GSC Game World has revealed some pleasant but surprising news, at the cusp of the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
They made this announcement on Twitter:
“We are excited to share that S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Legends of the Zone will be released on Nintendo Switch™ on October 31 — slightly ahead of the initially planned November release window.
Carry the Zone with you — anywhere and everywhere on Nintendo Switch™.”
As reported by Gematsu, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Legends of the Zone was already published for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in March 6 of this year. This marks the debut of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games on Nintendo platforms, and it’s arriving a little earlier than they originally planned.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Legends of the Zone is a special collection bundling S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chornobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat. These games were originally released on PC in the late 2000s, when PC games were still sold on retail with the big boxes.
The games are available on Steam and GOG today, but for all these years, they were never brought to consoles. For many fans, it seemed unlikely that they would even be brought to PC. That was because the games were designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard from the ground up, in such a way that there were multiple commands that could not be mapped onto a controller, even if modders tried. And yes, some fans and modders did try.
While Microsoft and GSC Game World did not reveal any development information, it seems likely that this new collection was bankrolled as part of Microsoft’s contract to publish S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. GSC didn’t announce plans to make this collection in advance. In fact,we ended up reporting it because they got listed on Xbox and PlayStation Stores before it was officially revealed.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Legends of the Zone did not receive a Metacritic score. It has an OpenCritic Rating of Strong, with a top Critic Average of 80 from only four reviews. Based on what we’ve read, there are some enhancements, including aim assist and tracking assist. There are even minor graphics improvements, but these are essentially the same original games, visually and gameplay wise.
And that also means these are extremely difficult games, that could see even the most high skill Call of Duty and Elden Ring players boiling in frustration. GSC Game World’s dedication to immersion means players will not easily restore their health, on a permadeath setting that doesn’t even give you a second chance to find our old gear.
And that hardcore vintage survival FPS experience will now be available on the Nintendo Switch, just in time for Halloween.
