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The Zone: Stalker Stories

The Zone: Stalker Stories Game Cover
57%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:atmosphere, music
Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, story
81% User Score Based on 21 reviews

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The Zone: Stalker Stories Game Cover

About The Zone: Stalker Stories

The Zone: Stalker Stories is a single player survival role playing game with mystery and post-apocalyptic themes. It was developed by Illuminated Games and was released on June 15, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

Tactical card battles and narrative RPG exploration in a world of monsters and anomalies. This is the Zone. Cut your way through rabid mutants and supernatural creatures. Collect and use artifacts of mysterious power. Develop your latent abilities and crush your enemies with the force of your mind. The last remnants of humanity are locked in a desperate battle for survival. Helplessly tr…

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The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
The Zone: Stalker Stories screenshot
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Reviews

81%Audience ScoreBased on 21 reviews
atmosphere3 positive mentions
story3 negative mentions
  • Exceptional art, writing, and world-building with a unique take on the Stalker and anomaly themes.
  • Engaging mix of card-based combat, RPG elements, and visual novel storytelling with a satisfying gameplay loop.
  • Developer is very active and responsive, regularly releasing significant updates and promptly fixing bugs.
  • Frequent crashes and bugs, including game-breaking issues and save system problems, diminish the experience.
  • Exploration phase can feel clunky and confusing with unclear visuals and poorly explained mechanics.
  • Some gameplay systems and card effects are not well explained or polished, reflecting the early access state.

  • gameplay

    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    27% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 27% negative mentions

    The gameplay combines real-time exploration with turn-based card battles, offering a satisfying loop of investigation and combat reminiscent of SteamWorld Quest. While the mechanics are engaging and narrative-focused, some bugs and an incomplete tutorial can make understanding certain aspects, like resource management, challenging. Overall, it provides a modest but compelling experience prioritizing story over complexity.

    • “+ The main gameplay loop of moving your character around a map in real-time, investigating points of interest that you find with your psionic ability, avoiding anomalies, and engaging in turn-based card battles to acquire loot that can be traded for better items and personal upgrades is very satisfying.”
    • “Its gameplay is similar to SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech in that you move an avatar around a map and engage in exploration events and card battles.”
    • “I played through the first quest (roughly an hour or so of gameplay) of a copy I, ahem, 'found' somewhere and was compelled to purchase the game to support the developer and a product that I am genuinely impressed by.”
    • “The main gameplay loop of moving your character around a map in real-time, investigating points of interest with your psionic ability, avoiding anomalies, and engaging in turn-based card battles to acquire loot for better items and upgrades is very satisfying.”
    • “The biggest issue I had was that the tutorial is incomplete, leaving some gameplay aspects vague at the beginning, such as how some cards use standard energy points that renew each round while others use a non-renewing resource based on physical exhaustion.”
    • “The game is so ridiculously buggy despite having an interesting concept and mechanics.”

  • story

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    29% positive mentions, 28% neutral mentions, 43% negative mentions

    The story is a strong and immersive element of the game, richly inspired by Russian sci-fi and presented through a visual novel format. It is heavily featured early on, providing depth and context before opening up into exploration and combat. Players appreciate the blend of narrative and gameplay, making the overall experience compelling.

    • “I like a lot of parts about it, like the aesthetics, the story, the free roam, or the battles.”
    • “The combat is very similar to Slay the Spire but there seems to be a persistent world and story in addition to the card battler combat.”
    • “And a story presented through a visual novel.”
    • “This game is heavy on the story early on but soon as you get past the gate it opens up a bit with exploration and combat.”
    • “I like a lot of parts about it, like the aesthetics, the story, the free roam or the battles.”

  • graphics

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    33% positive mentions, 17% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    Users find the graphics inconsistent, with clashing art styles and a jarring mix of visual elements that impact immersion. While some appreciate the stalker aesthetic and city artwork, exploration areas appear simpler and sometimes confusing. Overall, the design, animations, and effects show promise but feel underdeveloped, likely due to the game's early access stage.

    • “I love the stalker aesthetic.”
    • “Artworks and design, animations and effects are good but they really can be better; I give discount that it is early access.”
    • “Where to start with why this is an utter waste of time, probably with the clashing art styles.”
    • “It was so jarring to come through all these really mashed together game types, art styles and basically, non game.”
    • “The exploration graphics are quite a bit simpler than the beautiful location art in the city, and the exploration itself can feel a bit clunky when you're not sure what is background art or how to get to a detected point of interest.”

  • atmosphere

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, -33% neutral mentions, 33% negative mentions

    Users have mixed feelings about the atmosphere: some find it slow and mundane, while others appreciate and love the art and overall ambiance. Overall, the atmosphere is considered well-crafted but may feel deliberately slow-paced to some players.

    • “I love the art and the atmosphere.”
    • “Atmosphere is awesome.”
    • “The game makes you move at a snail's pace, allowing you to take in the mundane atmosphere.”
    • “I wanted to just skip, skip, skip, but the game makes you move at a snail's pace, taking in the mundane atmosphere.”

  • replayability

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Replayability is currently limited, with users hoping for more playable updates in the future. While some prioritize narrative over replay value, improvements in mechanics could enhance long-term engagement.

  • stability

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game’s concept and mechanics are well-received, but its stability is hindered by frequent bugs, leading to a frustrating experience.

    • “I really like the concept and mechanics of this game, but it is so ridiculously buggy.”

  • music

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The music is highly praised for its fantastic composition, effectively drawing players in from the beginning and enhancing the overall immersive experience.

    • “Fantastic writing and music pull you in from the start and you want to keep going.”

  • grinding

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding is presented as an optional activity rather than a mandatory part of progression, allowing players to choose whether to engage in it.

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Play Times

2251h Median play time
1502h Average play time
4-3000h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Zone: Stalker Stories is a survival role playing game with mystery and post-apocalyptic themes. Common tags for The Zone: Stalker Stories include turn-based, indie, roguelite, exploration, deckbuilding and others.

The Zone: Stalker Stories is available on PC, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 1502 hours playing The Zone: Stalker Stories.

The Zone: Stalker Stories was released on June 15, 2023.

The Zone: Stalker Stories was developed by Illuminated Games.

The Zone: Stalker Stories has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked The Zone: Stalker Stories for its atmosphere but disliked it for its gameplay.

The Zone: Stalker Stories is a single player game.

Similar games include Malys, Tainted Grail: Conquest, Deck of Ashes, Trials of Fire, Arcanium: Rise of Akhan and others.