S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Enhanced Edition
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Enhanced Edition
Game
Game2025
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition
Developer GSC Game World
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl, the first chapter of the Legends of the Zone Trilogy, which started it all. From the Steam store page
384 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
188 positive · 76 negative
95% range 65–76%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 188 | 76 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 16 | 1 | 73 |
| Lemmy * | 3 | 0 | 25 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
1,754 of 2,798 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
70% recommend · 173 yes, 73 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 246 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (5,536 of 8,814 positive).
Players praise the enhanced edition for its atmosphere and storytelling, recommending it for newcomers. [1][2][3] Some reviewers criticize the removal of Russian language and Soviet symbols as political censorship. [4][5][6] Several players note the game runs smoothly with fewer bugs than the original. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
- No Russian language. I know that our countries are at war right now, but we can't ignore that STALKER has always been a multicultural game with post-soviet settting where language played a key role in atmosphere and authenticity. Removal of Russian language feels like a political decision. I would leave the language as an option in Steam game settings, it wouldn't hurt anyone. - Removal of Soviet era symbolics. …
- [1]
Most of the negative reviews are from Russian users. This behavior is product of GSC striking an Indie Game which directly used Stalker assets. It is also implied that the indie game main dev beeing pro-Ukraine invasion may be another reason. About the game: amazing atmosphere and storytelling. I recommend not rushing the main story. :). It is also kinda buggy, but nothing that affects the experience. Good hunting, …
- [2]
Verdict ✅ Recommended A classic atmospheric FPS that still works surprisingly well today, especially in this Enhanced Edition. My history with the game I never fully finished the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl back in the day. With the Enhanced Edition, I finally completed the game from start to finish. It took me 8.6 hours, and I enjoyed the whole experience. I also used the Steam Workshop to enable …
- [3]
I really like the original version of Shadow of Chernobyl and I understand people's issues with this release, but I think this is a fine release and the version that newcomers should play. If you want to mod the original game, then go play the original game. If you're not into modding games, then this version is perfectly fine. If had to describe this release in one word, it would be "inoffensive". It doesn't fix a …
- [7]
Having played the original as a kid and coming back to this version, I have had an awesome experience! I haven't run into any bugs and overall the playthrough has been really smooth. Bonus points because I was given this game for owning the old one. 9.5/10
Summarised from 34 of the 346 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition talk about great atmosphere and storytelling; those who didn't talk about censorship of Russian language and symbols. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 384 · most liked firstFollow and repost for a chance to win 1 of 5 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl - Ultimate Edition (Steam) codes courtesy of @gamesplanet.bsky.social (giveaway ends Nov 27 - 6 PM PT. Eligible wolrdwide except Russia/Belarus) the game is also 20% off at Gamesplanet w/ code STALKER buff.ly/3YL63fd
neutral · AI labelView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl may one day be a great game, but right now it's simply not ready for launch. Poor performance, myriad bugs and numerous under-baked and imbalanced design elements terminally wound the experience. My review: youtu.be/BRCLRAJkqjg?...
negative · AI labelView post →"To everyone who made today possible." - the developers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 dedicated the game to all the military who have defended and are defending Ukraine.
neutral · AI labelView post →Today, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: The Heart of Chornobyl by Ukraine’s GSC Game World is out! Developed during the war, with team members fighting (two sadly killed), it’s banned in Russia, labeled “terrorist support.” Did you play the original & are you planning to play the new game?
neutral · AI labelView post →More than two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion delayed its release and upended its developers’ lives, Ukraine’s "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2" — one of the most anticipated video games of the year — was released on Nov. 20.
neutral · AI labelView post →- No Russian language. I know that our countries are at war right now, but we can't ignore that STALKER has always been a multicultural game with post-soviet settting where language played a key role in atmosphere and authenticity. Removal of Russian language feels like a political decision. I would leave the language as an option in Steam game settings, it wouldn't hurt anyone. - Removal of Soviet era symbolics. STALKER universe is deeply rooted in the late soviet setting. Erasing these…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's going to be bad tomorrow when an entire generation of fans experiences for the first time what playing a S.T.A.L.K.E.R game at launch is like.
neutral · AI labelView post →It’s here! 🎮 After 10+ years of waiting, the legendary Ukrainian game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is finally out!
neutral · AI labelView post →Dear Nu-GSC The clown’s cocaine stash must be really damn good if it gave you such a trip that you think you are Nintendo and you invented Roadside Picnic, nuclear disasters and Soviet brutalism. Imagine being so butthurt you shut down some random dude's small indie game because you lack the balls to go against bigger studios that have also made Chernobyl-related games (they'll just laugh at you). For the record – your "Enhanced" editions are censored garbage and your sequel is straight up…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Once thought to be Russian, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 now proudly showcases its Ukrainian roots, with GSC Game World actively supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 launches November 20 at 18:00 Kyiv time on PC and Xbox, including Game Pass. (1/9)
neutral · AI labelView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is now on Nvidia’s GeForce Now service. Nvidia says it’s also working with Xbox Game Studios to bring Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 to GeForce Now soon
neutral · AI labelView post →Stalkers! We see that many players have already rated our game, and we are truly grateful for that. If you think the Zone truly deserves this — nominate S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl for Steam Awards! You could vote on Steam: store.steampowered.com/news/app/164...
neutral · AI labelView post →i got this game free since i had the originals. reguardless, play the originals unless you want to play with controller. they removed the ability to name saves, stability is only marginally better, and of course all the censoring of the game's and area's past. im mad at russia too, but denying the past is idiotic.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dont support devs that bully indie devs for making a better version of your game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Xbox Partner Preview announced for March 26th - 10 AM PT news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/0... -Stranger Than Heaven -S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl -The Expanse: Osiris Reborn -"plus brand-new reveals, world premieres and Xbox Game Pass announcements."
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a review for the ENHANCED EDITIONS!! NOT THE ORIGINAL GAMES If you purchase the enhanced editions you will get the originals along with them, so if you want to buy the stalker games wait for a sale because they increased the prices. (make sure to play the originals as your first experience since the stalker games are wonderful games with good gameplay and story.) GSC Game World did not at all enhance the stalker games as the poorly added graphical changes barely add anything to the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC / GSC Game World / 2007)
neutral · AI labelView post →Bought the OG Stalker Trilogy, got the remasters for free. Compared to the OG Stalkers, this was a bad move from GSC. Removed content, censorship and so on, they literally did a remaster just to remove the russian/soviet related content due to the war, there were no fix to bugs Anomalies, got hard locked from achievements and had to play a different playthrough. Sure, some might say that's the STALKER experience, and I completely agree with them, it's always funny when something…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Next game is Chernobylite! This game is an FPS roguelite that gives off some S.T.A.L.K.E.R. vibes! tbh I had seen a little bit of it while it was in early access, but that's all I remember fr lmao I think it'll be cool tho! I dig S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro vibes, so I think this'll be a fun game!
neutral · AI labelView post →The only viable reason to play the enhanced edition is for the steam achievements. Otherwise, if you're not an ass backward with priorities and or an achievement ♥♥♥♥♥, you can get the original on steam here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4500/STALKER_Shadow_of_Chernobyl/
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Most of the negative reviews are from Russian users. This behavior is product of GSC striking an Indie Game which directly used Stalker assets. It is also implied that the indie game main dev beeing pro-Ukraine invasion may be another reason. About the game: amazing atmosphere and storytelling. I recommend not rushing the main story. :). It is also kinda buggy, but nothing that affects the experience. Good hunting, STALKER!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazingly classic horror FPS. However, it deeply frustrates me that most (if not all) of the in-game textures/cutscenes for all 3 Stalker games were just enhanced through AI. It’s incredibly lazy, and there are STILL major bugs and glitches that can prohibit you from completing missions and progressing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Intro from "WarCraft 2000: Nuclear Epidemic", a 1998 real time strategy game developed by Ukrainian company GSC Game World who eventually became known for their S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Cossacks game series. #UkrainianVideogames 🇺🇦
neutral · AI labelView post →⚡ S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl takes the top spot on Steam’s paid game charts just days before its highly anticipated release.
neutral · AI labelView post →The developers of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. helped purchase 100 cargo vans for border guards 💙💛
neutral · AI labelView post →Today I've mostly been playing STALKER 2, which is - two years after its initial release - finally the game that it should have been. No shade on the developers at all. A game of this scope is herculean effort, and they did it in an active warzone. The Ultimate edition is ~£50/$60 right now.
positive · AI labelView post →'S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl' already sold 1M copies (and much more players on Game Pass).
neutral · AI labelView post →It's not really an enhanced game, it's not complete. It has been censored and injected with particular politics. Censorship and trying to rewrite history or blur it isn't a good practice for any reason.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game designer of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Volodymyr Yezhov, was killed in action near Bakhmut in 2022 after volunteering to fight. He worked on ‘Cossacks 2’ and ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky’. His talent lives on in a game dedicated to Ukraine’s defenders. Heroes never die. 🇺🇦 #Ukraine #STALKER2
neutral · AI labelView post →ATTENTION S.T.A.L.K.E.R. FANS We just dropped THE STALKER FILES on our game history archive. Over 90 minutes of interviews, event b-roll & footage from inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone filmed in 2006, before the game was released. All in HD. 💙💛 www.youtube.com/@NoclipArchive
neutral · AI labelView post →Some hidden gem demos and games I've found on Steam (2025). I tend to look around Steam for various games and demos that barely anyone knows about. Some of them are actually pretty good and innovative, so I'll list them here. # Demos **The Oversight Bureau** [Link](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4005360/The_Oversight_Bureau__Demo/) There are some major Severance vibes with this one. The premise is this: For reasons unclear, you are a subject in a rehabilitation program, designed to help…
neutral · AI labelView post →Devs removed soviet symbols from the Zone and added Ukraine ones. If I knew about it earlier I wouldn't waste my time. I guess someone after Chernobyl incident decided they should decommunize the Zone and ukrainize it XD!!! It makes no sense. In reality the Zone is a rotting soviet capsule and should have stayed that way in game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Hands On Preview and my interview with Igor Dovgoteles, Cinematics Team Lead GSC Game World 4K version: youtu.be/HT02znYZwVk
neutral · AI labelView post →Check out this beautiful official page for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly prepared by GSC Game World! 👉 www.stalker-game.com/en/modding/a... There you’ll find instructions for this incredible mod, along with its description, a showcase video, and FAQs. Ready to join the hunt, Stalker?
neutral · AI labelView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl is a great game. However, this Enhanced version is not. It is way too buggy. It could have been great if the devs spent a bit more time working on it. Just get your hands on the original version and add the Zone Reclamation Project (ZRP) mod for a bug-free vanilla playthrough.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a bad product. More bugs than OG games, more expensive and with missing content. Avoid!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →>enhanced edition >somehow has more bugs than the original release nearly 20 years ago something something "too stupid to boil water"
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a shame that the original version of the game has been unlisted because of this one. It's not altogether terrible but it's definitely not the ideal way to experience the game. The original is one of my top 10 of all time, and this is essentially the same game, just with a few baffling changes that make it slightly worse. The "enhanced" graphics actually just make it look like it has a weird filter on it and things in the distance look blurry. They have, for some reason, removed all the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Glad more people can experience this gem now that it actually works out of the box on modern systems, but they really did the bare minimum not fixing bugs and adding some QOL from the later installments. I believe it also costs more now (Given for free to owners of the originals) and mods have always provided a much better "enhanced" version anyways. As lazy as it is, SoC is still a pretty good game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stalker (Сталкер) (1979): Tarkovsky's classic will air on TCM Sunday Oct 26. [Andrei Tarkovsky's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tarkovsky) haunting classic [Stalker](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1398) (Сталкер) (1979) is a must-see for cinephiles. If you've played the video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R., you already have a sense of the 'feel' of this film as both are based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's 1972 novel Roadside Picnic. Those two also wrote the screen play, which diverges…
neutral · AI labelView post →'S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl' has gone Gold. November 20th on Xbox Series and PC. Also Game Pass.
neutral · AI labelView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy gets a big upgrade and Steam Deck improvements.
neutral · AI labelView post →Ukrainian developers GSC Game World have published a 90-minute documentary about developing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 while under attack from Russia. Microsoft helped make the documentary www.youtube.com/watch?v=28CI...
neutral · AI labelView post →Enhanced Edition means they quickly AI upscaled the textures and that's it. The game is still full of bugs, you still get shot through walls, good luck looting the enemy that just despawned in front of you...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For those curious about which distribution because Linux alone does not mean much, from the description: ``` Windows 11 vs CachyOS gaming benchmark on 8GB RAM + RX 6650 XT 📽️ Captured with Elgato HD60 X (no FPS loss) 🖥️ Test Bench: ○ CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X (Stock) ○ MB: GIGABYTE X570 AUROS ELITE ○ RAM: 1x8GB DDR4 3600MHz CL14 ○ Cooler: HYPER 212 AIR COOLER ○ NVMe: 120GB NVME, 2TB NVME ○ PSU: Corsair RM1000X ○ OS: CachyOS ○ GPU 1: GIGABYTE RX 6650 XT 8GB GDDR6 GAMING OC ○ Drivers: AMD…
neutral · AI labelView post →As a Ukrainian I think the censorship is utterly uncalled for and ruins the authentic stalker experience. That if I'm not mistaken can be fixed with a workshop mod, although I haven't looked into it. Outside of that I think this isn't a horrible Enhanced edition. It has a few nice quality of life changes like the sprinting not being stuck on toggle mode. that annoyed me in the original, that alone made me want to play this over the older game. Have experienced less crashes here as well but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition (2025) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3497054545 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3493555385 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3494666796 ★★★★☆
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A message from the GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2) Team.
neutral · AI labelView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC / GSC Game World / 2007) - packaging
neutral · AI labelView post →What a scam of a game, "enhanced" my ass. You know what's funny, they added, yes added, more earrape flashbang sounds. If you fall and I had to check with the og game, from just slight elevation you receive a flashbang earrape sound and a tick of bleed, meanwhile I had to jump off a roof in the og and all I got was a grunt and a touch of damage. The cutscenes got subtitles and they are half assed, I mean, they probably just used ai, instead of redoing the lines, nah. Otherwise it would've…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We just rolled out a new patch for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 with over 1700 improvements, including bug fixes for quests, AI shooting accuracy adjustments, shadows from the player's flashlight, and a lot more! store.steampowered.com/news/app/164...
neutral · AI labelView post →Combined with Shadow Extension Pack and R.E.A.L. mods from the Workshop it's easily the most enjoyable version of Shadow of Chornobyl to play with a gamepad or on a handheld.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only played for the achievements, game looks a bit better but they removed soviet images and signs and by doing that it seems that it was ukraine's fault for the explosion and not the USSR's. Also used AI to make their "improvements" and removed classic russian voices. In general play the original, it is much better
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 already sold over 1M copies, despite being on Game Pass day 1. Huge success!
neutral · AI labelView post →Ooh, big STALKER 2 patch, addressing the main complaint currently (enemies spawn/despawn well within sniper/binocular range) as well as a ton of other bugfixes. And there's still a second expansion and online multiplayer to come.
neutral · AI labelView post →GSC Game World published a roadmap for 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl'. Big updates will now release every quarter.
neutral · AI labelView post →I would really like to know how this game was enhanced, because it looks worse than the original, includes all the bugs of the original, and has even more bugs on top of it. This version crashes a truly incredible amount, making even spamming quick save a fruitless endeavour because of how many times the game will simply die when you loot, trade, switch zones, or explode anything. For fun, I kept track of how many crashes I had before finally giving up. In 8 hours of playtime, I crashed 47…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got to the part where i need to go to the barkeeper and drop off missions for the first time and can not interact with barkeeper. it is a known bug from the base addition that hard locks you from moving forward in the game. Completely unacceptable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey guys, we just released the next major patch for S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 that includes Night Vision goggles, stealth gameplay improvements, offset aiming, and a lot more! Read full patch notes here - store.steampowered.com/news/app/164... youtu.be/0naul_67_Jw
neutral · AI labelView post →RUSSIANS ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE... ...through a Ukrainian game!!! The Ukrainian game 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R,' based around Chornobyl, has become the top selling game in Russia... (1/)
neutral · AI labelView post →
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