Hello Stalkers!
Weeks of planning, gathering clues and evidence needed to discover THE TRUTH, persuading strangers to join our merry party, gathering supplies and the necessary tools. All these activities, as well as the numerous events that took place along the way, finally led us to the most important point of the journey - the last mission, "Heist".
You have been asking us about "Heist" for many months, demanding specific information, and sometimes also gameplay fragments. We didn't do this for several reasons. The most important of them is, of course, the desire to avoid spoilers (well, this IS the end of the game), and the ability to refine this powerful fragment in even its smallest aspects. You must know that "Heist" shows all the elements that make up the core of Chernobylite gameplay.
The team is the key
"You must gather your party before venturing forth" - this Baldur's Gate quote is a perfect match for the beginning of the Heist mission. During the briefing, Igor has to decide who will go with him disguised as NAR soldiers, who will guard the rear with a sniper rifle, who will hack and who will be doing the diversion. With a full team, the division of duties isn’t a problem. Worse if someone withdraws at the last minute.
Our teammates may choose not to go on the final mission with us. They will turn their noses up if, for example, we won't collect enough tools or evidence to support Igor's theories. In other words, if not everything is 100% finished (i.e. not all the pieces of the puzzle will appear on the board), then there will be doubts among the team, and in the end it may turn out that some will start giving up participation in the mission. Even Mikhail could admit that he may be crazy, but not enough crazy to be part of it.
Another way to discourage people from coming with us on the last mission is to... discourage them from reaching the player himself. During the game, the player will have to make several decisions, which are crucial not only for the development of the plot, but also for the relationship between him and the recruited characters. For example, at the end of the "Hack NAR servers" mission, you must decide whether to delete the data after hacking the NAR servers or look for information about Tatiana. Choosing the second option, the player will worsen his relationship with Mikhail - which is not surprising, because he was risking his life for this mission. There are also missions where making a choice can change your relationship with two characters at once. For example, by deciding to follow the destructive path of Sashko, we’ll gain respect for him, and at the same time we’ll lose respect for common-sense Olga, and vice versa. So it's important to keep the right proportions if we want to have a full team for the last mission.
Everything is planned, the team is tight and ready, the roles are assigned. It's time to go!
Which way, boss?
We emphasize many times that in Chernobylite, as befits an RPG, all the decisions we make have an impact on the further course of the game. This is something for those who know the game inside out, and you can find another example of it in the chapter above. However, everything that you have seen so far is only a small foretaste of what you can see in "Heist".
In order not to throw words to the wind, we will use examples (avoiding spoilers) to show how our decisions can have a real impact on the game. Well, first of all, you need to be aware that there are so many options to complete this mission. This is evident at the very beginning, when the team has to get to the power plant. The road leads through the main gate, which is guarded by two guards. We have several options to choose from:
a) play a scene in front of the guards about transporting the prisoner
b) shoot the guards from a distance with a sniper rifle
c) choose a different entrance, away from the guards' eyes
Each of these solutions requires a different approach and the right person in the right place. If, for example, the team doesn’t have a sniper, then the choice will be limited to two options, etc. However, if by some miracle we lead to a situation where we’ll be on our own, then it remains a force solution. Very risky and hellishly difficult, but if we've got more than a revolver with us, MAYBE somehow it’ll work.
The phrase "choice is of great importance" can also be seen in the subsequent stages of "Heist". One of the better examples is when a team tries to get through the biogates. These can set off an alarm, which in turn will attract the attention of the guards. So you can ask someone from the crew to hack the gates, and then you can easily pass through them...
...or ask the sniper to distract the guards with a big boom! However, in the latter case, you have to bear in mind that the sniper will have to run away from the guards. This means that he or she will be disconnected from the party, and we’ll lose his or her "services" later in the mission. Maybe they will be useful, maybe not - you won't find out if you don't check it.
However, regardless of the situation, you need to be careful that each step is well-thought-out. One wrong move, and we’ll not only lose one of the options to overcome the next obstacle, but also... one of our companions. Yes, an inappropriate decision made either now or two minutes ago could lead to the death of a member or members of our team. And that’s thought.
As you can see, there are really many ways to go "Heist", and the mutual thread of connections between the decisions made leads to the most diverse consequences. Which path we follow depends entirely on ourselves. Therefore, it is worth going through the small fragment of "Heist" available in the Mega Patch even several times to know what awaits on the day of the premiere. And it's going to be a very long and bloody hard journey.
That's it for today!
Take care, Stalkers!