STALKER Clear Sky FAQ S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Enhanced Edition Game Walkthrough Wiki

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the prequel chapter of the Legends of the Zone Trilogy, re-released by GSC Game World as an Enhanced Edition. The story is set in 2011, one year before Shadow of Chornobyl. You play Scar, a mercenary who somehow survives the deadly emissions that kill the people around him, and who is taken in by Clear Sky, a secretive faction that studies the Zone. This page answers the common questions before you buy. For your first hours, see the beginner guide, and for choosing sides and planning achievements, see the faction wars guide.

1 Which game is this

This store page sells Clear Sky only. The three games are sold separately in their Enhanced Editions, and the store text opens with a line about the trilogy returning, which can read as if all three are included. They are not. Clear Sky was the second game released, in 2008, but its story comes first.

The store describes the story as unveiling events that set the stage for Shadow of Chornobyl, with iconic characters and locations shown as they once were. Lebedev, the leader of Clear Sky, sends Scar after a group of stalkers heading for the center of the Zone, because he believes their push is linked to the emissions.

2 Should you start the series here

You can, because it is first in story order, but it is the most divisive of the three. The original received generally favourable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 75, but a less enthusiastic reception than Shadow of Chornobyl. In a 2025 look back at the Enhanced Editions, Klardendum was far harsher and stopped partway through, calling the faction wars badly executed and the resource balance unpleasant.

3 What it adds over Shadow of Chornobyl

Clear Sky introduced several systems that the later games kept. The store and the Wikipedia summary of the original agree on the main ones.

Klardendum, otherwise negative, singled out the hidden artifacts as an improvement: rarer, but far more useful. The beginner guide explains each system in the order you meet it.

4 What Enhanced changed

The store lists god rays, dynamic screen space reflections and global illumination effects, redesigned water shaders, upgraded skyboxes and wetness, upscaled textures with more detailed characters, upgraded weapon models and field of view, bug fixes and quality of life tweaks, and full gamepad support. Klardendum adds that all three games now run on the same engine version, loading is faster, and Ukrainian localization is included by default.

5 Content notice

The developer notice is the same as for the rest of the trilogy. Play centers on shooting human and mutated enemies, with blood and violent scenes, enemies can sometimes explode because of weapons or anomalies, and the player character can drink alcohol. This guide does not describe violent scenes in detail.

6 Price, languages and Workshop

Workshop mods can change factions, balance and atmosphere. The developer has warned that some mods may stop working after an update, so if a patch arrives mid-run, disable mods before loading an important save.

7 System requirements

8 How hard is it

Harder than it looks at the start. The achievement list names four difficulty levels: Novice, Stalker, Veteran and Master. Beginner guides agree on the same pressures: bleeding is more severe than in the other two games, so you need more bandages, and resources are tight enough that careless spending hurts. Save manually and often, especially before fights and before entering a new area.