S.T.A.L.K.E.R is my favorite FPS franchise, this time they showcased some of the core parts of the gameplay so that's great
for people unaware, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is an open world fps franchise based on Tarkovsky's movie "STALKER" which is based on the novel "Roadside Picnic", the setting is the Chernobyl exclusive zone, you are a "stalker" (basically a mercenary) you roam around the zone investigating it's mysteries, there is a lot more to they story but i don't want to spoil
the S.T.A.L.K.E.R world is unforgiving, you die to a headshot or a granade, you can only carry a limited amount of things (here even a bullet has a specific weight, a couple of boxes of ammo can end taking most space in your backpack) you can bleed to death if you aren't carrying a med kit with you, you can starve to death, there is hostile wildlife and even mutants, all around the world is full of dangers coming both from the living and the land, at the same time the zone has many interesting mysteries that are worth exploring, it has an open world with daytime and weather system, there are side quests from other characters, ability to join factions, repair and modify weapons and armor
and what's better is that the plot only advances if you want to
what's fun is that is very rewarding taking your time, becoming familiar with your surroundings, avoiding danger when possible, trading items or money for weapons and supplies, staying on the good side of other characters, S.T.A.L.K.E.R has probably the most realistic depiction of eastern Europe, it feels like places that actually exists (and most of them actually do!) if you like that survival single player experience this is as good as it gets
the original games are super cheap right now, you can get the 3 of them for like $15 and they give your hundreds if not even thousands of hours of fun (plus they run even on potato pcs) and in the process support GCS studio which is based on Ukraine and has been affected by the war
