Field of View and models.
*   Multiple bugfixes and quality of life tweaks.
*   Full gamepad support.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat follows the story of special service agent Major Degtyarev as he investigates the fate of a lost expedition. Rich with colorful characters, memorable side stories, and the spirit of true freedom, this chapter delivers a powerful and unforgettable conclusion to the Legends of the Zone Trilogy.
ENTER UNCHARTED LANDS
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Explore the previously inaccessible core regions of the Zone. Traverse the marshlands of Zaton, investigate the abandoned industrial complex at Jupiter, wander through the ghostly remains of Prypiat city, and descend into long-forgotten underground catacombs, sealed away for ages.
FACE NEW DANGERS
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The Zone is more unpredictable than ever, its anomalies warping reality in deadly ways. Seek cover from sudden emissions and prepare to confront new mutant threats: stealthy alpha-predator Chimera and sinister Burer, whose telekinetic abilities turn shadowed undergrounds into a nightmare.
CONCLUDE THE JOURNEY
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Immerse yourself in a unique blend of action, horror, survival, and RPG elements within the hauntingly realistic Eastern European dark science fiction world. Your choices will influence the destinies of those you encounter and shape your own survival.
Good Hunting, stalker!

Release date: 20 May, 2025

Categories: First-Person Shooter, Survival, Action Horror, RPG, Exploration, Single-player Story, Choice-based Narrative


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Significantly improved graphics and visuals (weight 0.62): The game features significantly improved graphics, including better lighting, textures, water effects, and skyboxes, enhancing the overall visual experience and immersion. The draw distance for grass and foliage has also been dramatically improved. These enhancements contribute to a more visually appealing and atmospheric game world.
- Achievements and Steam Workshop added (weight 0.39): The addition of Steam Achievements and Steam Workshop support enhances the game's replayability and modding capabilities. Achievements provide a sense of progression and encourage multiple playthroughs, while Steam Workshop centralizes modding content and eliminates the need for external websites.
- General positive sentiments (weight 0.29): Many reviewers express general enjoyment and appreciation for the game, praising its atmosphere, plot, characters, and overall experience. However, these points lack specific details and actionable feedback.
- Improved stability and performance (weight 0.24): The Enhanced Edition features a more stable and optimized foundation, resolving performance issues like stuttering and crashes. It also includes modern features like DirectX 12 and improved memory management, resulting in a smoother and more enjoyable gameplay experience.
- Native controller support added (weight 0.11): The game now features native controller support, including DualSense features like adaptive triggers. This addition enhances the player experience, providing a more intuitive and accessible way to play the game.
- Voice acting language changes (weight 0.11): The game's voice acting has been modified, with the removal of Russian voice acting in the base game. However, Russian voice acting can be restored via Steam Workshop mods.
- Polished and complete experience (weight 0.08): Some reviewers note that the game is a polished and complete experience, especially Call of Pripyat. It's also described as a classic game repackaged for modern systems.
- Added FOV and graphics settings (weight 0.07): The game now offers more configurable video settings, including a field-of-view (FOV) slider. This allows players to adjust the FOV to their preference, enhancing the visual experience and reducing motion sickness for some players.
- Blurriness can be reduced via settings (weight 0.07): Some reviewers have noted blurriness in the game's visuals, but this can be reduced by adjusting settings such as FSR and anti-aliasing. Disabling certain features and tweaking sharpness settings can improve image quality.
- Runs well on Steam Deck (weight 0.05): The game runs well on the Steam Deck, making it suitable for handheld play. This allows players to enjoy the game on the go with a decent visual experience.
- Cloud saves are supported (weight 0.05): The game supports cloud saves, allowing players to synchronize their progress across multiple devices. Manual saving is also available through a console command.

Common complaints:
- Blurry, unoptimized graphics (weight 0.95): The updated graphics are a significant disappointment.  Many reviewers describe the visuals as blurry, pixelated, and even worse than the original game, even on high settings. Poor FSR implementation and excessive use of blur effects are frequently cited as causes.
- Inconsistent/removed voice acting (weight 0.38): The game has inconsistent voice acting, with characters switching between languages mid-conversation. The removal of Russian voice acting, a key part of the original's identity, is a major point of criticism. This creates a jarring and immersion-breaking experience.
- Cut content, questionable changes (weight 0.2): Reviewers feel that content has been cut or altered in the enhanced edition. Some elements feel out of place, and the game is considered inferior to community-made mods. This suggests a lack of care in the remastering process.
- Awkward dialogue interface (weight 0.17): The dialogue interface has been changed, removing the ability to use number keys for selection. Reviewers find the new W/S controls awkward and prefer the original number-based system. This change, along with console-like hints, detracts from the PC experience.
- New bugs, poor optimization (weight 0.16): The remaster introduces new bugs not present in the original game and suffers from poor optimization. Many reviewers feel the remaster is of very poor quality and should not have been released in its current state. This indicates a lack of polish and attention to detail.
- Poor font and UI design (weight 0.14): The game features a new, poorly designed font that is inconsistent with the original style. The user interface is described as unappealing, too bright, and generally worse than the previous version. These changes negatively impact the user experience.
- Inconsistent with Call of Pripyat (weight 0.11): The dialogue font doesn’t match the style of Call of Pripyat. The game is a 'scuffed' version of Call of Pripyat, indicating a lower quality experience. The Russian language implementation is poor, with Russian and Polish voice acting mixed together.
- Lost original atmosphere (weight 0.09): Some reviewers express strong negative feelings towards the game, stating that the remakes have lost the original 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R.' atmosphere. The graphics are significantly worse, resembling Minecraft rather than S.T.A.L.K.E.R. despite maxing out settings like visibility and grass distance.
- Misaligned weapon sights (weight 0.09): There are persistent issues with weapon sights being misaligned. Shadows still glitch at the edges of the screen. These visual imperfections detract from the overall experience.
- Inappropriate combat music (weight 0.07): The combat music is considered inappropriate and detracts from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. atmosphere. Reviewers find the music irritating and feel it makes battles feel arcade-like. This suggests a lack of understanding of the original game's tone.
- Worse shooting mechanics (weight 0.06): The shooting mechanics are considered worse than before, with excessive recoil and weak weapon impact. Some reviewers report unbearable input lag during firefights. This negatively impacts the core gameplay experience.
- Overpriced for poor quality (weight 0.06): The enhanced editions are considered overpriced for the quality of the remaster. Some reviewers feel the re-release is terrible and a 'slap in the face' to long-time fans. This suggests that the value proposition is not justified by the improvements offered.
- Outdated item icons (weight 0.05): The item icons look outdated and stand out against the new HUD. The icons have a different, jarring graphic style due to borders and blurriness. This inconsistency detracts from the overall visual presentation.
- Awkward loading screen/animations (weight 0.05): The addition of a rotating pistol on the loading screen feels out of place. The pistol running animation looks awkward and unnatural. These changes detract from the game's atmosphere and immersion.

Gameplay feedback:
- Engaging quests, improved world design (weight 0.06): Call of Pripyat features quest-heavy gameplay with choices and consequences, improved features, and three large, interesting locations. The game focuses on quality over quantity in its world design, offering a richer experience.
- Minor cosmetic/UI additions (weight 0.04): The remaster includes music during combat, a rotating PM pistol during loading screens, and Xbox button prompts in the menu. These are minor cosmetic and UI changes.
- Suggests UI and loot improvements (weight 0.03): Reviewers suggest improvements to loot drops from mutants and the clarity/detail of the map and UI. These changes could enhance the player experience.
- Gameplay remains unchanged (weight 0.03): The gameplay remains unchanged from the original, offering a vanilla experience without mods. This may appeal to purists but could disappoint those seeking new content.
- Minor visual oddities (weight 0.02): Reviewers noted odd visual effects during an emission event and questioned the appearance of a character's face during a tremor. These points are very specific and may be isolated incidents.
- Dynamic A-Life system (weight 0.02): The game features an A-Life system where stalkers conduct their business during the day and retreat to safe zones at night, while mutant activity increases at night. This creates a dynamic and immersive world.
- Reintroduction of needs system (weight 0.02): The game reintroduces a needs system, such as the need to consume food, which was removed in "Clear Sky". This adds a survival element to the gameplay.
- Weapon wheel is welcome (weight 0.02): The addition of a weapon wheel is a welcome improvement. This enhances the player's ability to quickly switch between weapons.

Performance notes:
- Performance significantly worse than original (weight 0.28): The Enhanced Edition suffers from significant performance degradation compared to the original, with lower frame rates and increased power consumption, especially on lower-end hardware like the Steam Deck. Many players report frame rate drops and stutters even on high-end systems, indicating poor optimization. Disabling new features sometimes restores performance.
- Linux compatibility issues (weight 0.03): The game initially had issues running on Linux with Proton, requiring a specific launch option to function correctly. This indicates potential compatibility problems with certain systems.
- Whistling sound in menu (weight 0.03): Some players have reported a whistling sound when opening the menu. This is a minor issue, but it can be annoying.
- Inventory lag during trading (weight 0.02): Players are reporting lag when trading with NPCs after playing for a few hours. This issue specifically affects inventory management and can cause delays of 1-2 seconds.
- Introduces new bugs (weight 0.02): The game introduces new bugs. This point is vague, but it is still important to note that the game is not bug-free.
- Series S limited framerate (weight 0.02): The game lacks a 120 FPS mode on Series S, offering only 1080p at 60 FPS. Some reviewers believe the hardware is capable of higher performance.
- Compressed savegame screenshots (weight 0.02): Savegame screenshots are too compressed. This is a minor issue, but it can be annoying.
- Increased game size (weight 0.02): The game size increased by 5 GB with no clear reason. This is a minor issue, but it can be annoying.

Recommendations:
- Needs significant fixes/patches (weight 0.69): Several reviewers express disappointment with the current state of the enhanced edition, citing technical issues, poor performance, and a lack of polish. They suggest waiting for patches, fixes, or substantial updates before playing, as the game is currently not worth the money or attention. Some reviewers are willing to change their review if the developers address the issues.
- Original games + mods preferred (weight 0.68): Many reviewers recommend sticking with the original STALKER games and using mods instead of purchasing or playing the enhanced edition. They cite a lack of significant improvements, the introduction of new flaws, and the existence of superior community-made content. Some reviewers feel the enhanced edition is a downgrade or a waste of money, while others suggest it may be an attempt to capitalize on the Stalker IP before Stalker 2 releases.
- Good for newcomers/ revisiting (weight 0.38): Some reviewers recommend the enhanced edition, particularly for newcomers to the series or those wanting to revisit the games on a big screen with a gamepad. They find it to be a worthwhile experience, especially Call of Pripyat, and a good fit for portable play on Steam Deck. However, this sentiment is less prevalent than the negative feedback.
- Unreliable/exaggerated reviews exist (weight 0.22): Some reviews contain extreme scores (positive or negative) without providing constructive feedback or specific details. These reviews often use hyperbolic language and may be influenced by external factors such as review bombing or cultural biases. Therefore, they are not reliable indicators of the game's quality.
- Future content expectations (weight 0.03): The game is expected to have new weapon models, additional firearms, optimization, animation improvements, enhanced graphics, a better interface, and new quests in the future.
- Achievements incentivize exploration (weight 0.02): The game features achievements that incentivize players to search extensively.
- Nostalgia with Ukrainian voiceover (weight 0.01): The game is primarily for nostalgia purposes, but notes that few people played with Ukrainian voice acting, implying the target audience might not appreciate that aspect.

Other player notes:
- Free for original owners (weight 0.12): The Enhanced Edition was provided for free to owners of the original game. Some reviewers speculate that those who didn't own the original might be unhappy about having to purchase the enhanced version.
- Updated energy drink texture (weight 0.03): A minor detail is the change of the energy drink's icon and texture to a more modern brand. This is a very specific and minor change.
- Unskippable license agreement (weight 0.02): The game persistently displays the license agreement, which cannot be skipped. This is a minor annoyance that detracts from the user experience.
- Inconsistent language in textures (weight 0.02): The game contains handwritten inscriptions in Russian within the textures, which the reviewer finds inconsistent with the primarily Ukrainian-speaking characters in the game world. This is a minor detail that may affect immersion for some players.
- Backport from console release (weight 0.02): The Enhanced Editions are backports to PC from the console release 'Legends of the Zone'. This provides context for the scope and nature of the enhancements.
- Disappointing HUD design (weight 0.02): The HUD design is considered disappointing, with one reviewer comparing it to a poorly installed mod. This suggests a lack of polish in the user interface.
- Appealing visuals, good draw distance (weight 0.02): The game's visuals are appealing, with draw distance and detail comparable to Stalker 2. This is a positive point, indicating that the game's graphics are well-done.
- Altered color correction (weight 0.02): The color correction has been significantly changed, though the reviewer doesn't consider it inherently better or worse, simply different. This is a subjective change that may appeal to some players more than others.

Emotions:
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