Immersive & unsettling // Recommended for horror-survival enthusiasts looking for a challenge

*As I am reviewing the core product, and not various third-party mods, this review is based on a purely vanilla playthrough. Please keep that in mind, thank you!

LockeProposal's Big Day Out

+ Many locations and characters from Shadow of Chernobyl make a reappearance in this title+ Equipment and weight limitations do much to force the optimization of one's gear, and make one choose what to discard and what to keep; this leaves the player feeling both challenged and rewarded as they acclimate to the concept+ Artifacts add slight RPG-like stat combinations; these are more challenging to use than in the previous installment, though many will enjoy the increase in challenge+ Very, very strong sense of atmosphere pervading throughout+ Boasts a large and active modding community (many mods do well to address some of the game's various pitfalls)+ Ambient sounds are absolutely fantastic, and keep the player consistently unsettled+ Manner of interaction with various game-world NPCs is largely determined by the player's actions throughout the adventure; can join and help differing factions, netting different rewards (friendly factions will even show up occasionally if you're in a firefight, and they will aid you)+ The game's world and atmosphere complements an intriguing plot; the story, itself, rewards inquisitiveness+ Absolute plethora of side-missions+ The game's environments are vast and very detailed; visuals, too, are crisp and the lighting mechanics excellent+ Fast travel is included (for a fee, unfortunately)+ Finding artifacts, as compared to the game's predecessor, is a new and unique challenge- Lip syncronization is absolutely atrocious- Hunger and thirst has been removed; some may view this as a positive, but as this series tends to attract the purists in the RPG community, most would likely see this as a negative- Bullet mechanics can often be questionable in behavior- Crouching, much like in the first installment, is laughable; one's character lowers by perhaps an inch, and it offers virtually no protection in any given situation