Finalizing the best stalker game from the three of them that are available currently can be a little tricky as we have to consider a lot of different aspects. First of all there is the story which should make some sense and should encourage you to investigate events or basically just continue playing. The other main feature which determines a good game is the gaming mechanics and controls. Of course, it also helps if the graphics and visuals are riveting. So this series, being of the survival horror genre should incorporate visuals and effects which send a chill down your spine. Now taking these few factors into consideration, we derived the most impressive one and mentioned it below followed by the ones coming in second and third place.
1. Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl
This game was the first title that introduced the franchise to PC gamers. In the beginning you will be playing as an unnamed character or ‘Stalker’, who has lost his memory and doesn’t know who he is. But what this pick basically does is not only introducing the character, but it also gives a basic idea of the setting and why your character is out here in the first place. Following the nuclear disaster that happened in Chernobyl, scientists and other military personnel were sent to do research to try and see if the area could be habitable. After the initial attempts were made there was suddenly another nuclear explosion which resulted in the mutation of the personnel and turned them into mindless zombies.
Also certain monstrous beasts started appearing as a result of the mutation which are extremely hostile and attack on sight. Henceforth the area was called ‘The Zone’ or the Zone of alienation. Your job now is to traverse this treacherous environment and gather critical scientific data to explain the various anomalies that are taking place at different locations of ‘The Zone’. The great story mode campaign will give you a lot of exciting missions to complete along with a certain number of side quests. The developers from GSC Game World have created a believable eerie nuclear-war-aftermath kind of environment out here. They have also included missions which are carried out in the dark which adds to the thrill of playing Shadow of Chernobyl.
2. Stalker: Call of Pripyat
The game which we can say almost comes close to Shadow of Chernobyl is Call of Pripyat. This one wound up second on our ranking list only because of the lack of a captivating storyline although it does follow the previous story’s events. We can give you a small gist of the story in order to avoid spoilers. Here you will be investigating the crash sites of some helicopters in certain areas of ‘The Zone’ and try to figure out how they went down. If you are one of those players who have played the first two installments, you will immediately notice the vast map that is featured in Call of Pripyat. This shows the extent to which you will have to travel and explore when you are pursuing a mission.
The developers have taken the environmental design up a notch in this pick and provided you with a lot of dangerous weather conditions or emissions, which depict the serious alterations that have taken place to the weather as a result of the nuclear catastrophes. The violent nature of the weather will force your character to take cover until the storm has past and then carry on with the mission. The graphical enhancements are also seen in the gameplay mechanics which greatly improves your gaming experience even more. Other elements that make this pick amazing to play are the introduction of newer and smarter enemies that are very challenging to take down. Plus there are many new weapons and upgrades that you can avail off along with powerful artifacts that can enhance your characters abilities.
3. Stalker: Clear Sky
Falling at the end of our lineup is Clear Sky. The major reasons that Clear Sky landed up last is because the story is pretty monotonous providing little inspiration for you to carry out missions. The missions itself are extremely challenging especially with the faction wars feature. Your opponents are able to take you down with precise shots and grenades which can kill you before you can even get a chance to do some serious damage. In addition to this there are even some awful bugs and glitches in this pick which tends to put you off playing, especially if you are in the midst of an interested part of your mission.
But there are also a few redeeming features of Clear Sky which may still make it worth a try for any hardcore FPS fan. The graphics seen in this one are very impressive and the design of the overall environment is quite realistic. The designers have also put a lot of effort in the creation of the various kinds of monsters and mutated animals which have different approaches and styles when they attack you. So what we are trying to say is that Stalker: Clear Sky is still fun to play if you consider these attributes, but you need to have a lot of patience to put up with the glitches. You check out the patches that were released by the developer to get a smoother gameplay.
Conclusion:
We hope that our above ranking of the best stalker game will give you some clarity on which one you should play and which one you can ignore. However if you are a true fan of the horror genre and love killing swarms of zombies or other mutated creatures, then you can go ahead and try them all out. But if you want to try out just one of them then we highly recommend that you start with the first i.e. Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl.