The ever-growing list of 2025 remasters adds the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy to its ranks, and for console players, it's a genuinely worthwhile experience.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Legends of the Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition, I can confirm two things for PS5 and Xbox players : $40 is incredibly good value for three games — even picking your favorite for $20 is a solid investment — and;trilogy does the bare minimum, and that’s perfectly fine, so long as you want the original, brutal experience, with the occasional caveat.
remasters have undergone a visual overhaul, with an impressive amount of detail devoted to lighting, which now adds effects such as godrays, screen space reflections, and global illumination — perfect for console players, given how atmospheric it’s always been on PC, especially with mods. NPC models, weapons, and environments have been given a new lick of paint, while attention’s also been paid to water shaders, wetness effects, and skyboxes. The cinematics look better than ever, too, thanks to 4K pre-rendering. Textures have also been edited, including the notable removal of Soviet-themed artwork . Unlike GSC Game World’s team, I’ve not lived in Ukraine since it was invaded, so I can’t judge on this decision, even if the rest of the game sticks remarkably doggedly to the source material.Console players on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S can pick between quality and performance modes, but you really should stick with performance, as the frame rate absolutely trumps whatever meager details are boosted. Consoles also receive keyboard and mouse support, as well as that all-important mod.io integration for cross-platform mod sharing. For PC players, there’s Steam Deck optimization, Steam Workshop mod support, full gamepad compatibility, and cloud saves. Most importantly, owners of the original games on Steam or GOG receive the corresponding enhanced editions for free . Those buying remasters on PC will get the classic games for free.— I’d be surprised if anyone started with the other two — there’s a good chance you’ll’ve forgotten how good the voice acting and music are. The cinematic boosts are fantastic, even if they still feel like an early-stage PS3 game, much like the wider experience. Finally, we also get a weapon wheel, but one that makes ammo changes or gun modes unpredictable. That’s pretty much where the UI improvements end, and you realize GSC Game World sticks to the source material like glue. The left analog stick and D-pad work independently, making navigation a chore; picking missions, finding your place on the map, and item interactions are a drudge; interactive switches or levers aren’t labelled as such; save state dates are weirdly pegged to 2012; and you have to wait for the slow fade-in of “ Talk” to interact with other stalkers.Most egregiously, and going against basic accessibility standards we really should expect from remasters, absolutely no attention has been paid to thegames’ unusual subtitles, which rarely reflect what’s being said. This ranges from minor omissions to significant gaps in the voiceover, such as key locations or your next steps. In the weirdest moment of all —, and people might see it as a quirk of the series, but subtitles exist for a reason, and it feels lazy.Despite everything that’s dropped on consoles recently — and with the impending release of the Switch 2 next week — I couldn’t stop playingtrilogy needs no introduction, and certainly doesn’t require another review to rake over 16-to-18-year-old faults; what matters is that GSC has brought a brutal, weird, and truly unique game kicking and screaming into the modern era, with just enough spice to make it incredibly attractive and playable on consoles. The mod.io support adds something extra for those willing to mess with, and inevitably break, a game that already has its fair share of odd problems.I’m not a Soulsborne guy. Still, put me in any FPS, and I’ll clear it on veteran, unless it’s. It encourages you to learn without really teaching you, and it’s keen to punish you for not taking advantage of absolutely everything it doesn’t fully explain. I save-scummed my entire way through the Sarcophagus, despite playing on, and had two medkits and one anti-rad pack to my name before the credits rolled. I lost 10kg of bullets, medicine, and throwables in the final hour, and it was all worth it for the inevitable “greedy” ending I always get.— a game so broken before launch that after 45 hours reviewing it, its developers dropped a day zero patch that voided 90% of my notes and broke the game inreminds you that the better experiences are often simpler, even if you constantly feel like you’ve been dragged through a hedge. It’s far from perfect and won’t hit the heights of PC community mods, but for newcomers and veterans who want a peek at what it’s like on PS5 or Xbox, it’s absolutely worth a go.
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