Exclusive: Chornobyl Liquidators Is a Haunting Tribute Closer to the HBO Series Than STALKER, Releasing in June
Decades after it took place, the Chornobyl disaster remains so ingrained in the public imagination that it’s easy to forget its terrible real-world consequences. But Chornobyl Liquidators, a new immersive sim set to release in June, aims to delve into some of that history in what developer Live Motion Games calls a “commemoration of the disaster and its victims.”
A new gameplay trailer released by Live Motion Games and publisher Frozen Way highlights how the new historical sim will put players in the boots of the Liquidators — the firefighters, soldiers, and other personnel who were called in to deal with the consequences of the 1986 nuclear disaster. According to the official release, it will use historical documents and other items from Soviet Ukraine to present what it’s calling an authentic version of the event, but with a fictional story.
“In this production, you won’t have to face mutated creatures or anomalies caused by radiation,” it reads. “Instead, you will experience the actual consequences of the reactor failure at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.”
Live Motion Games says that Chornobyl Liquidators will take care to create a “mature and emotionally engaging narrative that incorporates moral decision-making,” with features including a stress mechanic that makes it more difficult to complete quests, and can even result in a heart attack. Players will experience the story from different perspectives, and will participate “directly or indirectly in episodes that happened between late April and mid-September 1986,” with two possible endings.
As the worst nuclear disaster in history, Chornobyl, as highlighted in HBO’s award-winning miniseries, Chernobyl (Ukraine has increasingly referred to Chernobyl as “Chornobyl” in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion, choosing to privilege the Ukrainian name over the Russian version). It is a key location in the STALKER series, and also the setting for one of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s most memorable missions.
Both Frozen Way and Live Motion Games are based in Poland, with Live Motion Games’ catalogue including Train Station Renovation and Bakery Simulator. Chornobyl Liquidators is being developed for Steam, and will release on June 6.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
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