7 popular games created by Ukrainians worldwide

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Developed by GSC Game World, this game series has become iconic and has spawned several sequels. It all started with the first game in the series, STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, released in 2007, followed by STALKER: Clear Sky in 2008 and STALKER: Call of Pripyat in 2009.

The plot of the first game tells the events of 2006 when a second explosion occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the nature of which remained unknown. This incident transformed the Exclusion Zone, turning it into something not only radioactive but also shrouded in paranormal phenomena.

In response to the threat, the government erected military cordons around the dangerous area. Despite a strict ban, brave and daring treasure hunters known as stalkers venture into the zone in search of valuable anomalous objects.

Most games in this series are first-person shooters with survival elements. This means that, in addition to the typical shooter gameplay, players have to contend with hostile and harsh environments, significantly complicating survival tasks.

One of the key features of this series is the locations created based on documentary materials and footage taken in the Exclusion Zone around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Cossacks

This game was also developed by GSC Game World and gained immense popularity in Ukraine and Russia. The first part of this famous series was released in 2001 and is a true treasure for fans of classic real-time strategy.

The game features gameplay that is practically perfect for the genre, a genuine atmosphere, numerous available factions, and excellent graphics. This allowed Cossacks to compete on an equal footing with genre giants like Age of Empires.

GSC Game World, founded in 1995, began its journey with an ambitious adventure project. However, the developers lacked the necessary experience to realize it. Their debut project was called WarCraft 2000 and was a massive modification of the well-known strategy game from Blizzard.

The game became widely available on the Internet in early 1999. After that, GSC Game World started a new project, DoomCraft, but its development had to be quickly abandoned. Later, the developers embarked on a unique project called Cossacks: European Wars.

Cossacks: Back to War (Photo: Steam)

Survarium

Survarium is a massively multiplayer online game in the first-person shooter genre with elements of a role-playing game, available under a free-to-play model, developed by the Ukrainian company Vostok Games. Since its first release, it has gained significant popularity. An interesting fact is that many Survarium developers also worked on the original game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world that emerged after an environmental catastrophe. In 2020, numerous ecological catastrophes led to the destruction of ecosystems, and swarms of parasites took their place. Vegetation began to mutate and spread, and attempts to destroy the Forest by burning it only worsened the situation. Due to the loss of power plants, there is an electricity shortage in the world, leading to hunger and anarchy.

Humanity attempted to eradicate the Forest using a specially created virus. This resulted in cities being covered in anomalous dust, leading to an epidemic of an unknown disease that claimed the lives of the majority of the population within a year.

Survarium (Photo: Overclockers.ua)

Warface

Warface, created by the Kyiv branch of Crytek, is a multiplayer online shooter based on the Free2Play model.

It's important to note that on January 26, 2013, Warface set a new world record by attracting the largest number of players simultaneously on a single server for an online shooter. This achievement was recognized and included in the Guinness World Records.

Warface is a first-person military shooter set in 2023. The game offers both traditional full-scale PvP battles with a class-based character system and cooperative PvE missions.

For a long time, the Ukrainian branch was one of the most successful divisions within Crytek. Later, the paths of the Ukrainian studio and the German company diverged. Crytek Kyiv announced its independence from the parent company and changed its name to Blackwood Games.

Warface (Photo: Gamehag)

Metro

The Ukrainian shooter, based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel Metro 2033, was initially developed by 4A Games. This studio was founded a year before the release of the game STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl.

The game's story is set in post-apocalyptic Moscow, mainly in the underground metro, starting from the station where the main character, named Artyom, grew up. In June 2011, 4A Games announced the development of Metro: Last Light, which later gained tremendous popularity.

Additionally, the studio announced Metro Exodus in 2017, which was released in 2019. Similar to the previous installments in the series, Exodus received high praise from critics and reached second place in the UK charts within the first month of its release.

Due to the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the studio announced its relocation to Sliema, Malta, in May 2014. Since then, the main office is located in Malta, and the Kyiv office became secondary.

Metro Exodus (Photo: Wikipedia)

Sherlock Holmes

Frogwares is an independent Ukrainian company with its headquarters in Kyiv. It was founded in Dublin in 2000 and specializes in developing narrative-driven video games. However, it gained significant popularity thanks to its epic games featuring the famous Sherlock Holmes.

The game series includes several outstanding works, with perhaps the most popular being Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. This game combines two different literary worlds: Arthur Conan Doyle's world of Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulhu Mythos by Howard Lovecraft, the father of the horror genre.

The series also features successful projects like 'Sherlock Holmes: The Testament,' which received positive reviews, and 'Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter,' which received mixed reactions. In 2019, Frogwares released its first open-world detective game titled The Sinking City.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (Photo: GameMAG)

Contre Jour

Created in Ukraine, Contre Jour was recognized as the best mobile game at E3 by GamePro and was a finalist for Best Mobile Game at E3 according to IGN. Furthermore, it was named Game of the Year on the App Store, underscoring its remarkable success.

In the game, players control a blob-like creature, overcoming various obstacles and collecting items that provide new abilities and skills. Contre Jour offers over 60 levels with varying levels of difficulty, delivering an engaging gaming experience.

The game's development took 7 months, with an additional 2 months for preparation before release. Thanks to the efforts of Maksym Gryniv, Contre Jour was recognized as the Game of the Year for Apple iPad in 2011. For his contributions to the gaming industry, Maksym Gryniv also received an honorary award and diploma at the 8th IMGA Awards ceremony in Barcelona.

Contre Jour (Photo: TouchArcade)

Earlier, we wrote that the new Spider-Man game features Ukrainian flags and signs.