Hello, this is Rito from CrewPlus!

Today, I'm going to review a new extraction shooter game set in Chernobyl, STALZONE.

Strictly speaking, it has been serviced abroad since 2014, but it officially launched in Korea this July.

Actually, the first game that comes to mind when you think of an extraction shooter is probably Escape from Tarkov.

In fact, this game was released globally before Tarkov. (Tarkov in 2016, STALZONE in 2014)

But... to lump it together as an extraction shooter, well... it feels a bit different. Extraction??? Shooter??? Something like that?

First, the graphics, which can be considered the game's biggest feature.

The characters overall have a bit of a Roblox feel.

Or maybe like those old Oxford Science mini-figures...?

They adopted a short, 3-4 head-tall design to emphasize the arcade feel.

It's definitely decent, but... uh... it's decent, but...

It's just funny when you keep looking at it. It feels like that was intentional.

It's like it went past the uncanny valley and became a mountain of pure joy...

Anyway, once the game starts, a short tutorial proceeds.

The basic controls are not much different from other FPS games.

WASD to move, mouse to aim, left-click to fire, right-click to scope.

You can use the E key for inventory and the F key for looting.

A UI you've seen somewhere before, right?

Yes, the inventory system is almost identical to Tarkov's. Now the hell of inventory management begins

You can move items one by one with a left-click, but you can move them quickly with SHIFT+left-click.

Or you can just press X to move everything at once.

There is no search time, so looting is fast.

Anyway, the protagonist secures items while enduring the radiation of Chernobyl,

but as soon as they board the extraction helicopter, they get backstabbed, fall from the helicopter, and while dying, get sucked into the forbidden zone.

There are two factions in the forbidden zone: Stalkers and Bandits.

Players choose one of these to play, and since I love looting to the bone... I chose the Bandits.

Of course, you can create up to 10 characters, so you can create another character later to play the opposing faction.

Each faction has multiple bases.

Here, you can interact with other players, buy/sell items at shops, and craft/repair weapons.

As you clear main quests, you can travel to other bases, and new upgrades and parts are unlocked each time you level up at each base.

If you go out through the base exit, a vast field unfolds.

It's a musty field with bad air and bad water, but it's a pretty lucrative place to make money.

The time in this field keeps changing,

so at night, you have to press the N key to equip night vision goggles to see properly.

There are various threats in the field,

The first is the mutants.

They feel like monsters, and they run up and launch melee attacks. This hurts more than you'd think.

They usually drop items like animal carcasses or parts.

The second is enemy NPCs.

They shoot guns, and they almost all fire in full auto, so your health drops rapidly in close quarters.

They usually drop regular ammo or junk items.

The third is debuff effects.

Entering certain areas might raise the temperature, or entering water might increase radiation levels.

There are various debuff effects, and if you reach a certain level, you will take quite painful tick damage.

If you touch an electrical effect, you lose nearly 40% of your health at once, so be careful as there are many cases where you die from this.

Lastly, there are players from the opposing faction.

Since each faction has a different base, you won't run into them much early on, but as you move to other bases, you will run into them often in the middle areas.

If you kill them, you can loot the items they were carrying.

Of course, if you get downed like this, the opponent will take your items.

Why!!!!! I shot first!!!!!!!!!!!! Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still, weapons and armor are continuously maintained.

Besides that, quest items are 'bound items' and do not disappear from your inventory even if you die.

This is the reason why I felt like it was an extraction??? shooter??? at first,

Usually, in an extraction shooter, no matter how well-equipped you are with weapons and armor, they disappear once you die,

but this game preserves your equipment, so I thought it might be closer to an MMOFPS.

STALZONE has a world event: 'Eruption'.

Every 24 hours in real-time, the temperature on the surface rises sharply. This is called an eruption, and if you remain on the surface, you are guaranteed to die.

The way to avoid this eruption is to enter a shelter, and the location is marked on the map.

Of course, I couldn't find it and died...

So, how do you make money?

You can loot in various ways and sell them at the base.

You can pick up remains dropped by dead mobs like this,

and like a true extraction shooter, you can also loot from other people's corpses,

of course, you can also loot if an ally dies, but... you can't touch it for a certain amount of time, so you'll have to pray the owner doesn't come back.

Of course, naturally, there is also a way to open various boxes in the field to collect items.

My impression after playing this game was... 'This isn't an extraction shooter 'Crash' kind of feeling.

Unlike other extraction shooter genre games, the burden of losing weapons or equipment is low, so the tension was significantly lower.

Of course, there are people who don't play extraction shooter games because of that tension , right?

So I think this point is both a strength and a weakness.

The main quest story was solid and could be enjoyed for a long time,

but no matter how I think about it, I felt that the content on the field was scarce and repetitive.

I think I cleared this mission more than 10 times in 3 hours.

Even then, the rewards were just junk items...

So, in reality, I ended up focusing on clearing quests rather than field looting.

Running into players from the opposing faction was also less frequent than I thought, so the tension decreased...

This ultimately seems to require a fundamental system revision or the addition of field content.

Anyway, that's my review of STALZONE.

Since it's an old game, there are some points that don't fit the tendencies of current players, but despite that, seeing many people, including streamers, enjoying it, I could tell that it is 'fundamentally a fun game'.

Actually, I tried to play it lightly once and ended up staying up all night...

Above all, I really liked the refreshing sense of speed because it supports a field of view up to 110. I think I will continue to log in and enjoy it whenever I have time in the future.

They are currently giving out two types of promotional coupons that give in-game items to commemorate the Korean service launch, so I highly recommend you try playing it as well.

Thank you for reading the review!

▲ STALZONE Store Link (Click)

👇️ If you are curious about the previous series, click here 👇️ 

💙Horror game series part two

Hello!

A person with a warm heart

Stove Crew 3rd Member Moon Sae-yeonhere 💖

For you all,

when you think of words that warm your heartwhat

comes to mind?

Dreams, hope, money, puppies, Han River view apartment (owned) ...

 😌

The first thing that comes to my mind 'family' seems to be it

We are happy together, and sometimes we hate each other, but

when hard times come, they are the first thing I think of

If there is a side of such a dear family member that is being hidden,

should I reveal it, or should I cover it up?

Today's post is finally the last work of the horror series!

 "Among the Sleep" 

 # Game Info 

"Become a baby trapped in a strange nightmare and go on a journey to find your mom."

It's a very famous game!

It was released in 2014, so it's already been 10 years.

But since it's localized in Korean on Stove,

for those who haven't experienced it yet,

I thought it would be a great benefit, so I brought it here 👍️

 # Gameplay 

The protagonist, who just turned two, receives a 'teddy bear' as a gift.

But that doll...

It talks and moves!

The protagonist, who was playing with the teddy bear, falls asleep with it...

When I woke up at dawn, the doll was gone.

And the place where the doll was found was right inside the laundry room

Because of the teddy bear's words that the mom who only felt kind was strange,

I started to look around the house to find her.

The house that was cozy and warm during the day 

has changed into a chilly and creepy atmosphere.

After confirming that mom's bedroom is empty,

the protagonist enters a suspicious room with the lights on.

Following the path where I might find clues about mom,

I encountered a suspicious space!

The protagonist activated the puzzle device using mom's memory device.

I set off on an endless journey to find mom.

What is the secret that mom was hiding?

 # Evaluation 

1. A game viewed from a different perspective 

This game is played from the first-person perspective of a baby,

the perspective of looking up from the flooris the main one.

Because it's a unique perspective not seen in other games,

it was fresh,

and I liked that it was easy to immerse myself in the character of a baby.

Of course, walking is also possible if it's uncomfortable!

In line with the characteristics of that age,

the design element that allows you to move faster

by crawling was also fun.

2. A spoonful of puzzles in a horror game

'Is this a horror game... or a puzzle game...'

I think you've probably had this experience quite a few times while playing games.

I came to enjoy horror, so why am I using my brain...

But <Among the Sleep> is definitely good because the puzzles play an auxiliary role.

Without difficult levels that require brainpower,

most of the puzzles consist of exploring the map to find devices.

It is composed of that.

3. Well-made story

Amidst the fantasy elements where the teddy bear talks and walks, 

it contains a very realistic story.

The opposite side of the loving mom

seen from a baby's perspective...

😭

It was also fun to enjoy the story 

I've finally finished the horror series I planned!

I hope it was of some help during the hot summer.

I don't think I'll be looking at the horror genre for a while now haha 🥶

If you enjoyed this review, 

I recommend playing <Among the Sleep>!

💙Among the Sleep  Store Link

I'll be back with a cheerful and lively game in the next review 😝💗 

RewardCheck-inBonus❄️ 1,000 FlakesSTOVE Store Check-in
❄️ 10,000 Flakes❄️ 1,000 FlakesRiichi City Check-in
❄️ 20,000 Flakes

Riichi City version update is underway!
1. Character "Fuwa Mahiru", "Inukai Hina" recruitment rate up!
2. Additional outfit sets re-released!
"Vow to the Blue Sky(SP)" set
"Relaxing Sunbathing(SP)" set
3. A "Apply to self" setting has been newly added to Safe Mode, and it is set to ON by default.
4. Other bug fixes and feature improvements will also be applied.
▼ Please check the official website or in-game notices for detailed update information.

https://riichicity.onstove.com/news/detail/AEQezsy1zBOTJ7lfQZ5TK560I3wS6GMm

#마작일번가City #마작  

Hello, this is Team ARDORBIT!

We are back with some demo update news after a while.

In the meantime, we have been working on the next map, the 'Underground Passage', while also incorporating your feedback.

We sincerely thank everyone who played and showed interest in our short demo.

This update does not include new content, but we have introduced new systems to further improve the gameplay experience.

Update History

1. Soma finally blinks!

Soma, who had been keeping his eyes open 24 hours a day since waking up, can now blink.

2. Object Detection: Magic Ring

There was an issue where the criteria for object detection were not intuitive.

We have now added a detection reticle (a.k.a. 'Magic Ring') in the center of the screen to help you detect the objects you want.

The center-screen detection method only works for objects that can be interacted with via magnetism.

To use it, simply get close to the target object and aim at it using the center UI.

3. Helpful Aiming Guide

Was the box throwing range confusing?

Previously, even when aiming, only the crosshair UI appeared, and the box did not fly exactly as the UI indicated.

Now, it draws a trajectory arc showing the box throwing range and the expected landing position.

Pick up a box and try right-clicking!

4. Camera Collision Handling

Camera collisions that occurred when Soma approached walls were causing motion sickness.

When a camera collision occurs, Soma is now temporarily rendered transparent to protect your eyes.

5. Other Fixes

Development Progress

You can get a sneak peek of the 'Underground Passage' map in the video below.

We will do our best to bring you new content soon!

New content will be showcased at game events first, and for the next demo update, we plan to prioritize Xbox controller support.

Please continue to support us!

If you find any bugs while playing or have any suggestions, please feel free to report them to the email below.

ardorbit@gmail.com

If you 'Wishlist' the full version, you will be the first to receive news about the release!

We will be back with more news soon.

Thank you!

Best regards, Team ARDORBIT

I am leaving this verification because I was asked to prove I am not a bot farm

I think I saw a post around last week saying it hadn't been distributed, but I'm not sure if it has been or not.

It's highly likely to be a duplicate for me anyway, though;;