Now, when I got to the factory-type place in the middle of a huge thunderstorm and there was weird anomaly shit floating around, *that* was atmospheric. Like I say, I really do need to go back to Pripyat. It can do atmosphere when it wants to and it’s possible I just caught the swamp at a bad time.

So now I have to know: what is so inferior about the Call of Pripyat swamp? It’s set in a fairly deep valley and the reeds in the area block your view. Most enemies in the area are relatively easy to deal with, but there’s always a chance for snorks and bloodsuckers to pop out and scare the hell out of you. Combine those features with the game’s pitch-black nights and you’ve got an area that’s very stressful to travel through.

Admittedly, I haven’t played the game without the Complete mod since it became available. I’m rarely someone who wants total overhaul mods–barring ones which fix bugs and add removed contents, like in Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines–but it’s a big improvement over the vanilla version without really changing the gameplay.

Pripyat has been on my to-play list for about two years now. I should probably do something about that.