Survival horror game Chernobylite from The Farm 51 and All In! Games is ready for you on PlayStation 4. Learn more about it in our Chernobylite review!

 

Survival horror game Chernobylite from The Farm 51 and All In! Games is ready for you on PlayStation 4. The game takes place on a 3D scanned wasteland based on the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. You’ll be playing as Igor, a physicist who used to work at the Chernobyl Power Plant. He’s now back at Pripyat to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, who went missing 30 years ago! You will need to survive as you go up against not only the supernatural creatures in the region but also the hostile military presence in the area.

In order for as many gamers as possible can get a chance to play Chernobylite, the team has included five difficulty options for the game, for the combat, and for the management side of things. These difficulty settings are aptly titled Very Easy, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Insane. Survival will dictate the number of resources you can find in each area. Combat will affect the enemy AI and how many enemies you have to fight in each stage. Management will affect the chance for your companions to be successful in missions and how the base impacts their morale and health. You will need to take on this journey one day at a time. To survive, you’ll have to be stealthy since danger lurks around every corner. You can decide to engage in combat, but this could be risky if you’re not properly prepared.

 

Since this is played from a first-person perspective, you’ll move your characters with the left analog stick and move the camera with the right one. Press in on the left analog stick, and you’ll run. If you press in on the right analog stick, you’ll also activate your flashlight. You can use an item on hand by pressing the L2 button, which will also be used for aiming when you have a weapon. As you aim, press the R2 button to do a melee attack or to shoot. You can use the L1 and R1 buttons to lean left and right as needed and can crouch with the Circle button. The X button is for jumping and for making choices, while the Square button will be for reloading and for interacting. You can check your inventory by pressing the Triangle button.

By pressing on the DualShock 4’s Touchpad, you can enter the build system. By using the scraps and items you find as you explore the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, you’ll be able to craft traps to protect you, weapons to attack enemies, and gear to help you survive. Each recipe will let you know what you’ll be creating and what parts are needed for it. For example, if you want to craft a Portal Generator, which can be used to create stable wormholes, you will need one mechanical part and one electrical part.

 

Usable items will automatically be added to the Quick Access menu, which you can check by pressing up, down, left, or right on the D-Pad. Just use the D-Pad to pick the item that you need and press the X button to use it. Since, at some point, you’re going to have many different items, you can go into the menu and then assign items to the Quick Access menu as needed so that you can be ready for what you’ll be going up against.

If you want to stay alive and make some progress in Chernobylite, then you’re going to have to upgrade your base. Once you’re in building mode, you will be able to build new stuff from the resources you have. The place will be a mess at first, so be sure to highlight all of the scraps and rubbish and press the Triangle button to salvage what you can. Everything you add to your base will improve the conform of life, air quality, radiation security if the location is comfortable enough to sleep and get some proper rest, all while you make sure that there’s enough energy to power everything.

You will have a device that can measure how much radiation there is in the environment so that you can know how dangerous an area is. You can also use it to scan the area by pressing the L2 button. This Enviro Analyzer option will highlight any useful items near you so that you can add them to your inventory. These could include herbs you can use to craft medicine or if you’re lucky, a bottle with anti-radiation medication that can help you survive for a bit longer after being exposed to it.

 

Something that will please trophy hunters is that Chernobylite has a full trophy list, and there are no missable trophies in the game! This is because the game has a resource called Chernobylite, which will allow you to change the story decisions you’ve made when you die. Trophies will unlock naturally as you progress through the game, and you’ll only need to “worry” about recruiting four specific characters to your cause to get all trophies in one go. There’s also no penalty for completing the game on Very Easy, in case you want to speed things up.

Chernobylite was a pleasant surprise on PlayStation 4. I had an idea of what I was getting myself into, but the game surpassed my expectations with a fun gameplay loop as I scavenged for resources, completed missions on my own, sent my companions on their own missions, and managed life back at the base to make sure everyone got to eat a proper meal, the power stayed on, and there were enough beds for all of them to rest. There’s also the benefit of having a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy with no missable trophies, thanks to being able to use Chernobylite – the resource – to change past choices. Chernobylite is out on PlayStation 4 with a $29.99 price, and it offers something different on Sony’s console. There’s DLC on its way – both free and paid – that will extent the game’s life well into 2022, so if you like what you see, there’s going to be more and more for you to enjoy.

Disclaimer
This Chernobylite review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by All In! Games.