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Chernobylite is a very strange game about a former Soviet professor who revisits the scene of the real-life Chernobyl disaster in search of his wife, only for things to get a lot more complicated than they first appear. Twists and turns in the narrative ensue, and by the end, the game proves to be something quite different from what it seemed to start as. Although drawing on similarly-themed games like Fallout, STALKER, and the Metro series, Chernobylite goes in some unexpected directions full of intrigue, conspiracies, and transcending of space and time.
As surreal as the game could get, it did ultimately a solid conclusion to Igor Khymynuk's story. Some of the game's lore becomes clearer as Igor progresses, or revisits his decisions, but that does not mean that there are no mysteries or unanswered questions that still remain when the game is finished. Whether players can expect The Farm 51 to make Chernobylite II and expand on their existing canon remains to be seen, but there are some questions that stand out either way.
6 Origins of Chernobylite
One of the key motifs in the game is the radioactive substance known as chernobylite, itself inspired by actual minerals formed by the Chernobyl Disaster. But there is a lot more to the stuff than Igor initially understands. Aside from being the "most radioactive substance in the world," it proves to have some very strange properties. It seems to be capable of manipulating the fabric of space and time.
At the very start of the game, Igor is able to use Chernobylite to build a portal gun that allows him to move quickly around the exclusion zone. When he dies he is able to use Chernobylite to alter decisions he made in the past. Later observations even seem to indicate that Chernobylite might be a living organism, rather than simply a mineral. That last detail is confirmed at the game's end when Igor learns that not only is the substance alive, but it is also intelligent.
5 How Much Damage Has Chernobylite Already Done?
Chernobylite is revealed to be a parasitic organism that seeks to assimilate the Earth for its own reasons. Igor can allow it to do so or sacrifice himself to destroy it. But either way, there is clearly a much bigger threat at play than he could have expected. It is indicated that Earth is not the first world to be infected and consumed by the substance, which begs the question of just how many worlds have already fallen to it. How many other races have been consumed or assimilated into Chernobylite, and just how does it work?
Chernobylite can enter a world through places with high radiation levels and has the ability to warp and distort the fabric of reality. Igor is not the only one aware of this detail. Olivier is able to perceive the apparent time loop even if he does not fully understand it. The epilogue also indicates that while the substance itself is gone, the monsters are still present in the exclusion zone. This indicates that even if the world is safe from it, its impact will still be felt for a very long time. If the monsters still remain, what other long-term problems may stem from Chernobylite's presence?
4 Is Chernobylite Exclusive to Chernobyl?
It is known that Chernobylite is radioactive and its presence seems to be connected to radioactivity, but it has so far only been observed in Chernobyl. This actually has some roots in history- an unknown mineral compound identified as "Chernobylite" was found to have formed as a result of the disaster and was the inspiration for the substance encountered in the game.
But if chernobylite could be produced by high radioactivity, could it conceivably appear in other places under the right conditions? This is actually discussed in-game, though never given a clear answer. However, Igor does note that it is theoretically possible for Chernobylite to appear in places with high radioactivity. This does make it possible, though unconfirmed, that chernobylite could be found in the aftermath of other nuclear disasters.
3 Who is Behind NAR?
NAR acts as the game's main antagonist, at least until Chernobylite reveals itself. They are a corporate entity that has purchased access to the Chernobyl exclusion zone from the Ukrainian government. Mercenaries are hired to take care of the dirty work, while scientists are hired to research Chernobylite under strict NDAs. The NAR has been building on prior Chernobylite research by the KGB, trying to understand its space-time properties and possibly create wormholes.
The game initially sets up Professor Semenov as a victim coerced into the NAR. Turns out, Semenov is actually the real mastermind. However, he may be in charge of Chernobylite research, but he seems to answer to someone even higher up in the chain of command. Who is giving him orders? Furthermore, while NAR leaves Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, they have not been completely defeated. The shareholders simply pulled their funding and left. This implies that they still exist. What other projects do they have going on?
2 Who is Tarakan's "Rat King" and What Danger Does He Pose?
Among the various companions Igor encounters in his journey through the wasteland, few are quite as strange as Tarakan. There are bits of his backstory which come up, including him being a survivor of the Nazino Tragedy in 1933 and the implication that he may have been a test subject for Chernobylite. But the most obvious characteristic is his peculiar obsession with rats. He refers to Igor as "mousey" (which he says is because it seperates him from rats), wears a gas mask that looks suspiciously like a rat's face, and at one point leaves Igor a trail or dead rats to follow.
Tarakan has a long history of clashing with NAR, but seems to have a particular interest in eliminating someone or something he refers to as "the Rat King." Tarakan clearly understands what is going on around him, so it is unlikely the rat king is a compete fabrication. More likely it is the way he perceives a much greater problem. But who exactly is the rat king? Koslov? Semenov? Chernobylite? Something even bigger? It is hard to say.
1 Is There a Greater Danger?
Chernobylite turned out to be something far more dangerous than anyone could have realized, but if it was capable of doing the damage it did could Earth be in danger of other even bigger threats? The ending where Igor sacrifices himself offers a more optimistic epilogue, with Chernobylite disappearing from the world and things working out for every companion who survived. His sacrifice may have saved the world - for now.
While Igor has a somewhat decent understanding of Chernobylite by the game's end, it is not clear if it is the only one of its kind. Could another Chernobylite intelligence find its way into the world, perhaps one that learned from the mistakes of its predecessor? Chernobylite was already capable of manipulating humans, what if there is a Half-Life-esque twist that revealed Chernobylite was itself being controlled by something else, much like the Nihilanth? And if Chernobylite was being controlled, then what was controlling the controller?
Chernobylite was released on October 16, 2019, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.