Chernobylite is a strange game that follows a survivor of the real-life Chernobyl disaster as he returns to the exclusion zone in search of his wife. It certainly takes inspiration from many similarly themed titles- the Metro series, Fallout, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and even Half-Life, and there is undoubtedly some strong points of comparison to be made. But the game does take a few strange turns from its predecessors, details that might be confusing to a new player. This means there are some very easy mistakes to make while playing the game, if only out of habit.
6 Death is not a Game Over, and Can be a Good Thing
Character death is usually treated as a "game over" moment, where the player has to go back to an earlier save and try again. Fallout, Metro, Half-Life, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. all follow this convention. The player character dying usually means having to start over. Chernobylite has its own weird approach. Instead of ending, the game brings Igor into a strange dimension whenever he dies. This place is a long passageway lined with moments depicting major choices Igor has made over the course of the game. Igor can revisit these memories and evaluate his decisions. When he is finished, he can restart the day - now with full health - and try again.
The one penalty to dying is a random selection of Igor's inventory being removed. However, there is a machine he can build that allows him to die without experiencing this issue. As strange as it may seem to commit suicide partway through the game, doing so can save him from difficult situations. For instance, when he is low on health, short on supplies, and massively infected with radiation, he can use the machine to restore his health.
5 Thinking in Linear Terms
One detail of note about many similar games is they follow usually follow a somewhat linear path. Metro Exodus has a series of very clear stages which each have an obvious start and endpoint. Half-Life has the player following a fixed path. Even S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Fallout have missions that need to be completed in a set order to progress further. While there are certainly missions that need to be completed to progress in Chernobylite, the player is given a bit more flexibility.
The most linearity present is that some missions require a specific companion to join Igor before they appear. But even the order in which Igor meets his companions is somewhat randomized. Missions can be started, re-started, and done over to achieve better results.
4 Choices Have Consequences, but Choices Can be Altered
Choice is a big part of many games, but Chernobylite adds a bizarre twist to it. The player has to make choices that affect the story. Choices can have consequences up to and including how well-prepared Igor is for the climactic heist. Some choices can cost Igor resources, access to important information, or tools and companions. Many of those decisions are set up so there is always a trade-off. Igor's companions will frequently provide conflicting ideas on how to proceed, and the one he ignores will have a lower standing with him. Listening too much to one companion and ignoring another can lead to characters outright deserting.
But as noted above, Igor visits another dimension every time he dies. In this place, he can not only review his choices, but he can also change his own timeline. He can spend 3 chernobylite to change a specific decision, or forget a previous event, allowing him to redo missions. This puts Igor in an unusual position - he can use hindsight to inform decisions based on the consequences he has already experienced.
To a player who is not accustomed to this mechanic, it may seem jarring and confusing. It may even be tempting to ignore it altogether. But Chernobylite does not work that way. In fact, it actually encourages the player to experiment with different choices and try to come up with the best outcome. This is also better for Igor in the long run, since altering the past can produce more favorable conditions in his present, meaning it is actually a good thing to try to make use of this mechanic as much as possible.
3 Prioritize Gathering Resources
It can be easy to get distracted by the main quests and lose sight of other, more immediate priorities like making sure Igor has the resources he needs. Igor needs to be constantly stocking up on anything he can whether it is food, crafting materials, medicine, or ammunition. All of it is important to keep the base and the team going. This means that sometimes Igor will need to put aside the main missions to prioritize gathering important resources. Supply run missions appear frequently and, while companions can be sent on them, Igor may occasionally want to run them himself to ensure their success.
But even on story missions, Igor should not be focused purely on his objective. Exploring the surrounding area in search of potential resources means more he can bring back to the base. The environment analyzer is really good for this purpose, as it will immediately highlight items of importance or interest. Being able to return to the base with more resources means more efficient building, and finding more food means more that can be fed to Igor's companions.
Additionally, taking the time to explore the environment outside of Igor's primary tasks and using the environment analyzer can produce some unexpected rewards. Searching thoroughly for resources can allow Igor to find places full of useful materials that he would otherwise not have noticed, and sometimes he may even stumble across valuable information.
Start Producing Resources Early On
While Igor can collect a lot of great resources in the field, he should not rely exclusively on doing so. There are several items he can construct in the base that allow him to produce resources. Building a vegetable garden will help provide food with more consistency, and add to any rations recovered in the field. Building an herb or mushroom garden will provide crafting resources. Building a laboratory will allow Igor to make medkits. Building crafting stations will allow him to make guns and ammunition. Igor can even build a machine that breaks down unwanted objects into crafting materials.
All of these options mean Igor is able to produce his own resources, which means less pressure to gather them in the field. Being able to produce medicine, bullets, or equipment means he can better prepare for missions. And it adds to any resources he does manage to recover while on missions. This will also help with getting resources that are harder to scavenge, such as lockpicks.
2 Build Storage
Collecting resources is important, but it comes with difficulty. Igor has a limited amount of space in his inventory, even with additional perks. This can make accumulating resources difficult while in the field, simply because he runs out of space and needs to drop something. The player then has to figure out what items take priority and discard the less neccessary ones. However, there is an easy-to-miss step in base construction that allows Igor to get around this problem. The Igor's Inventory category includes a section for storage, which includes cabinets, wardrobes, and shelves that can be used to hold things not immediately needed.
This is a much simpler solution that allows Igor to offload crafting materials and excess gear when he returns to the base. Discarding an item causes it to be lost, but putting it into storage frees up space in the inventory while also leaving the removed items available for future use. Igor should make a point of unloading excess crafting materials into storage spaces whenever he returns from the base, as this will make it easier to obtain additional materials which in turn makes building more efficient.
1 Decorations Are Not Just Cosmetic
Base construction is an important part of Chernobylite, and Igor can produce a variety of items for his team. Base Upgrades provide more options and improve specific aspects of living in the base, and Igor's Inventory allows him to produce valuable resources. The third category, companions' comfort is easy to dismiss as purely cosmetic. While there are definitely circumstances in which the first two categories take priority, companions' comfort actually has an important function- keeping up morale. Failing to reliably provide comforts will impact his companions' mental health and make them less effective on missions. This actually makes it very important to build items from companions' comfort with some regularity whenever it is possible.