The mystical aura of Eurojank games sets them apart from your average American hit.
Starting in the late 1990s, developers in central and eastern Europe have found ways to spread their unique approach to game design to the world.
These are brilliant games that you love to hate or hate to love, and whatever order you choose, they give you an emotional connection that almost feels like loving a person, flaws and all.
When something is so interesting and magnetic, you canignore the flaws. Welcome to the best of Eurojank.
8VLADiK BRUTAL
A One-Man Dev Army
A paranoid ruler tyrant ends up creating monsters in his thirst for power. Your job in all of this is to survive, blow things up, and try to make some sense of the situation.
VLADiK BRUTALis a one-man project by a dev who had zero design experience before making this game, and the result is a Slavjankboomer shooter extraordinaire.
The game feels like a beautifully cursed lovechild ofDOOMandSTALKER, or “RussianHalf-Life” depending on who you ask. The jank is a feature, not a bug.
The gunplay inVLADiK BRUTALis ridiculously fun, and it is propped up bycool visuals, excellent performance even on old rigs, and an awesome Eastern post-punksoundtrack.
7You Are Empty
A Forgotten Apocalyptic Gem
Despite coming out a year beforeSTALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, the Ukrainian hidden gemYou Are Emptynever got the attention it deserves.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Soviet Union, where things go horribly wrong, and the world is infested by the strangest beasts you can imagine.
You Are Emptyhas a lot of soul intertwined with a lot of jank that kept it from reaching widespread appeal.
The goofy character models make it feel like a Slavjank cut ofA Nightmare Before Christmas, except Jack Skellington is a Soviet man with a lot of bullets and even more problems that require them.
This game never made it to major online storefronts, but you can pick it up forfree on My Abandonware.
6STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl
When A Jank Game Gets AAA Funding
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
If you had almost a decade to make a game, you would assume there was some time to test how the elements work together.
Yes, the last two years of development werein wartime, and the GSC Game World crew went through incredible heroics to pushSTALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylpast the finish line.
But even still, it’s kind of insane how this game with oodles more funds than the other games in the series feels equally as broken as the others.
This game was allegedly on the cusp of release when the war broke out, though, which is an indicator that it was likely as much of a mess then ashow messy it is now.
10 Best Games Like STALKER 2
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a fantastic game, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only one of its kind!
Still, despite the bugs, chaotic mechanics, and genuinely confusing design choices,STALKER 2managed to be one of the most immersive and exciting games madein recent years.
The ambiance and commitment to the story of a decadent Zone that is somehow even bleaker than its 2007 iteration pull you in to make this experience unforgettable, bugs and all included.
5Escape From Tarkov
A Virtual Toxic Relationship
Escape from Tarkov
Here we have a shooter that has spent a decade in early access, has a major cheating problem, and a community so toxic you had better don a full hazmat suit before even making eye contact.
You’d think that it would be best to steer clear, and yet, anyone that tries this one in earnest will likely never truly be able to walk away entirely.
Escape From Tarkovdisrespects your time, but it’s all worth it the second the tide turns in your favor because you feel the closest someone can get to heaven without dying.
Sure, you could lie to yourself and say that you playEscape From Tarkovfor the realistic gunplay, in-depth medical simulation, anddiverse crafting mechanics.
But we know that ain’t the case, as many othergames give you the same mechanicsbut better.What they do not offer is sadistic disdain for you, and deep down, that’s what you crave.
This is a violent Eurojank executed in a way that we are unlikely to see repeatedin this lifetime, so enjoy it while it lasts.
Imagine every post-apocalyptic or dystopian game you love coming together to become a CRPG. That’sATOM RPGfor you.
Like theMetroseries, this game is set in a world where the world’s nuclear powers went to war, leaving behind a radioactive hellscape and a handful of survivors with little left to their name.
15 Best Post-Apocalyptic Games, Ranked
The apocalypse has become a popular setting for video games, but which ones have done it best?
What happens next is up to you, through mechanics that are equal parts brilliant and distilled jank.
Fighting feels much like the earlyFallouttitles, withturn-based goofiness that can have you clubbing a giant mutant while it politely waits for you to be donebefore sending you to the afterlife.
CRPGs lend themselves well to jank, as you enjoy deep emotional connections with the characters while they join you in the struggle against game mechanics that don’t always make sense.
3The Witcher
Artistry Without Budget
The Witcher
When you look at crowd-favoriteThe Witcher 3, it is hard to imagine that the series started as an RPG with some of the most arcane mechanics ever crammed into a game.
The plot and dialogue were good, but performance stability was a distant dream, and the combat was nothing short of abysmal.
Do you have any idea how amazing it feels to have a pre-combat cutscene where your enemy gets to hit you before the cinematic is even over?
CD Projekt Redlaid out a devilish trap wherethe story is too good to ignore, and the gameplay has just enough glimpses of brilliance to make you stick throughthe chaos.
As fun as that was to play, I’m quite glad they decided to up the production value significantly as the series went on.
2Pathologic 2
The Jank Remake Of A Jank Game
Pathologic 2
You know the Eurojank is good when a game gets a sequel that just happens to be a remake. Despite being a do-over,Pathologic 2remains a janky mess—in a good way!
The originalPathologicgame came out in 2005 but was playable only in the strictly technical sense.
Pathologic 2made the game easier to stomach by vaguely modern standards (though it still has that late 2000s veneer) to let you appreciate the artistry underneath.
The game hinges on its uniquely slow pace andsurvival-oriented gameplay, whereevery move counts to try and save a town from the sand plague that has sent everyone a little bonkers.
This cinematic experience is appropriately grotesque but in a way that highlights the artistry involved.
Enter Eurojank Square
Some days, you are left wondering if this game is just an experiment on how to makethe most intense Eurojank possible.
DayZpractically cheats by being a Eurojank mod ofArmA 2, which is itself a Eurojank game.
The gameplay loop inDayZis delightfully simple, but that is what makes it work so well. You wash up on the shore of zombie-infested Chernarus with a change of clothes and a dream.
DayZdoes not demand anything of you other than survival instinct; the rest is up to you to figure out.
Chernarus is full of tools, resources,zombies, and other players who can either help you or ruin your day. If you die, it’s lights out for your character, and you start over on the shore.
Whether you run an urbanist militia leader or become a hermit hunting in the woods away from the chaos. At some point, your lifestyle catches up with you, and you are back to the beach. Until then, it’s unlimited fun.
10 Best Survival Games for Beginners
Surviving is fun if you pick the right games to do it with.
