STALKER: Lost Alpha mod video shows the promise of an expanded Chernobyl

People are never satisfied with what they've got. That's okay, we're an aspirational species. Although, I do question the healthiness of that impulsion when it comes to STALKER: Lost Alpha. It's being created by a group seemingly dissatisfied with GSC's final version of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. As such, they're trying to bring the game back to its 2002-era screenshots, when certain areas were larger, and more open. That's right: this is a group of people who want STALKER to be larger, more overwhelming and, of course, more harrowing.

"Here is a demo video from the latest build of Lost Alpha," explains the trailer's description. "It's not a trailer, it doesn't have planned and pre-rendered parts, since everything was recorded live, and next time it wouldn't have been the same." To explain, on the ModDB page for the new video, the creators explain that, because of the mod's size and randomness, "even a several hours long video couldn't represent the actual content we have in game already."

The video shows off the team's latest work, including a work-in-progress DirectX 10 render, and smarter NPC AI. "They will try to hide, use cover more times, and so on. Everything is still work-in-progress, this video does not represent the quality of the final product. One thing we can say for sure, it can be only better."

Not only are the team expanding the game through their own interpretation of the early previews, but they're also reimplementing some of GSC's cut work. For a run-down of Lost Alpha's planned features, check out the team's FAQ on ModDB .

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.