If you have played the previous installments you will feel nostalgic playing this one. Heart of Chornobyl builds nicely on it's predecessors legacy, keeping what made them unique. You'll feel that you have never left the Zone. Still, this game needs a lot of work, performance isn't the best, there are some UI and gameplay tweaks needed.

Pros:
+ old stalker games' mechanics
+ great atmosphere
+ unforgiving wildlife and enemies
+ good sounds
+ no loading, seamless open world
+ which is huge
+ modding
+ can look great, but

Cons:
- shader compile after starting up the game every time
- texture popping
- without dlss and framegen means sub 60fps with any combination of settings
- default input layout is horrible
- input binding is painful
- some input actions block others, some are weird (you cannot end toggle aim with sprinting, you have to stop aimin to be allowed to sprint; you can jump while crouching... Ok, but why?)
- Fast travel exists but only after a while and not anywhere
- tanky mutants

8/10 this is cure for an old itch

If you have played the previous installments you will feel nostalgic playing this one. Heart of Chornobyl builds nicely on it's predecessors legacy, keeping what made them unique. You'll feel that you have never left the Zone. Still, this game needs a lot of work, performance isn't the best, there are some UI and gameplay tweaks needed. Pros: + old stalker games' mechanics + great atmosphere + unforgiving wildlife and enemies + good sounds + no loading, seamless open world + which is huge + modding + can look great, but Cons: - shader compile after starting up the game every time - texture popping - without dlss and framegen means sub 60fps with any combination of settings - default input layout is horrible - input binding is painful - some input actions block others, some are weird (you cannot end toggle aim with sprinting, you have to stop aimin to be allowed to sprint; you can jump while crouching... Ok, but why?) - Fast travel exists but only after a while and not anywhere - tanky mutants 8/10 this is cure for an old itch