Chornobyl Liquidators

48%
Game Brain Score Based on 159 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • optimization
Chornobyl Liquidators Game Cover
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"Chornobyl Liquidators" is a grim, historically-inspired game that immerses players in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. As a firefighter or dosimetrist, you'll face treacherous radiation and combat the fallout's deadly effects. This is not a game for the faint-hearted, as it confronts the real-life sacrifices made by the liquidators.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

48%
Audience ScoreBased on 159 reviews
story16 positive mentions
gameplay9 negative mentions
  • The game has a compelling story and interesting nods to media related to nuclear disasters, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
  • The atmosphere and graphics, particularly in certain areas, are well done and immersive, enhancing the overall experience.
  • Despite its flaws, some players found the gameplay fun and engaging, especially for those interested in the historical context of the Chernobyl disaster.
  • The game is plagued with numerous bugs, including game-breaking issues, poor optimization, and inconsistent mechanics that hinder the overall experience.
  • Many players reported clunky controls and frustrating gameplay elements, such as confusing objectives and poorly designed interactions.
  • The voice acting and translation quality are often criticized, leading to a lack of immersion and clarity in the storytelling.
  • story64 mentions

    The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its unique premise and emotional depth, particularly in relation to the Chernobyl disaster and the sacrifices of the liquidators. However, many criticize the execution, citing issues such as poor writing, inconsistent character motivations, and significant bugs that disrupt the narrative flow. Overall, while the game has potential and interesting ideas, its storytelling is often overshadowed by technical problems and a lack of polish.

    • “The story is interesting and unique in its own way.”
    • “This game had a great storyline, and I believe it brought honor to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during this disaster!”
    • “The storyline was very immersive; I appreciated the several subplots which allowed for different experiences.”
    • “The story is severely lacking what you would expect from something calling itself *Chernobyl Liquidators*, given that all of about 30 minutes of the 5 hours you need to play through it take place in and around the actual power plant.”
    • “Between an inconsistent storyline and graphics, annoying bugs, poor optimization, flat characters, unmotivated or nonsensical tasks, dialogue that doesn't match the captions, and an overall feeling that this game doesn't know if it wants to be Viscera Cleanup Detail, a platformer, a stealth game, or what.”
    • “The kgb cover-up storyline is executed very poorly and one bit of it has you backtracking back and forth between locations in one level, hiding this bad game design behind a 'random dead NPC gone mad' story.”
  • gameplay42 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players highlighting significant issues such as clunky mechanics, frustrating bugs, and poor optimization that detract from the overall experience. While some aspects, like atmosphere and certain mechanics, show potential and can be enjoyable, the repetitive and tedious nature of gameplay, combined with performance problems, makes it hard to justify the game's price. Overall, players feel that the game is not ready for release and requires substantial improvements to its mechanics and stability.

    • “Writing this review as I'm playing, so far this is amazing. Even with minor translation errors, the gameplay and story are great, and there are notable nods to media I enjoy heavily.”
    • “The gameplay was excellent, the environment was very well done - the devs were clearly dedicated to making this game perfect.”
    • “The most fun parts of the game are the ones where the focus was simply on the gameplay leading towards containing the situation in Chernobyl.”
    • “The mechanics are janky, the graphics are bad, the performance is severely lacking, and the characters are half-assed at best.”
    • “Add confusing maps, barely working game mechanics, and many, sometimes extremely disorienting or straight-up game-breaking bugs, and the mess is complete.”
    • “The game also suffers from dissonance between its intent and its gameplay.”
  • optimization36 mentions

    The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering and frame rate drops, even on high-end systems. Many describe the overall execution as a "buggy, unoptimized mess," and recommend waiting for significant performance fixes before purchasing. While some players found enjoyment in the gameplay and atmosphere, the technical shortcomings overshadow these positives, leading to a consensus that the game is currently not worth its price tag.

    • “This game definitely needs a huge optimization in performance, which I doubt will arrive anytime soon as this was also an issue with the demo more than 2 years ago.”
    • “Game is in desperate need of optimization.”
    • “Graphics are good, but performance is still rather unstable.”
    • “I lowered my settings to the lowest and bumped my resolution down to 1440p, but I still have major stuttering and performance issues on a top-of-the-line card.”
    • “It's clearly not optimized well; even after meeting over the minimum and recommended system requirements, it was still laggy and choppy.”
    • “The game has the feeling of being unfinished and is poorly optimized; in some sections, there are significant frame rate drops.”
  • graphics26 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising certain visual moments and overall aesthetics, while others criticize poor performance, inconsistent quality, and a lack of customization options. Many report issues such as lighting problems, janky animations, and a general feeling that the visuals do not meet expectations set by trailers. Overall, while there are glimpses of good graphics, the performance and optimization issues detract significantly from the experience.

    • “But so far, the visuals are decent, and the game is fun.”
    • “Graphics are pretty good.”
    • “The graphics are fantastic and the sound design is superb.”
    • “The graphics are disappointing and the lighting is so much worse than in the trailers.”
    • “I understand that it is probably not a huge budget game, but there were probably better ways of handling the game's visuals and aesthetics.”
    • “This game is nowhere near ready for release, clunky mechanics, horrible graphics, annoying doors (seriously, why force them to close when I go near them??) tutorials that look like run-on sentences and are broken English.”
  • stability22 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting significant bugs, glitches, and performance issues that hinder gameplay. Many users describe it as a "buggy mess," with problems ranging from crashes and lag to unresponsive mechanics and mismatched subtitles. While some appreciate the game's unique ideas and potential, the overall execution is seen as unpolished and in need of substantial fixes before it can be fully enjoyed.

    • “This really disappointed me, the game is buggy, laggy, and unfinished.”
    • “Buggy mess, for some reason the devs thought that a game where you can't even progress to the second part of the game because of a glitch that crashes your game was fine to release.”
    • “It hurts me to give this a negative review because I waited years for this game, but I must say this game is extremely unpolished, clunky, buggy, and poorly optimized.”
  • atmosphere12 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive environments, sound design, and attention to detail, creating a nerve-wracking experience that enhances gameplay. However, some players noted that performance issues, janky controls, and translation flaws detracted from the overall experience, particularly in the latter parts of the game. Despite these drawbacks, the unique atmosphere remains a standout feature that many players enjoyed.

    • “Good atmosphere, and fairly realistic with some accessibility changes.”
    • “Despite the issues, it's very unique and they nailed it with the environments and the atmosphere.”
    • “Loved the general atmosphere, true to nature world building, and little details.”
    • “But there's still tons of enjoyment to be had regarding gameplay mechanics, sound design, animations, atmosphere, and story, but it gets bogged down by these terrible performance issues.”
    • “Sadly, it's quite rough around the edges in terms of controls and atmosphere.”
    • “I enjoyed the game and liked the puzzles and the atmosphere of most missions, with the exception of Duga radar.”
  • music4 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some users expressing a desire for more original tracks instead of a mixtape format. While the inclusion of Russian/Soviet doomer music is appreciated, the overall soundtrack has been rated around 6/10, indicating that it may not fully meet players' expectations.

    • “Nothing better than Russian/Soviet doomer music on the radio!”
    • “Add more music and drop the mixtape!”
    • “Music/soundtrack: 6/10”
    • “Music/soundtrack: 6/10”
  • emotional3 mentions

    The game elicits a strong emotional response, with some players feeling physically affected by its intensity. While it features interesting and touching moments, the story is considered inconsistent, only culminating in a satisfying emotional payoff at the end.

    • “There are interesting and touching moments in this game.”
    • “Keep in mind this game's story is very iffy and really only gets 'good' at the very end (emotional ending).”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game initially engaging, but it quickly turns tedious and repetitive, leading to a lack of enjoyment over time.

    • “Gameplay-wise, although interesting at first, becomes quite tedious and repetitive quickly.”
    • “The beginning was extremely tedious.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users expressing disappointment over its perceived exploitation of a serious historical event.

    • “A sad and very disappointing cash grab that exploits the legacy of those who sacrificed their lives in the Chernobyl disaster.”
    • “The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
    • “It's frustrating to see such a great concept ruined by constant prompts to spend more money.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Overall, the game offers limited replayability, with many users expressing that it lacks incentives to revisit after the initial playthrough.

    • “You're not going to get much replayability, though.”
    • “The game lacks the depth needed to encourage multiple playthroughs.”
    • “Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to return.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

3hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
1-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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