It’s an authentic and impressive take on the first game. New weapons and ways of customising and repairing them have been added, and better vehicles and inventory management grow on the original game like extra limbs. The mechanics aren’t secondary by any means. It’s probably the best story mod there is. Old Good Stalker remastered is rammed with things like that: new quests that play on the bleakness of the world, using every scrap of old ground to its advantage to tell tales. A quick quest out there has you clearing out one of the houses of bones in hope of releasing a spirit. But even the opening village has a new twist. You’ll start off the same way: with Sidorovich in his bunker drooling over the prospect of a new Stalker for his cadre. It’s recognisable as the original game, but adds new ways of playing, over 160 weapons, and a huge amount of side-quests alongside the hunt for Strelok. Old Good Stalker Remastered is a more traditionally focused mod for Stalker: Shadow Of Chernobyl. If you’re in the mood for a better, OG Stalker, then this is the one to grab. I encourage you to share your own favourites in the comment section below, because Stalker is as personal as an old pair of pants, and seasoned players all have their own ideas about what’s “best”. New guns or better clouds won’t cut it, but an overhauled animation system… that’s something I can get behind? I’ve managed to cut my answers down to just five new ways of playing Stalker.

I want something that brings new life to Stalker. Stalker is tricky enough to run without multiple mods that could potentially clash and crash. Misery requires Call Of Pripyat installed, but the mod has an installer that will take care of the rest. That means you should have no trouble installing them, even if they can get a bit crashy. Most of these technically aren’t mods, but instead are standalone games, built on the various X-Ray engines out there. Every release has its own style, aided by the developer’s willingness to let modders use their assets and engine to a remarkable degree. The three games - Shadow Of Chernobyl, Clear Sky and Call Of Pripyat - have all kinds of mods, and those mods have their own mods. I’ve never known a game to be quite as autopsied by its own fans as the Stalker series (or, technically S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but who has the time).

There’s clearly more than one answer to that. On every PC gaming forum, there’s a question that pops up without fail: “Now that I’ve completed Stalker, how should I replay it?” This time, Craig is creeping carefully through the Stalker series to bring you the best of the best. Every other Monday, we give you a reason to dust off one of your old games and dive into its mods with Modder Superior.

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