Joining the surprisingly robust genre of sci-fi survival games about the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Chernobylite 2 takes the warped-landscape scrounging of the original and supersizes it, putting the player in the role of a mercenary working for an interdimensional colonial exploitation project.

In the original Chernobylite, we learned that the titular mineral, a byproduct of the Chernobyl disaster, had amazing properties which allowed for expanding human potential, creating horrible monsters, opening doorways to other dimensions, and more.

Chernobylite 2 starts the action in one of these alternate dimensions, where the cheap energy that Chernobylite offers has allowed people to build a peaceful utopia. Of course, that utopia is entirely dependent on the continued access to the aforementioned mineral, and when the dimension’s supply runs low, a project is undertaken to travel to other dimensions and raid them for their resources.

The plot kicks off when one of these raids goes horribly wrong and player’s ship crashes, stranding them and the rest of the crew on a world ravaged by the beasts and anomalies Chernobylite creates. Awakening after a stint in suspended animation, it’s up to the player to figure out exactly what happened to their expedition, and hopefully to find some way home — at least, that’s the part featured in the demo. I’d imagine the actual plot is going to feature all sorts of twists and turns, as well as an eventual indictment of interdimensional strip-mining, although that remains to be seen.

While the first Chernobylite focused as much on base management as it did survival, the demo content suggests that Chernobylite 2 is going to hew more in an action-RPG direction.

As the demo begins, players are encouraged to try out three character archetypes — a melee class that clobbers enemies with swords and focuses on parry-based combat, a ranged class that deals largely in firearms, and a mystical class that uses Chernobylite-influenced technology to warp reality. So, a fighter, archer, and mage, basically.

In addition to the combat I encountered, I ran across a few skill-checks — my high agility allowed me to squeeze through a gap keeping me from having to figure out how to open a door, but I lacked the technical knowhow to repair a turret, forcing me to use valuable resources when bizarre creatures attacked during an ersatz tower-defense sequence.

The simplified scavenging system (which has the player scrounging up types of resources en masse without strict inventory limits) is back, and it’s just as good as it was last time. Base building has also returned, with the player forced to gather enough resources to construct facilities before they can use that same pool of resources to upgrade their equipment. Is it largely a trick to give the player an excuse to head back out into the wasteland and fight monsters for scraps? Absolutely, but it’s a good one.

Chernobylite was an occasionally-punishing survival adventure that, from my point of view, made me focus too much on management when what I really wanted was to explore a genuinely fascinating locale. The developers at Mill 51 seem to have heard that complaint and are expanding on all of the best parts of the first game, giving players more of the adventure elements that worked last time, while now downplaying some of the fiddlier elements.

The glimpse I got of Chernobylite 2 offered a creepy and foreboding world full of terrifying foes that were satisfying to fight, and it was compelling enough that I’m excited to get a look at the larger world that the game will offer.

Buy Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone (Early Access) – PC

The post PREVIEW: Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

Welcome to This Is Not A Review. In these articles we discuss general impressions, ideas and thoughts on any given game, but as the title implies, it’s not a review. Instead, it’s an exercise in offering a quick recommendation (or dismissal) after spending enough time to grasp the ideas and gameplay of a thing without necessarily playing it from A to Z.

The subject of this installment: Pathologic 3: Quarantine, developed by Ice-Pick Lodge and published by HypeTrain Digital.

The original Pathologic is a survival experience that challenged players to withstand twelve days in a small town of the Great Steppe that’s been wracked by a deadly (and possibly sentient) plague. The task is to contend with infection, obviously, but also with the societal decay that such an epidemic invites, all while searching for a possible cure and making difficult choices about whose lives to prioritize along the way. It’s survival horror in perhaps the most literal sense and a singular experiment in storytelling through mechanics and systems.

The premise is unique enough that the series’ trajectory since has been to revisit and expand upon the same setting and themes. Pathologic 2 was essentially a remake of the first entry, and it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played, but it only features one of the original three playable characters. Developer Ice-Pick Lodge originally intended to add the other two as DLC, but that project appears to have grown into yet another standalone entry in the series.

So, later this year we’ll be returning to the Steppe once again in Pathologic 3 to see how the updated engine affects the Bachelor’s side of the story. In the meantime, a free prologue, subtitled Quarantine, serves as an appetizer.

A full Pathologic campaign takes a couple dozen hours to complete and adheres to its own schedule, allowing players to largely travel where they want, when they want, even if it means missing key story events. Quarantine, which takes only a couple of hours of complete, is a much more rigidly guided experience. We’re given pieces of the story as we jump to various points on the timeline – before, after and during the outbreak – and we’re introduced to some new mechanics that differentiate the Bachelor’s path from that of the Haruspex in the previous entry.

Since the Bachelor is a doctor, his methods are more scientific than those of the Haruspex, who divines by examining entrails. As such, the standout sequence of Quarantine has us diagnosing patients by compiling lists of symptoms through both interviews and physical examination, giving us a glimpse of how we might save lives in this particular rendition of Pathologic.

The rest of Quarantine reminds me of the shortform Marble Nest that was released in the lead-up to Pathologic 2. Many of the strengths of the full game are evident here – particularly the script’s sharp wit, bolstered by an exceptional translation – but they feel somewhat muted without the chance to see Pathologic‘s systems evolve and interact on a large scale over an extended period of time. Pathologic being fatiguing is part of the experience, and it’s something we just don’t get in a prologue that can be completed in a single sitting, which is why it’s hard to judge Quarantine as a complete work.

Given that it’s short and free, though, it’s worth a look for anyone interested in Pathologic 3, if only as a vibe check — and if the third entry is successful enough, perhaps we’ll finally be able to play as the Changeling again in a prospective Pathologic 4.

Play Pathologic 3: Quarantine now for free – PC

The post This Is Not A Review – Pathologic 3: Quarantine appeared first on Gamecritics.com.