As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen it all – from the sublime to the downright ridiculous. Yet, nothing quite prepared me for the auditory rollercoaster that is STALKER 2’s English dub. After sinking countless hours into the game, immersed in its hauntingly beautiful Ukrainian voice acting and atmospheric setting, I decided to give the English version a spin out of curiosity. Oh boy, was it an experience!
As an analyst, I’ve immersed myself deeply in STALKER 2 over the past week, investing more than 40 hours to navigate its expansive open-world survival horror shooter landscape for my review on launch day. Throughout this journey, I opted for the game’s Ukrainian dialogue and subtitles, given that the developers at GSC Game World are from Ukraine and it aligns with the game’s setting within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in their homeland.
My coworker has been playing the game in English and mentioned that its dub is quite cheesy. This sentiment mirrors my own after watching snippets of dialogue from video reviews on Xbox and PC today. Eager to verify, I started the game, changed the language settings to English, and roamed around a base filled with NPCs for conversation.
And, uh. Wow.
In the character of STALKER 2’s protagonist Skif, it’s more than just a slight exaggeration to say that his English voice-over is cheesy. His voice sounds like it belongs to the action hero of the most cringe-worthy B-movie ever made – totally devoid of emotion, yet filled with forced and grating overemphasis. After only a short time listening to him speak, I found myself wishing to give him a punch in the face, and I can’t fathom enduring an entire game with his constant chatter.
It’s fortunate that the additional characters and non-player characters sound well, however, it’s disappointing that they are all voiced by Americans and Western Europeans. This inconsistency between voice acting and the game’s world is apparent because the game showcases architecture, music, and art that reflect Ukrainian and Eastern European culture. Furthermore, I’ve observed that these voices tend to be less grave and more playful, which doesn’t align with the ominous, tense ambiance of the game environment (and yes, while the original games had humorous voices too, they were not as prevalent).
Instead, you might find the Ukrainian version of the game’s voice acting to be more authentic and fitting for The Zone. Skif’s voice actor in particular does an excellent job. If you usually prefer dubbed content, I encourage you to adjust your settings and give the Ukrainian voices a try. I assure you, it will enhance your gaming experience.
The highly anticipated game “STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl” is now available on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC. This year, it’s been recognized as one of the top games for both Xbox and PC platforms. Priced at $59.99, you can currently find a discount on it at CDKeys. Additionally, you can play it using Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
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2024-11-20 21:10