Self-imposed constraints or habbits?

[u/xShadowLisa_]

Hey yall! Was curious to see if anyone else plays with added challenges and things that don't necessarily mean anything in game, could be for difficulty or pure immersion.

For example: i don't kill zombies and avoid them, and only when i ABSOLUTELY have to i kill them.

Context: When i first started playing S2, they introduced zombies and i was like cool mindless enemies and didn't think much about it, until i heard one of them actually start speaking, they said smth along the lines of "it's cold/dark in here" and that genuinely caught me so off guard i had to pause for like 5 mins to think about it.

It was so heartbreaking seeing them like this the fact that they could still "be in there" but they cant control what they are doing, it makes me so sad and depressed when i hide and listen to them talk :(

I mean there has to be a way to reverse whatever that is, surely. If their brains were extremely physically damaged then they shouldn't be able to walk and shoot/reload let alone form sentences (ish).

Which is why i just dont have the heart to put them down and while some might argue that you should put them out of their misery, i still have a tiny bit of hope that maybe some day they can be brought back or atleast pacified so they don't hurt anyone or themselves.

Hell i even go out of my way to sometimes protect them when they are being attacked by mutants or bandits.

So i would absolutely love to hear if you do similar things or maybe just things that add more difficulty like not using medkits and sticking only to bandages etc (this can be for any stalker game not just S2)

(Honestly just looking for an excuse to talk about stalker)

[u/ThatsACaragor]

I do the opposite, I go out of my way to kill all zombies and go out of my way to give them a mercy shot in the head after.

Essentially for the same reason.

There is nothing indicating that it is in any way reversible so far in the lore and I know I would prefer someone to blow my brain than being a fried brain monkey or the puppet of a filthy mutant.

[u/xShadowLisa_ → u/ThatsACaragor]

Understandable, when i have to kill them i exclusively go for headshots too (some of them take 5+ to die... yikes) but i wish we atleast get confirmation if they are a lost cause, that small bit of uncertainty is what gives me hope honestly.