This Place is Definitely Not What It Used to Be
The physical release of sci-fi survival horror game Chernobylite is right around the corner–and so is the title’s overall console release date, as it turns out. Publishers All in! Games and Perp Games, alongside development studio The Farm 51, are pleased to unveil a very striking release date trailer.
One of Chernobylite’s biggest draws for players who are into that sort of thing is its map, which features a detailed recreation of the actual Chernobyl Exclusion Zone pieced together from 3D scans of the area. The result, as shown off in this trailer, is an incredibly lush natural landscape that still manages to be deeply unsettling at times. Take a look.
The video begins with either some incredibly realistic graphics or a full-on live-action recreation of what it was like in the Chernobyl power plant before it went critical. As in, a few minutes or even seconds before, as an explosion soon goes up inside the building. Everyone is wearing white, lights flicker in long yellowed hallways, a voice speaks in a faintly worried tone over the intercom, and that’s all before anything appears to go wrong.
As the voice continues talking, the view switches from the past, when Chernobyl was in use but considered a fairly ordinary power plant, to the present, when Chernobyl is under the control of the military and the player character–a former scientist who once worked at the plant–must break in. His goal is the titular Chernobylite, a material formed by the reactor meltdown that has a strange effect on time, and other resources he can use to build a base within the Zone.
Once the explosion occurs, the focus switches to a ruined carousel, overgrown buildings, and rusted radar systems, all of which are real structures located in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The trailer shows people–either real-life tourists or in-game characters–exploring the area, while voice-overs convey warnings about how dangerous the Zone is. All the while, Tatyana, the protagonist’s missing bride, cheers him on.
The trailer concludes with a brief exploration of another location, Pripyat Port, as the music swells and becomes increasingly discordant. Finally, a green-headed monster darts jerkily out of the trees and attacks just before the release date flashes onscreen: September 9th, 2021.
“It’s humbling to see how Chernobylite’s original concept, an interactive VR documentary, has become a full-blown video game, soon to be available across a variety of platforms,” said Wojciech Pazdur, Director of Development at The Farm 51. “We can’t wait for people to start exploring the hauntingly beautiful recreation of the real-world Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.”
For what it’s worth, Pazdur, we think you did a great job. By visuals alone, this game is already great.
Chernobylite will be released for PC on July 28th, 2021. Digital and physical PS4 editions and digital Xbox One editions will launch on September 9th, 2021. PS5 and Xbox Series S|X editions will arrive at a later point.
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Source: Press Release