Any FPS games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or better?

[hanselthecaretaker]

So I recently got back into Shadow of Chernobyl after finally getting my old game saves to run with Complete 2009 on Windows 10. Even though it's rough around the edges it still draws me in. The gameplay and level design make it so easy to be immersed. It reminds me of an FPS version of The Witcher but without all the tedious dialog; same inventory management, quest structure, plus better yet are the naturally occurring upgrades happening as you find them or trade for them.

Is this the only series that has such a good blend of RPG/shooting in FPS? I've also played the original Deus Ex and currently going through HR: Director's Cut which is pretty great, but even that falls short of the purity of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Weaker shooting along with all the cutscenes and a gamier upgrade system make it less immersive.

I know there's Clear Skies and CoP to play yet, but does anything else strike a similar chord?


*edit*
Forgot to mention I've already played the Metro series too. It felt too linear and restrictive in too many ways next to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. though.

 

[MysticSlayer]

If you want a game that captures the tone of STALKER and don't care much about the open world, then look at the Metro series.

If you want an open-world post-apocalyptic shooter/RPG hybrid, then there's the very obvious choice of the recent Fallout games.

If you want a shooter/RPG hybrid that is similar to STALKER but more AAA in approach (for better and worse) and don't care about tone or setting, then the Far Cry games would be good.

If you want a pure STALKER-like experience, then you're basically stuck with STALKER. That's not to say the above games aren't good, but personally I haven't been able to find another game that re-captures what STALKER did the way it did it.

 

[Einspanner]

If you want a game that captures the tone of STALKER and don't care much about the open world, then look at the Metro series.

If you want an open-world post-apocalyptic shooter/RPG hybrid, then there's the very obvious choice of the recent Fallout games.

If you want a shooter/RPG hybrid that is similar to STALKER but more AAA in approach (for better and worse) and don't care about tone or setting, then the Far Cry games would be good.

If you want a pure STALKER-like experience, then you're basically stuck with STALKER. That's not to say the above games aren't good, but personally I haven't been able to find another game that re-captures what STALKER did the way it did it.

I completely agree with what you're saying, especially the conclusion. The reason that STALKER is still known by so many is that while it did what it did with bugs and occasional inexplicability, it was the only thing that ever really did just that... whatever it was.

You could take a look was Wasteland 2 I guess, if you don't mind the switch to an isometric viewpoint.

 

[Einspanner]

Maybe take a brief look at a survival game called The Long Dark.
Absolutely not the same experience, but there are noticeable similarities.

You know, this is a smart comparison, I know what you mean even though they're very different. They both made me feel... desperate, hunted, and made me feel like a god when I started doing well.

'Rust' kind of did that too.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

If you want a game that captures the tone of STALKER and don't care much about the open world, then look at the Metro series.

If you want an open-world post-apocalyptic shooter/RPG hybrid, then there's the very obvious choice of the recent Fallout games.

If you want a shooter/RPG hybrid that is similar to STALKER but more AAA in approach (for better and worse) and don't care about tone or setting, then the Far Cry games would be good.

If you want a pure STALKER-like experience, then you're basically stuck with STALKER. That's not to say the above games aren't good, but personally I haven't been able to find another game that re-captures what STALKER did the way it did it.

Yeah, those all have a little something similar like you said, but the whole doesn't mesh as well.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I should've clarified more about what I like about STALKER. The RPG elements seem to be so naturally implemented, and you feel like you're on an adventure, free to do what you want, when you want for the most part. The shooting is another important part that still feels pretty great, all things considered in terms of how dated the engine is. If it had modern tech for animations and hit response, environmental physics, etc.... *drools*

It basically boils down to wanting something that captures the feel of STALKER on those fronts, but more fine-tuned. It's too bad that new Escape from Tarkov is primarily multiplayer, because that seems to be about what I'm looking for.

 

[josemlopes]

Boiling Point: Road to Hell

Basicly Stalker, Far Cry 2 and GTA had a baby, a buggy as fuck baby. Still, very unique

 

[NLS]

Boiling Point: Road to Hell

Basicly Stalker, Far Cry 2 and GTA had a baby, a buggy as fuck baby. Still, very unique

Man, I almost feel like installing a DVD drive in my computer now so that I can boot up my old Boiling Point disc. That game certainly had some elements of other greater titles that still hadn't come out yet like Stalker and Far Cry. The health system is also quite similar to Fallout, with limb damage and stimpak addiction.

Such a shame it was an unpolished turd, but a somewhat tasty one. I'd consider giving it a chance again if I could get it digitally.

 

[Zombie Proof]

So far, Fallout 4 Survival is the only game that's ever come close to scratching that itch that the stalker games left all those years ago. I know how weird that sounds but trust me, nothing else has even come close.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

So far, Fallout 4 Survival is the only game that's ever come close to scratching that itch that the stalker games left all those years ago. I know how weird that sounds but trust me, nothing else has even come close.

I bought the Fallout Anthology on PC and started playing the original, but realized I'll have to save it for a time when I have nothing else left to play lol. I can see how that series could consume someone, even (or perhaps especially?) back then.

 

[WolfThomas]

I empathise with OP. I really want something like an updated Stalker game. I love the Long Dark. But sometimes you want to deal with human enemies (and their loot). I enjoyed Boiling Point back in the day, until my save games corrupted close to the finale. But it was a deeply flawed game.

I had a lot of fun last year with some friends playing H1Z1. But we stopped playing due to hackers and the increasing KOS mentality that pervades that game. But we had some great times back then. There was 4 of us, with some decent gear and weapons, but not much of a fixed base. There were time when we got attacked by human bandits and got into to brief fire fights, where no one died or was killed, but they were more stressful than any other game I've played. Crouched behind a car wreck. Wondering if they were flanking or if they had more ammo, as I clasped my AR15 with only 1 full mag of ammunition.

 

[MishaK]

I empathise with OP. I really want something like an updated Stalker game. I love the Long Dark. But sometimes you want to deal with human enemies (and their loot). I enjoyed Boiling Point back in the day, until my save games corrupted close to the finale. But it was a deeply flawed game.

I had a lot of fun last year with some friends playing H1Z1. But we stopped playing due to hackers and the increasing KOS mentality that pervades that game. But we had some great times back then. There was 4 of us, with some decent gear and weapons, but not much of a fixed base. There were time when we got attacked by human bandits and got into to brief fire fights, where no one died or was killed, but they were more stressful than any other game I've played. Crouched behind a car wreck. Wondering if they were flanking or if they had more ammo, as I clasped my AR15 with only 1 full mag of ammunition.

I think H1Z1 on a console could be good, since it would pretty much cut out hackers.

 

[Zombie Proof]

So far, Fallout 4 Survival is the only game that's ever come close to scratching that itch that the stalker games left all those years ago. I know how weird that sounds but trust me, nothing else has even come close.

I bought the Fallout Anthology on PC and started playing the original, but realized I'll have to save it for a time when I have nothing else left to play lol. I can see how that series could consume someone, even (or perhaps especially?) back then.

You really should skip ahead to 4 (on survival) if you want that Stalker experience. Chronologically, 4 has very little to do with the others and gameplay-wise, its on another universe. It's a straight up shooter/rpg hybrid with survival elements.

Only play it on survival mode though. I'm never going back to normal fallout 4.

Never.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

So far, Fallout 4 Survival is the only game that's ever come close to scratching that itch that the stalker games left all those years ago. I know how weird that sounds but trust me, nothing else has even come close.

I bought the Fallout Anthology on PC and started playing the original, but realized I'll have to save it for a time when I have nothing else left to play lol. I can see how that series could consume someone, even (or perhaps especially?) back then.

You really should skip ahead to 4 (on survival) if you want that Stalker experience. Chronologically, 4 has very little to do with the others and gameplay-wise, its on another universe. It's a straight up shooter/rpg hybrid with survival elements.

Only play it on survival mode though. I'm never going back to normal fallout 4.

Never.

I will definitely take your word for it my friend. It will be on my playlist after my next PC build.

 

[StoleitfromKilgore]

It obviously strongly depends on what you like about SoC. Personally I also greatly enjoy Far Cry 2, because similarly to SoC, there is a lot of attention to detail (weather, environments, stealth, AI etc.). It also has very strong atmosphere. Just don't make the mistake of trying to stick with the same weapon loadout and same playstyle throughout. Most playstyles are perfectly viable, even on the highest difficulty.

Edit:
Oh, and no matter what people say about Clear Sky: It definitely is worth playing. There is a lot of mindless repeating going on as far as that iteration of the series is concerned. Even though it's easy to level a lot of criticisms at it, it still does some things better than either SoC or CoP. Anomalies are the most dangerous out of all three games for example. There's also a lot of things people seem to like about CoP which actually were introduced in CS.

 

[Blitsie]

Boiling Point: Road to Hell

Basicly Stalker, Far Cry 2 and GTA had a baby, a buggy as fuck baby. Still, very unique

Holy crap! The buggy misadventures I had with this game haha. My PC was too low spec to run it back then and it just barely trudged along with all settings on low, one day I decided "fuck it, lets slam all the settings on highest" and the game literally played as smooth as it can be. I put way too many hours into it afterwards to be honest.

I highly recommend checking out Precursors if you enjoyed Boiling Point, its from the same devs and its essentially Boiling Point with light space-sim elements. You can do your standard open world stuff on a planet, then hop into your ship and leave the planet to do space stuff like trading and so. It was super ambitious and with a small budget so the game is rough as all hell, but its got a lot of soul and I must admit I really enjoyed what they achieved.

Spoiler: Gameplay Vid