Stalker 2 artist kickstarts the Zone Kit modding scene with a flood of glorious nonsense mods featuring Shrek, CJ, and—you guessed it—Thomas the Tank Engine

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Today marks an exciting day for Stalker 2 enthusiasts, as it brings back the A-Life feature in its significant 1.5 update. Moreover, it introduces the expansive Stalker 2 Zone Kit, a modding toolkit that empowers users to customize existing content or craft unique experiences by tweaking animations, weapons, mechanics, and even creating extraordinary elements of the Zone, all within a scale larger than your primary SSD.

Despite the fact that the Zone Kit has been released just yesterday, there’s already a significant number of new Stalker 2 mods popping up on Mod.io. A large portion of this early surge in activity can be attributed to Sanekum, an active modder who seems to be Aleksandr Silantev, a multi-talented artist known as a “senior brick artist” but officially recognized as an architecture artist and outsource art manager at GSC Game World.

It’s fantastic that GSC is investing time and resources into igniting the Stalker 2 modding community via Kickstarter, but what truly captivates me is the selection of work Silantev has decided to unveil globally. These are timeless modifications, indeed.

1. Confirm: CJ from San Andreas? Affirmed. Shrek? Affirmed. Thomas the Tank Engine? Absolutely affirmed.

2. Transform Sherman tanks into boars, rat swarms into cans of meat, or depict Siderovich as a centaur-like creature, but with a mutated deer body instead of a horse – we’ll call him the Sideerovich. If you prefer, you can portray him as a handgun instead.

– Verify: CJ from San Andreas? Affirmed. Shrek? Affirmed. Thomas the Tank Engine? Definitely affirmed.
– Alter: Change Sherman tanks into wild boars, switch rat swarms with tins of meat, or reimagine Siderovich as a centaur creature, but with a twisted mutant deer body instead of a horse – let’s call him the Sideerovich. Or, if you prefer, picture him as a handgun.

There’s even a version of recent “Italian Brainrot” meme Crocodilo Bombardiro, which went so viral on TikTok earlier this year it’s spawned everything from songs to gaming shovelware to Kerbal Space Program designs. The original meme contains a disgusting reference to bombing kids in Gaza that seemingly hasn’t prevented the “character” from gaining rapid popularity, appearing in nearly a dozen Steam meme games already.

As for the Stalker subreddit, it appears to favor the Strelok E3 hairstyle as a sort of “zenith,” and I must say, they do have a point.

Can’t believe Stalker 2 got peak mods on day one of modkit release from r/stalker

(That’s apparently based on an E3 trailer from 2021, by the way.)

PaleCriminal6 expressed eagerness about the prospect of watching someone battle Shrek in the Swamps, all while evading multiple Sherman Tanks, with only Sidorovich as their weapon, should this unusual encounter take place by the weekend, if it hasn’t occurred already.

In addition to Silantev’s creations, an increasing array of realistic (yet potentially more functional) modifications are emerging. These include enhancements such as animated interfaces, weapon and animation refinements, and adjustments to the A-Life system. It’s likely that we’ll see more sophisticated mods evolve over time. GSC Game World has stated that the current Zone Kit is considered “phase one,” implying that there will be even more opportunities for interaction with the Zone when phase two is introduced.

To ensure Stalker 2’s lasting popularity, fostering a vibrant modding community is crucial. Many in the subreddit agree that mods not only enhance a game’s lifespan but are particularly important for titles like Stalker 2, which boast immense potential and a fair share of quirks. The original Stalker thrived due to post-release modifications, and redditor No__Mango2962 foresees the same success for the sequel: “I envision that despite a rocky beginning, Stalker 2 will be admired as a treasure five or so years from now.

I’ve contacted GSC Game World to verify if the work is indeed by Silantev, and I’ll share the information once I get a response.

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2025-06-26 00:32