Polish developer The Farm 51 announced Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone, the sequel to 2021’s first-person shooter survival horror game, just before Gamescom 2024.
While there, I had the chance to speak with Wojciech Pazdur, Development Director at The Farm 51, who discussed the big changes of this sequel, which is moving to the third-person open world role-playing game genre (albeit with an optional first-person view for exploration) and shooting for a much bigger game in terms of explorable area and playtime, not to mention optional support for cooperative multiplayer.
We also learned that the studio is tentatively targeting a Fall 2025 release window, that it would rather not follow the early access path used for the original game, and that a Nintendo Switch port of the first Chernobylite is on the way.
When did you begin working on Chernobylite 2?
We started working on it as soon as we launched the first game. However, Chernobylite 1 was never fully finished because we just released the last DLCs, the last expansion packs, a bit over a month ago. This is actually the end of our journey with Chernobylite 1. A port is coming for Nintendo Switch, but we are not developing the game ourselves.
We first started working on concepts and prototypes for Chernobylite 2 in the second half of 2021, so it’s been almost three years today. The pre-production took us one year and a half, and we’ve been in production for over a year. We still have one year until the game is finished. Today, we are close to the Alpha stage, meaning you can play almost all the game. We actually wanted to wait to announce Chernobylite 2 up to the day when the first one was completely done from our aspect.
Are you going to do early access again?
We are considering early access. However, because of the scale of the project, we would prefer not to. We know that early access is very helpful. But if we went with early access, then probably the release date for the final game would be postponed, because early access gives you a lot of extra work. So today, we would prefer not to go for early access, but we will see how our playtest goes and how our talks with investors and the publisher regarding the distribution model go.
Ultimately, early access gave us an enormous amount of value-added feedback for the first game, helping us make a better game. Looking just from this perspective, early access is a good tool. But for a game of this scale, supporting and managing early access would be heavy for us because the game is many times bigger than the original.
What are the main improvements you’re planning for Chernobylite 2?
We originally didn’t even think of it as a sequel. We simply wanted to make the game we envisioned from the beginning. Chernobylite had a tiny budget, team, and schedule, as well as many technological limitations.
For instance, we always wanted to make it an open world game, but with Unreal Engine 4, it was too hard for us to keep this level of visual quality and make it open world. We had to make a game with very limited locations, a very small amount of characters, gadgets, weapons, and mechanics. Everything was very restricted from the beginning because of our team size, our technology expertise in Unreal Engine 4, and our budget, of course.
With Chernobylite 2, we knew we had a strong design foundation and a proven world setting. Actually, we had an internal joke: we codenamed the second game ChernobyFull. That speaks to how much we wanted this game to be the full, top-of-the-line experience that we wanted to create from scratch.
Meaning, first of all, an open world RPG. We wanted more characters, more character interactions, and more things to do regarding the different stories. We have also been adding a lot of content, like weapons, gadgets, mechanics, enemies, and so on, but it was not just our vision. We talked with Chernobylite 1 players; we have been constantly asking players, including very detailed surveys, to give insight on the best and worst elements of Chernobylite 1. Most of the players said yes, exploration, an open world, and then more characters, more gadgets, and more ways of progressing through the story. We agreed that, yes, this is also what we would like to do. So we simply made this world 20 times bigger world, and the playtime two to three times longer.
We have more characters, and these characters have faces and talk to you. In the original game, everybody wore gas masks because we couldn’t afford to make facial animations. We also have factions. In the original game, there were only a few characters in the whole zone, but here, the zone is divided into areas run by factions, and each faction has its representatives. If you cooperate with them, you gain their respect, and you can also unlock training that will provide special abilities. These are somehow related to what this faction is doing. We have mutants, scientists, and mercenaries.
Since it is an open world, you can walk around Pripyat City and then get back to the power plant, or you can use the quick travel option, which in our game happens through teleport-like devices. Besides that, the skill and attribute systems are more like in RPG games. We have six main attributes now. You can also ask your companions to help with managing the base, becoming your quartermaster or gunsmith or workshop manager, let’s say.
Do you still send them on missions like in the previous game?
We are not sending them in missions any longer. In the sequel, you are the one going on missions. But some of the missions are related to the characters that you have encountered, too, so sometimes they will appear in those missions.
The game still has an optional first-person view for exploration to let you enjoy the visuals. We’ve got much more detail. There is multilayered foliage all over the terrain. We have improved the density and quality of all models. Even with open world, it’s much more detailed than it was than it was before. We also have full body awareness, so you see the body of your character when using first person view.
The biggest change is that the main mode is third-person view, mostly to give it an RPG feel. We didn’t want to be compared too much with games like S. T. A. L. K. E. R. or METRO. It was an issue trying to do that because it was too often compared to S. T. A. L. K. E. R., which was not actually a reference to our game. Also, since we are doing an RPG, we have expanded melee combat. We see today that this combat system simply works better.
With Chernobylite, we were proud of everything except the fact that the players said our combat was just average. There is not much room for story-driven first-person shooters if they are cheap. Not having a triple-A budget, we decided we would not continue pursuing first-person shooters. We are going our own way. We believe in going toward RPG.
Is there any other unique feature in Chernobylite 2?
Yes. It is called Planewalking. At almost any time in the game, you can summon another version of yourself from another dimension. It may have different weapons, it may have different abilities, and it may be suited well for different playstyles. This allows you to change your character on the fly into different builds. For example, this scientist doesn’t have a typical shooting weapon, but he has some special ability, which is not actually magic; it’s physical-based stuff, but he can throw fireballs.
Are you worried that some players will be disappointed with this change of perspective?
Yes, actually, we know it’s an issue. This is why we are keeping a big part of the game, which is exploration, in first person. We hope the players will forgive us because we had this tested by both existing fans and new fans. Even existing fans said this new system plays much better. Shooting in first person in Chernobylite was simply average. That’s what we knew and that’s what we heard. Third-person combat actually works better in our game.
I remember from the official announcement that you’re also adding coop mode, right?
Yes, although I cannot show it to you right now. This was one of the things that players really demanded. Still, Chernobylite 2 is more like a single-player narrative RPG with the ability to play coop. For some missions, it is better to bring somebody along.
Whenever you’re in the base, you can use the radio. In the first game, you could only use it to receive some messages from other characters. Now, though, you can use it to connect with other people and meet them to explore another dimension and tackle the greatest challenges. But if you want to play the game just on your own, it’s also possible.
Do you plan to create dungeon-like content for co-op players where you have to fight a big boss or something like that?
I don’t want to spoil too much, but yes, for instance, some of the bosses would be better dedicated to be fought with the help of friends. Also, there are special locations. I didn’t show it much to you right now, but we also have dungeons and even huge towers. So, in general, you will not just be walking over the surface of the game, but you will, at some point, see many more different structures and different locations than just a huge flat area covered with forest and some ruins. We definitely have more of different locations over and under the ground.
Is there a day/night cycle in Chernobylite 2?
Yes, we got it.
Is there any change to the enemies during nighttime?
Yes, there are many aspects of the game that change when you play at different moments of the day cycle and in different weather. This actually affects the behavior and perception of the enemies.
The game is made with Unreal Engine 5, right?
Yes, it’s all done in Unreal Engine 5. We have moved most of the content from the original game here, but because we are using Unreal Engine 5 and we’ve got Nanite, this content is heavily upgraded over the original Chernobylite. We have been using the 3D scans of the real Chernobyl exclusion zone.
The source materials already have millions of polygons, but we optimized them in Chernobylite 1 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, so they couldn’t be as detailed as they are now with Nanite. Even the same source data that we captured five years ago can now be displayed in much higher resolution. It didn’t make sense for us to rescan Chernobyl again because we would end up with the same source data. We just reprocessed it to give it much more detail and polygons. And, of course, textures are also higher resolution, so right now, the game is more detailed, including things like the foliage. It’s also using the advantages of Nanite technology.
I imagine you’re also using Lumen, right?
Of course, yes. Actually, it has brought us a lot of optimization issues so far, and we are, let’s say, in the stage of optimizing that today.
It was announced at some point that Chernobylite would add support for NVIDIA DLSS 3, but I don’t think it was actually released. Is it going to be in this one?
For Chernobylite 1, the issue was that it appeared when most of the games were switching from the old generation to the next generation. So Chernobylite 1 was optimized to support the widest range of hardware systems, such as old and new consoles. The lowest graphic cards that we have been supporting, and I personally optimized the game for, were GeForce GTX 660.
Today, because we’re using Unreal 5 and going only for newer consoles, like PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, we’ll also increase the minimum requirements, as it doesn’t make sense to support those old GPUs today.
We will definitely put much more effort into everything to make games work well and smoothly with the more recent generation of cards. With Chernobylite 1, we really wanted to do more, but there was simply not enough manpower to provide support for both low-end, high-end, middle-end, and so on. We’ll see about DLSS because we also need to support FSR.
Actually, I have a meeting today with NVIDIA where we are discussing what could be the best way of utilizing their different technologies within the game, both the ones that are available today and the ones that will be available in one year when the game will be released in the final stage.
So you are planning to launch Chernobylite 2 in Fall 2025?
Yes. Generally, our goal is to be ready to release the final version of the game one year from now. I’m saying one year because it’s probably going to be August or maybe September next year. We’ll see. Generally, right now, we are announcing only the date 2025 because it depends on many different things. For instance, if we are doing a simultaneous launch on PC and consoles, if there maybe would be early access, if there will be physical distribution or digital only, and so on.
Would the game launch later on consoles?
We are discussing right now with potential partners because we would need extra support to make it a sim launch on consoles alongside PC, and we need to check if it’s worth doing that. Definitely, we want to be on PC and consoles because Chernobylite 1 was quite successful on both PC and consoles.
Now you are launching the first game on Switch, correct?
Chernobylite 1 will be launched on the Nintendo Switch console, hopefully late this year. We are just supporting the development of this version, which is mainly handled by an external company, a Polish developer with whom we are very friendly, and the project is already progressing well. I’m somehow supervising it and keeping up with their efforts, and so far, I’m playing Chernobylite 1 mostly on Switch.
The Switch 2 is coming. Will Chernobylite 2 launch on the new Nintendo consoIe?
I cannot say anything, but for sure, we won’t launch Chernobylite 2 on the old generation of any consoles because this game will be too heavy and too big and Unreal 5 won’t support it in a, let’s say, reasonable time frame or amount of work. But what we can say for sure, we are today definitely confirming that we are targeting PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and X, and for the other platforms that may appear in the meantime, all the discussions right now are quite secret.
Fair enough. Thank you for your time.
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