The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is the first thing that pops to mind when we think about the latter, but before any of that was going on, that would be the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster that happened on April 26th, 1986. In entertainment, the HBO TV show Chernobyl did a very good job at portraying what happened then, but what of the aftermath of the deadly explosion? That’s where the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games came in to shine in the early 2000s.

2007’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was not experienced developer’s GSC Game World’s first title, but it definitely proved to be their first big hit as the plucky Ukrainian developer managed to release a classic that is considered by many to this day one of the best immersive sims ever released. It was followed by two semi-sequels with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, in 2008 and 2009, respectively, both set in virtually the same location, the 30 km wide Exclusion Zone around the power plant.

Last year, against all the odds brought by the war and the hardships of videogame development in general, STALKER 2 was finally put out, and in order to commemorate that occasion, GSC Game World rewarded those who supported them over the years with a surprise remaster of the first three games in the series. They added in improved textures, more realistic ‘god ray’ lighting, higher resolutions, and gamepad support, all for free to players who owned the original releases on digital platforms.

Now, it’s time for the big boy consoles to see what the fuss was all about and players who have yet to experience what Eastern European game design was all about back in the early 2000s. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games carry the inherent and charming jank that came with titles coming out of that region at the time, they are unfriendly and don’t care about teaching you anything, something dropping you into the fire out of the blue, expecting you to make do with your wits, not holding your hand at any time.

And that’s still very much true in 2025. Booting up and starting these on a PlayStation 5 isn’t that different from doing the same on a PC almost 20 years ago. Surely, the loading times are considerably faster and the graphics look sharper, but everything that made them oh so unique then is present in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy now and it’s what makes this package so special and annoying at the same time. If you’re expecting to play considerably improved versions of these three games, you’ll find this compilation sorely disappointing, but with expectations in check, there’s true gold to be found.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. generally has you assuming the role of a loner type on some far fetched quest – whether it’s to find a rogue agent, investigate the Zone, or simply figure out what the hell is going on, regardless of which of the three you decide to start with, be sure that you’ll be playing a game that leaves you to your devices and allows you to make your own – usually terrible – decisions all by your very self. They don’t push you towards any particular direction, and outside of some very obtuse markers on your map, you can go basically anywhere from minute 0 of playing and usually die horribly doing so. The usual objective: reach the middle of the Zone and its promised riches.

The Exclusion Zone is a harsh environment full of all sorts of danger, like mutants, which can just be a pack of diseased animals to manifestations of the so-called Entity, invisible horrors that tear you apart in seconds. Usually, the telltale sign that bad things are coming is the screaming of your Geiger counter, so if you are not prepared to endure radiation for too long, either with the right equipment or a good ol’ shot of whiskey, you are better off heading in the opposite direction. Lucky for you, there are still some like-minded humans willing to help, for the right price.

Taking quests is paramount in making any headway in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. By talking to friendlies you meet along the way, you’ll build yourself a respectable list of tasks to partake right away in your post-nuclear disaster adventure, which is where the meat of these games lies. You’ll run into better gear and a whole lot of danger, but the most valuable currency you’ll accrue will be knowledge, on how to survive, what you’ll potentially come across, but most importantly, how to deal with the quirks of playing an entry in S.T.A.L.K.E.R..

Nearly every single aspect of these is fiddly at best, even just pointing a gun and shooting. Inventory management is a mess, since you can easily use up valuable items accidentally, throw away ammo instead of taking it for yourself, or even sell things for no return if you’re not careful. The developers obviously tried to improve upon these issues in later titles, but it remains a mess, so much so that none of it was looked into for Legends of the Zone in any way. Outside of being able to quickly access items in the newest entry in the collection wth your directional pad, Call of Pripyat, they’re basically the same they’ve ever been.

I talked about how bad getting used to dealing with guns can be, and that’s true for the initial peashooter that you carry and carries all throughout your arsenal. Carefully aiming is essential as shooting from your hip is a guaranteed way to run out bullets with the enemy still standing in front of you, and even being expedient with your aiming won’t make encounters any easier. Each and every one of them can turn into chaos at the drop of a dime since the opposition behaves erratically and unpredictably – a good and a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Thankfully, you can pretty much save your game at any time, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you do so before getting into the thick of it if you can since autosaves can’t really be trusted.

By far the best part about playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is the only new addition to speak of: the improved visuals. Bodies of water in particular now have a sheen to them that makes them bounce off the equally impressive new lighting, both a good counter to the less than stellar character models, who are surely textured much better, but still flap their mouths and move like dolls. Eh, you can’t have everything, I guess! Then again, the good outweigh the bad in this regard, and knowing this would not have happened if not for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 coming out and how rare old games like these get a second life, I can overlook the technical limitations knowing an entirely new generation of players will get to enjoy and suffer through what I did decades ago.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is a good pickup for those who are curious as to what all the fuss is about the franchise and how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 came to be after being so long in development. These are the foundation upon what development outside the Japan-USA norm was built upon, and if it weren’t for the efforts of GSC Game World and a handful of other similar studios like CD Projekt Red, you would not be seeing videogames as they are today. Yeah, the games in this collection can be hard to approach and often don’t seem like they want you to be playing them, but the effort is worth it and there’s plenty of value to dig out for sure.

Graphics: 8.0 The overall look and feel of all three games remains the same, only with a few modern tweaks. They won’t fool anyone into thinking they are new, as with most remasters.	Gameplay: 7.0 You should know what you’re getting into with these. Bonafide classics to be sure, incredibly unfriendly and positively hard to get into if you don’t have the patience to deal with their shit. Still, amazing experiences can be had with the right mindset.
Sound: 3.0 Repetitive sound effects, very limited and lacking in quality voice acting, and basically the same theme music across all games. But you can play in Russian at least, if you want, which is authentic, I guess? Good luck reading those tiny subtitles that CAN’T BE TWEAKED TO LOOK ANY BIGGER.	Fun Factor: 6.0 Your mileage will vary. Wildly. They’re three games that can be very hard to get into, but that are very unique in their own right, potential deal-breakers right away to most instant gratification-focused players these days. Control your expectations and take your time if you plan on diving in.
Final Verdict: 6.5

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy was provided by the publisher.