What order must you play the STALKER video games in?

All the unique S.T.A.L.Ok.E.R. video games have lastly made their console debut practically 20 years after the collection started on PC, and with three titles to select from, many newcomers are questioning which order to play them in. Fortunately, there’s a brilliant easy reply for that.

With STALKER 2: Coronary heart of Chornobyl hitting Xbox consoles and PC later this 12 months, now’s the proper time to atone for the STALKER collection to see what all of the fuss is about. These are a number of the most atmospheric shooters in the marketplace, and the closest factor that console gamers have had till now’s the wonderful Metro collection. The video games generally is a bit exhausting to get into due to their problem and studying curve, however a extremely rewarding expertise awaits anybody prepared to courageous the Zone.

Advisable STALKER Taking part in Order

One of the simplest ways to play the STALKER video games is in launch order. You must begin with Shadow of Chernobyl, then transfer on to Clear Sky, after which finish with Name of Pripyat. That is the meant option to expertise the collection, and when you can bounce into any entry and luxuriate in your self, you’ll miss out on some context if you happen to skip sure video games.

I do know some individuals like to expertise franchises in chronological order, and if you happen to’re a kind of individuals, you’ll have a barely totally different taking part in order for the collection. Clear Sky is a prequel to the primary recreation, so if you happen to wished to do a chronological STALKER playthrough, you’d play Clear Sky first, Shadow of Chernobyl second, and Name of Pripyat final.

Regardless of which order you select, it’s not advisable to start out with Name of Pripyat because it’s a sequel and depends on context from each Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky. All three titles come collectively to create one giant story with deep lore, so that you’ll need to begin from the start (whether or not that’s launch order or chronological order).

The place Does STALKER 2 Match on the Timeline?

STALKER 2: Coronary heart of Chornobyl is coming to Xbox Sequence X|S and PC in late 2024, and it’s the primary recreation within the collection to get a quantity added to the title. Clear Sky and Name of Pripyat are technically thought-about standalone expansions to Shadow of Chernobyl and all three titles are part of the identical story arc, in order that they weren’t thought-about to be numbered entries within the collection.

STALKER 2 is being designed as a jumping-on level for the collection and can mark the beginning of an all-new story arc. There shall be some callbacks to the unique trio of video games, although, so developer GSC Sport World has advisable that gamers atone for the story to organize for the brand new recreation. It’ll nonetheless stand by itself if you happen to simply need to dive into the brand new storyline when the sport hits Xbox Sport Go.

When you can take pleasure in Coronary heart of Chornobyl by itself, it’s by no means been simpler to get into the STALKER collection than it’s proper now. The unique trilogy has been caught on PC since launch and most followers advocate utilizing mods and community-developed fixes to get the most effective expertise, however now all three video games can be found on PlayStation and Xbox consoles for these of you who don’t need to tinker with settings. No matter which recreation you resolve to check out, we want you the most effective of luck in your journeys within the Zone.