As an avid gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of games that are rough around the edges but still manage to captivate me with their unique charm. STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is one such game, a survival gem nestled amidst a landscape of jankiness and technical hiccups.
In an alternate timeline, ex-scientists from the Soviet Union unintentionally developed a hazardous area teeming with mutants and unusual occurrences. It’s been 15 years since we last ventured there, and in this review of STALKER 2, I’ll discuss how GSC Game World has managed (and faltered) at updating this classic survival game for the present day.
In a new installment, titled “STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl“, we delve into a specific category of survival games. Here, players assume the character of an outsider venturing into the mysterious “Zone” – the area surrounding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which showcases peculiar, defying-physics phenomena known as “anomalies”. This place teems with dangerous mutants and potentially more lethal human adversaries.
Stepping Into the Zone
In every STALKER game, the protagonist is driven by a strong desire to explore the enigmatic Zone. Our character, “Skif,” successfully infiltrated it after the Zone left a striking imprint on him, placing an intriguing artifact in his laundry basket (and creating a hole in the wall as well).
In Skif’s innocence and lack of familiarity with the Zone, he serves as an ideal stand-in for the player. Neither he nor the character you control have a clue about what lies ahead, allowing you to explore the game’s initial challenges at your own pace: peculiar abnormalities, lethal mutants, and ruthless outlaws.
In the Zone, multiple groups vie for power, and your decisions and actions might lead a particular group to view you as an enemy.
In the beginning, the storyline is quite structured, but after that, it opens up – you might choose to quickly go to the town of Zalissya nearby, or take on some nearby side missions, or even ignore these possibilities and venture independently into the Lesser Zone area of the map for self-discovery.
Having had some experience with the original STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, I must admit that STALKER 2 initially captivated me with its presentation. It appeared to be everything that a devoted fan of the series would have hoped for – a solid, mostly bug-free rendition of the distinctive STALKER atmosphere using contemporary technology. Regrettably, this initial sense of awe didn’t persist for long.
Flimsy Guns Falling Apart
One significant concern I encountered in STALKER 2 pertained to its weapon system. Firing just a few dozen rounds significantly deteriorated the condition of the firearm. The damage to both weapons and armor seems excessively severe, particularly for legendary durable platforms like the AK series rifles.
To clarify this scenario, one climactic story mission involves a relentless firefight across an expansive subterranean complex. Initially, my top-tier, custom sniper rifle was in pristine shape; however, as the mission progressed towards its midpoint, it had deteriorated significantly to the point where I needed to grab weapons from fallen foes just to stay competitive.
Instead of making matters worse, having to shell out money for technicians to fix and mend your equipment is an additional burden. At first, these repair costs were rather exorbitant (and have been moderated somewhat in a subsequent update), but the persistent durability issue continues to be a major inconvenience.
In the game, it’s not possible for you to fix or maintain your weapons on the battlefield, even though Skif impressively puts an AKM-74S back together in less than a minute in a early-game scene. To make the durability of guns more realistic or to add some depth, there should either be an improvement in their robustness, or a feature that allows for minor field repairs.
Enemy Spawns Are a Farce
Regardless of firearm considerations, I wholeheartedly adopted the shrewd, vigilant mindset of a Stalker as I delved into the Zone. I always made sure to inspect corners thoroughly and sweep rooms before advancing, to avoid surprise attacks from behind. Sadly, it seemed the game was unfairly biased right from the outset.
The STALKER series was known for its dynamic Non-Player Character (NPC) system, often referred to as “A-Life.” This feature allowed unexpected encounters such as wandering into a firefight between groups of men or observing mutants attacking a solitary Stalker. However, in this game, the way these events and characters appear is unfortunately poorly executed.
In STALKER 2, enemies often seem to materialize out of thin air right in front of me, sometimes just a few steps away. It doesn’t happen every time, but the game could do a better job at hiding random enemy appearances, making it feel less clumsy.
This situation is particularly aggravating when it occurs within limited areas. During a side quest, I found myself navigating a labyrinth of compacted vehicles in a junkyard. Upon activating a secondary objective, I was swiftly attacked by two bands of thugs, despite having thoroughly scouted all entry points and finding no signs of life nearby. This moment instantly broke my immersion.
Factional Friction
Just like its predecessors, STALKER 2 allows you to shape the game world through your decisions, ultimately determining the outcome. Within the Zone, various factions vie for power, and your actions can turn one against you. Regrettably, the implications of these choices aren’t always as clear as they could be.
For instance, significant decisions are given to the player using an innovative layout displaying a choice on both sides. Each option displays a specific emblem, but it’s not straightforward to determine which factions these symbols belong to or how your actions might influence the world, and there’s also no means to monitor your overall alignment with a faction.
On the given map, these identical symbols appear in significant locations, which we can understand as towns. It struck me that the peculiar ‘B’ symbol stands for a Ward, but I’m unsure about what group is denoted by the radiation sign. How do my decisions impact or affect them positively or negatively? At the time, I was clueless and lacked any means to discover the answer.
In an ideal world, any character could provide comprehensive information about a specific faction upon request. However, that luxury is unfortunately unavailable in reality.
Understanding the agendas of these groups proves challenging, and it can have repercussions for you. I encountered situations where I was isolated from key outposts solely due to my stance against The Ward. In a game lacking extensive fast travel options, this isolation made venturing into specific parts of the map an arduous journey.
As a gamer, here’s how I’d put it: In this game world, there’s no in-game info about mutants, anomalies, or other zone oddities. It wasn’t until I’d squashed truckloads of those Bloodsuckers and Poltergeists that I stumbled upon their names – either through casual chats with NPCs or by reading the fine print on mission objectives.
In the game STALKER 2, it would be helpful to have a means to easily gather and store information about the Zone in your PDA. While interacting with characters could potentially provide all the details you need, that’s not an option available in the game. As a result, it becomes challenging to fully comprehend the world you’re exploring.
STALKER 2 Review | Final Thoughts
I’ve invested nearly 200 hours delving into STALKER 2 at a leisurely pace. Although it does have some imperfections, these are generally small issues that can be easily improved. For instance, they could boost the durability of guns slightly without much effort. Luckily, GSC Game World has acknowledged and is working on resolving the problems related to exorbitant repair costs and meager payouts for mission accomplishments.
Improving significant aspects like unclear faction details or glitchy enemy spawns can also be addressed, although it may require additional effort. So far, the developers have demonstrated a dedication towards polishing the game, and I’m confident that they will make the gameplay more seamless with time.
Still, I can’t help but love the Zone and its colorful cast of characters. There are no good guys or bad guys, there are just guys, and they all have their own motivations for the actions they take. It’s up to you to hear them out and decide which choices will be best for you, the Zone, and all of the odd people (and mutants) who dwell within.
If you’re willing to look beyond some imperfections, STALKER 2 offers a distinctive take on survival games that caters to both seasoned fans and newcomers. However, if rough edges every now and then bother you, it might be wise to hold off for a few months and observe if GSC Game World addresses the more substantial issues.
As an avid gamer, I had the privilege of diving into the world of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl for approximately 198 hours on my PC via Steam, thanks to a key graciously provided by the publisher. Every screenshot you see here was captured during my immersive journey through this captivating game.
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2024-12-02 21:33