Ariel, a new game from much of the dev team behind the post-apocalyptic cult hit, S.T.A.L.K.E.R, has hit Kickstarter. Described  as “the definitive spiritual successor to the cult hit S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series,” Ariel is another first-person, open world game set after a catastrophic event causes life as we know it to change irrevocably. 

StalkerAreal has amassed almost half of its Kickstarter goal

“Areal depicts a future where civilization has fallen apart due to an unearthly material called Metamorphite, which eventually spreads, corrupts and infects the whole world. The source of Metamorphite comes from a meteor that impacted the earth long ago, and it is the site of constant conflict and bloodshed,” reads the game’s Kickstarter page. 

The story “is not linear,” adds the Kickstarter. “Players can choose how their characters act and speak – everything from how you talk to who you kill changes the storyline of Areal. There is no morality system in Areal, so you are free to make choices that you think are best in any given situation, without being blinded and limited by a standard good/evil system.”

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At the time of writing, Ariel has amassed $22,560 of its $50k goal, and with 29 days to go, it’ll safely land its target. But it’s not all plain sailing; Eurogamer reached out to Survarium developer, Vostok Games, which was founded by the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R devs, for comment on the new game. 

His biggest concern is that West-Games are apparently using footage and assets from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series to represent Areal. "My biggest concern with West-Games is using the footage and assets of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and representing them as their own, which is not only illegal, but simply just not right," Vostok's PR and marketing manager Oleg Yavorsky explained.

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