S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy: Return to the Zone

Fifteen years have passed between the upcoming release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: The Heart of Chornobyl and the previous installment of the series, "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: The Call of Pripyat", fifteen years have passed. During this time, a new generation of players has grown up who, seeing the number "2" in the title of the sequel, may be interested in the previous games in the series.

It is not surprising that before the release of the sequel, GSC Game World decided that it would be appropriate to port the classic trilogy to modern consoles. PlayStation and Xbox owners were able to unravel the secrets of the Zone in March 2024, and on October 31, 2024, this opportunity appeared on Nintendo Switch.

Return to the Zone

It is worth noting right away that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is not a remake or remaster, but a console port. The name may be a little confusing, but it's just a marketing package for the original trilogy for the convenience of buying all the parts together. However, it is possible to buy each of the games separately.

GSC Game World chose the Polish studio Mataboo to port the games, and if their task was to port the game as close to the original versions as possible, then we can say that Mataboo did an excellent job. Of course, I didn't manage to see every corner and test all the interactions, but judging by the reviews, there are almost no bugs in the ports.

However, if we take a broader view, some questions arise.

First, there are no accessibility settings. I understand that they didn't exist in the original games, but for console players who play on TV, the ability to change the text size would be very useful. In handheld mode, there are no problems with readability, but as soon as you switch to the big screen, the text of dialogs seems too small.

Second, there are issues with the management. The control scheme can't be changed, so let's assume that it is the standard for console versions. However, the ability to quickly save the game would also be nice, because auto-saves are very rare, and you don't really want to spend an hour shooting mutant dogs every time. Therefore, you have to open the main menu of the game and save manually, which is simply inconvenient.

About mutant dogs, by the way. You can say what you want about bandits or snorkels, but blind dogs are the nastiest enemy in the game. Not only do you need to put a clip of ammunition in each of them, but you can't even aim properly. And I consider myself a fairly skilled console shooter, but in the console versions of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., aiming is a bit difficult. Even with the maximum level of aiming assistance, you have to use the good old tactics: "pull back and shoot back".

I also had the opportunity to compare how Clear Sky looks on a personal computer and on the Nintendo Switch, and everything is great. If you look at the screenshots with the same resolution (and the Switch's screen displays 1280 by 720 pixels), you won't notice much difference. Yes, in the pictures below, the vegetation in the background looks sharper on the PC, but in the game, and even more so in the dynamics, it's almost invisible. The only advantage of a PC is that the resolution can be increased and the frame rate is generally higher. The Switch versions run at 30, but at least there are no noticeable drops.

The same old story

GSC Game World decided not to change some of the controversial aspects of the games that were created in completely different times. Despite the fact that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is set in Ukraine, the series contains a lot of Russian, or rather Soviet, elements. Starting with the fact that the developers were inspired by the book of the same name by the Soviet (and I consider them Soviet) writers Strugatsky brothers, and ending with the dominance of Russian surnames and nicknames in the stalkers, dialogues, and the general mood of the game. S.T.A.L.K.E.R., although created in Ukraine, contained little purely Ukrainian - even Chornobyl (which, by the way, was called "Chernobyl" for a long time) was presented with a Soviet accent.

This can be treated differently, but GSC Game World honestly warns the player at the beginning of each game with a separate message. After all, this is a part of our history, just like the Soviet era. We cannot simply throw it out the window, but we should not glorify it either.

Попередження на початку кожної з ігор трилогії

In the meantime, Sidorovich greets us with a familiar dialog, the Clear Sky base remains hidden among the swamps, and Major Degtyarev is looking for the missing helicopters.

Today, the classic parts of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. are interesting to play through, if only to appreciate how much the games have changed in just fifteen years.

Creating three games of this scale in such a short period of time (despite all the postponements of the first part, which is a really short period of time for projects of this size) is already an achievement. And although Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat are technically considered add-ons, they have as many hours of playtime as Shadow of Chernobyl. It is clear that each time GSC Game World tried to add something new and rethink what S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is all about. Some experiments were not very successful, such as the endless faction wars in Clear Sky, but attempts to experiment and update the formula are becoming less frequent.

The atmosphere and the Zone with its secrets have always remained unchanged. You must admit that there is something close to us, Ukrainians, in these destroyed houses, broken roads and gray skies overhead. Returning to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is like returning in the middle of November to your hometown or village where you were born. Everything is gray and unfriendly, but still native. Although the Zone hasn't changed since 2009, we have. And it's worth playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. now if only to see these changes in yourself.

Do you need S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on Nintendo Switch? Yes and no. It all depends on which platform you prefer to play on and what devices you have. If you're a purely console player, the Switch version is worth considering, if only because it provides a great gaming experience in handheld mode. However, if you have a personal computer, I would still recommend the PC version.