S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition

Steam Deck Verified

GSC Game World · Action · May 20, 2025

It depends on what you're after.

At $19.99. It has been as low as $13.39.

62%
Mixed
8k player reviews
High confidence
Buy it if you like
  • Story and characters: 82 reviews raised it, mostly praise
  • Graphics: 64 reviews raised it, mostly praise
  • Gameplay: 43 reviews raised it, mostly praise
Think twice if you dislike
  • Bugs: 60 reviews raised it, mostly criticism
  • Crashes: 58 reviews raised it, mostly criticism
  • Combat: 47 reviews raised it, mostly criticism

Based on 8k player reviews · updated 6 days ago

What players think

The recurring themes across 300 analysed reviews: what players praise, what divides them, and what to know.

Why players love itThings to know
50% of themes are praise17% are divided33% are caveats
Story and characters
Players who bring up Story and characters mostly praise it.
A great exploration/narrative driven FPS.
82 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
Graphics
Players who bring up Graphics mostly praise it.
The game was also created at a time when the combination of high fidelity and strong art direction still resulted in more distinctive visuals, with perfectly legible and immersive environments with enough detail to be memorable and present a satisfying visual narrative, without flooding the screen with clutter.
64 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
Gameplay
Players who bring up Gameplay mostly praise it.
It's world and story are so interesting, with fun and challenging gameplay to match.
43 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
Controls
Players who bring up Controls mostly praise it.
Built in controller support was nice so I was able to play parts on the Steam Deck.
30 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
Steam Deck
Players who bring up Steam Deck mostly praise it.
Built in controller support was nice so I was able to play parts on the Steam Deck.
17 of 300 sampled reviews raised it
Audio
Players who bring up Audio mostly praise it.
Couple this with the very effective use of ambient effects, lighting and shadows, and an excellent sound design, and you have a game that has aged extremely well, both mechanically and visually.
11 of 300 sampled reviews raised it

Theme by theme

Every theme is scored by what reviewers actually said about it, not just whether they recommended the game.

LovedMixedComplained about
Players love6 themes
Story and characters82 reviews
Graphics64 reviews
Gameplay43 reviews
Controls30 reviews
Steam Deck17 reviews
Audio11 reviews
Divided opinion% still recommend
Performance27 reviews
67%
Interface22 reviews
82%
Players complain% still recommend
Bugs60 reviews
48%
Crashes58 reviews
57%
Combat47 reviews
72%
Difficulty22 reviews
82%

Ranked by how many sampled reviews mention each topic. A topic sits in a column by what reviewers said about that topic; the percentage beside it is how many of them recommended the game anyway.

Should you buy it now?

Crit’s read on the price, from Steam price history.

Prices have been lower

Currently $19.99. The lowest we've tracked is $13.39.

4 points recordedtoday · $19.99

The data behind the verdict

For the players who want the receipts.

Player review score
62%
Mixed
Playing right now
Achievements
44
total to unlock
Rarest-achievement stats coming soon
Average playtime
Not tracked yet

We’ll surface hours-played once playtime ingestion ships.

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No recommendations for this game yet.

This game doesn’t overlap enough with games Crit has reviewed.