Survarium Getting New Areas, Quests, Anomalies 'Soon'

I imagine that it'd feel terribly awkward to be Survarium. Yes, there are the obvious reasons - having such a silly nametag chained to your chest can't be fun; also, existing as the first sentient videogame or whatever - but imagine all the guilt. Survarium isn't STALKER 2 and it never will be, but longtime fans can't let go that easily. Survarium-You would walk into rooms, and people's eyes would narrow into disdainful slits. "You're not your parents' son, you... you... imposter," they'd say through clenched teeth, revulsion quivering in their eyes. "But, that said, the more reasonable among us do think you still seem fairly nice on your own merits - especially in terms of environment design and world lore. We sincerely wish you all the best. Keep on keeping on and all that."

"You abomination."

Where was I going with all of that? Oh yes, Lamentably Not STALKER 2-- I mean Survarium is getting a slew of updates that aim to make it even more STALKER-like in nature. In the near-term, that means two new locations - the nature-overrun Tarakanovsky Fort and oppressively imposing Mamayev Kurgan - and more anomalies in all levels.

Still in the experimental phase, meanwhile, are random anomalies, artifacts (which would provide a reason to venture into anomalies instead of simply skirting around them), an economy, and a full-blown quest system. The latter, especially, will hopefully put some single-player/co-op-ish adventure-y flair back into what is, for now, a fairly standard multiplayer shooter.

But I will not rest until I get my acoustic-guitar-strumming campfire men.

Survarium will be entering closed beta very soon, and Vostok is apparently ramping up its invite program accordingly. For now, though, you can always press keys and click your mouse while this video plays. It's (almost) exactly like the real thing! Only, you know, minus all the player agency and with more of your targets suddenly morphing into extremely chatty Russian game developers.