Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone

The nuclear post-apocalypse is always interesting from a gaming perspective. Most recently with Atomfall, and before that with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. But Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone, from The Farm 51 in Poland, also draws its life from the place and its mysteries.

Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone is a post-apocalyptic action-RPG. The main character attempts to escape the Exclusion Zone and return home, breaking through the barriers of time and space and fighting the emanations of the Chernobylite, a remnant of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The player is a planewalker travelling through parallel worlds in search of the Chernobylite. Cut off from the world, trapped in the Zone and attacked by creatures, they must fight to survive and unite the handful of remaining survivors.

One of the game's highlights is the exploration of the open world, created from the real locations of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone - this time playable in first and third person, although the latter is still recognisable in the earlier access. However, the uniqueness of the location has already lost some of its appeal due to Stalker 2. Nevertheless, the world is compelling and interesting, and invites exploration to collect items for crafting and, of course, to advance the story, although it is still unclear what role the story will play in the finished game - in the first game, the story was a thread running through the game. The early access status is also evident here. AI-generated voices are occasionally used, and proper text localisation is still missing, with these placeholders to be replaced later. Speaking of early access, the Unreal Engine 5-based game is still struggling with optimisation issues, lack of balance in certain aspects and bugs - the developers expected this and plan to improve and optimise the title step by step, also based on feedback from players.

"Chernobylite 2 is our dream project. After more than 10 years of various activities related to Chornobyl and dozens of visits to this place, we can finally share the massive part of what we consider the ultimate Chornobyl experience. What started with VR documentaries and low-scale indie projects has become a fully-fledged RPG game, playable in the open world, with hundreds of ways to craft your character and story." - The Farm 51

Players can customise their hero with different attributes and abilities (in the Mutants, Scientists and Mercs categories), which affects both combat and dialogue options. Speaking of combat, Chernobylite 2 is versatile in this regard. There are melee and ranged attacks, as well as stealth options. It's possible to switch between different character builds and equipment by planewalking, for example if you need a melee loadout quickly. It makes things quite flexible. It's even possible to call on other players for help in online co-operative missions embedded in a single-player campaign - but only certain missions can be used co-operatively, not the whole game. This is a bit odd. All in all, Chernobylite 2 is a little faster paced than its predecessor, and it's not as much of a horror story.

On the other hand, there are other important aspects. For example, it is possible to gain influence with factions and negotiate with them. Players will assemble a team from a variety of companions, each with their own strengths, abilities and skills. At the same time, it is possible to build, upgrade, fortify and customise a modular base with tools for crafting items and upgrading weapons. It is also possible to assign companions to tasks such as managing supplies or looking after equipment.

"Entering the world of Chernobylite 2, even in Early Access, you can expect to double or triple the time spent with the first game - not just because the Zone itself is about 20 times bigger this time but also thanks to the number of quests, events, encounters, and gameplay mechanics. On top of it, you can play from two different perspectives - first person or third person, which is possible thanks to the success of our recently finished Kickstarter campaign." - The Farm 51

Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone was released on 6 March 2025 for PC in Early Access. The Early Access contains about 30 to 40% of the final world and story. "We believe that Chernobylite 2, similar to the first Chernobylite, will be a much better game, thanks to its development in Early Access. We have already seen that constant feedback from our community allows us to adapt our vision to players' needs, and for a big RPG game, the number of adjustments we can make is huge," the developers said. They estimate that the game will stay in Early Access for six to ten months. The final version will be released on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2025.

Conclusion

Sending Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone into Early Access was the right decision for The Farm 51. The action-RPG has a lot of potential and a good foundation on which to build and, most importantly, tweak and improve.

Features

• Very atmospheric open world
• Versatile gameplay systems: exploration, combat, crafting, base building, companions, etc.
• Quick change of loadouts and character builds