Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone Has That Spark of Something Really Cool

I'll admit, I passed over Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone at first. It looked pretty cool in trailers and such, but its a lot of money and it's early access? Reviews are hitting as "Mixed" on Steam? GLHF but I'll wait for 1.0 with crossed fingers.

I was wrong to judge so harshly. Granted, things that are mentioned ad nauseam in those user reviews are warranted - the AI voice work is garbage, and I can't knock players who fell for the first game lamenting the change in tone of the follow up - but taken for what it is currently crossed with a dev team that is hardcore listening and acting upon criticism, this indie RPG is already punching above its weight.

I can't speak to the first game, but the beginning of this one definitely throws you in the deep end lore wise. There's a lot of random bits of info and (presumed) returning characters loaded up at first, but it thankfully isn't all that important to follow along - you'll work it out later. The opening is, particularly for new players, too long however. There's an apartment, a training camp, some crystal corridors, a small otherworldly section, a space ship, a linear path within the main world and finally a base building tutorial. It all matters for the story - which is interesting! - but the game could start when your capsule drops to the ground and fold the rest into the world and be fine. Once you hit here, however, you finally enter the open world, and the play loop begins.

Being focused on Chornobyl, it is of course emulating S.T.A.L.K.E.R. somewhat, however I find the gameplay to be more of a blend of first person Fallout and more cult classic Eurojank games, like Elex. The sense of freedom and opportunity for discovery is excellent. There's enough systems and things to manage to keep you going - limited ammo, scrounging for materials for crafting / base upgrading, gear to scavenge - to keep you hooked for hours on end. Which is where the higher price for early access comes in - there is a lot of game here to dig into.

The world is massive on its own, with dozens of hours worth of "what's over there?" to keep you having a good time. There's 3 full fledged factions to meet and deal with as a part of the main story. There's the aforementioned base building which is a neat core mechanic, giving reason and joy to finding bottles of detergent and bits of radioactive material out in the Zone. This is one of the sticking points of some reviews, unhappy about the looting aspects of the game - but for me and I suspect many other people, it's a key ingredient to making the world feel worth exploring.

The reason I decided to take a second look at this one is because of their "Early access week 1 update" post. Having now experienced it first hand, I agree that the AI voice work currently in the game is jarring, and it's very clear in that post that the devs have heard this and are taking steps to resolve it. It also is heartening to see that players don't want that crap in their games either. It's not a substitute for real human work, it's just not. It's a cut corner that rightfully should be called out and fixed. You are better off just putting no voice work at all over that.

Where a week ago I was sad to call this one a miss, but the team have already proven that the early access release was both justified and worthwhile here. Even though the title should really read "Chornobylite" instead, this RPG is definitely one to sit up there as a serious one to pay attention to. 

With S.T.A.LK.E.R. 2 hitting last year and the upcoming Atomfall looking like it could be a banger, we're a bit spoiled for choice among this specific niche. Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone deserves to sit alongside those them head and shoulders already, and with improvements over the early access period, it could even surpass them.