Stalker

Tomorrow, STALKER 2 will finally be available on PlayStation 5, almost a year after its somewhat bumpy release on PC and Xbox Series X|S.

You’re in a desperate situation. You’ve taken out a tower guard and snuck into an enemy base, but you’ve been discovered. A patrol is quickly closing in, cutting off your escape route. Spotting a ladder leading to a warehouse roof, you decide to get the high ground and make a dash for it. Searchlights sweep the darkness as heavy footsteps pound behind you, then suddenly everything goes quiet. Only the clicking of your Geiger counter breaks the silence as you climb, activate your night vision, and take aim. There, standing between you and your pursuers, is a grotesque mutant. It shrieks as bullets hit it, and you see its skin burning from the gunfire. Unfazed, your enemies casually walk past the fallen creature, kicking its remains before calmly searching its body.

GSC Game World is perhaps the most well-known of the many Ukrainian game development studios impacted by the 2022 Russian invasion. The company was forced to move its operations from Kyiv to Prague, and tragically lost a developer, Volodymyr Yezhov, in combat in December 2022. They’ve also faced ongoing propaganda and attacks from those opposed to Ukraine and former Russian fans.

Before I explain the update, I recommend checking out the video showing what the developers have been working on.

The new ‘Expedition’ update includes hundreds of bug fixes and a lot of improvements and new features. It affects many aspects of the game, including how the AI works, controller responsiveness, the user interface, and how your character moves and acts.

With the PS5 release of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl just days away, GSC Game World has detailed Update 1.7. While the update includes a new Master Difficulty and Expedition mode, the biggest change is likely to be dynamic faction warfare. Different groups of humans and mutants will now battle for control of territory within The Zone, and players can expect to get caught in the middle while pursuing their own goals. This means a more reactive and unpredictable world as factions fight for dominance.

Okay, so the devs did a big update to how stuff works in the game. They totally changed the stats on all the building tools, and revamped how stamina and sprinting work – it feels much smoother now. They also made it way harder for enemies to see me when I’m hiding in tall grass or reeds, which is awesome! Now, enemies aren’t dumb anymore – if they’re getting beat, they’ll actually try to run away! Plus, they’re smarter about fighting; they’ll try to get around you and pick their battles, choosing a good distance based on what weapons they’re using. It’s a lot more challenging and realistic now.

Update 1.7 for Stalker 2 is now available on Xbox and PC, bringing hundreds of improvements to the game. The biggest changes focus on difficulty and enemy AI. A new ‘Master’ difficulty setting has been added, offering the most challenging experience Stalker 2 has to offer. The update also revamps how enemy groups claim territory and behave in battles.

The full details of Expedition, Update 1.7 for Stalker 2, are available on Steam. While Stalker 2 is already quite challenging, I probably won’t try the new Master difficulty. However, the Expedition modifier – which you can use when starting a new game on easier settings – sounds appealing. It restricts how often you can save and requires you to visit camps with other characters to record your progress, reminding me of the challenging Hardcore mode in Fallout 4. It’s a bit disappointing, though, that you can’t create a network of makeshift save points by laying down bedrolls across the map.

The newly added Master difficulty is extremely challenging. GSC Game World designed it for highly experienced players, and it features tougher gameplay and fewer opportunities to save your progress.