I want to like this game. I love the stalker theme, but the game play loop is not fun.

Weapons and equipment requires resources to upgrade to new weapons and equipment. These are gathered by clearing mutant nests, npc human camps and sometimes just playing around in the radiation. The amount you gain is based on your contribution to clearing out said Points of Interest. Hundreds are required for upgrades and all are dropped from your inventory upon death. The worst offender for me are the anomalies which most of the time are hard to spot until the last second. Spring board anomalies aren't too bad, but black hole anomalies feel near impossible to spot and if you're not aware of your surroundings %100 of the time will screw you out of everything. While you CAN run back to your backpack to claim your loot, the distances are long and dying a second time seems to remove your original back pack.

If you want a clear example of how infuriating this is, then behold! The Pickle!

A few hundred pickles are required for upgrading a gun. Pickles are dropped in The Factory by npcs of the opposite faction on their side of the map. They CAN be bought in groups at the auction house, but they're hugely expensive and not worth the money. They can also be found through scavenging boxes around the map but have a very low drop chance. So off you go. Into enemy territory to hunt for pickles, where you will die. A lot. Spawn points are low in frequency and in contest with fellow faction members, which increases the time it takes for you to farm, and the narrow winding paths are frequented by enemy faction players who are farming their own resources. And say if you DO get a satisfactory amount, you have to return to base to drop them off. A journey fraught with danger where you can be killed at any time by enemy players camping the map crossing points, or just cheating in general.

If you enjoy masochism with a light at the end of a very, very long booby trapped tunnel where death is almost guaranteed then this is the game for you, if not, then I would suggest avoiding.

I want to like this game. I love the stalker theme, but the game play loop is not fun. Weapons and equipment requires resources to upgrade to new weapons and equipment. These are gathered by clearing mutant nests, npc human camps and sometimes just playing around in the radiation. The amount you gain is based on your contribution to clearing out said Points of Interest. Hundreds are required for upgrades and all are dropped from your inventory upon death. The worst offender for me are the anomalies which most of the time are hard to spot until the last second. Spring board anomalies aren't too bad, but black hole anomalies feel near impossible to spot and if you're not aware of your surroundings %100 of the time will screw you out of everything. While you CAN run back to your backpack to claim your loot, the distances are long and dying a second time seems to remove your original back pack. If you want a clear example of how infuriating this is, then behold! The Pickle! A few hundred pickles are required for upgrading a gun. Pickles are dropped in The Factory by npcs of the opposite faction on their side of the map. They CAN be bought in groups at the auction house, but they're hugely expensive and not worth the money. They can also be found through scavenging boxes around the map but have a very low drop chance. So off you go. Into enemy territory to hunt for pickles, where you will die. A lot. Spawn points are low in frequency and in contest with fellow faction members, which increases the time it takes for you to farm, and the narrow winding paths are frequented by enemy faction players who are farming their own resources. And say if you DO get a satisfactory amount, you have to return to base to drop them off. A journey fraught with danger where you can be killed at any time by enemy players camping the map crossing points, or just cheating in general. If you enjoy masochism with a light at the end of a very, very long booby trapped tunnel where death is almost guaranteed then this is the game for you, if not, then I would suggest avoiding.