Stalker Remaster mod adds ray tracing, 8K textures and wild weather

(Image credit: GSC Gameworld/Strelokkkkk)

Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl has aged pretty well over the last decade, retaining all of its grim moodiness, but even depressing fields and bleak Soviet architecture can benefit from some modern bells and whistles. Stalker SoC Remaster is the first in what it creator, Strelokkkkk, hopes will be a trilogy of remaster mods, and judging by the tech trailer it's shaping up nicely. 

The aim of the mod is to retain the vanilla Shadow of Chernobyl experience, but with modern additions like ray tracing, higher quality textures, enhanced god rays and a long list of improvements to both the environment and models. 

While the AI, weapons and other features are being left alone, the weather overhaul and its accompanying 'epic blowouts' might still have an impact on your exploration of the Zone. Blowouts are massive releases of energy that look like terrifying red storms, and while they were cut from the game, modders eventually put them back in. The remaster beefs them up a bit.

Stalker SoC Remaster is coming soon, but in the meantime there are other overhauls and remasters that you can download now, like XpressTuning's Remaster Edition.

Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.