Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl review – An imperfect return to The Zone

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl review – An imperfect return to The Zone
4.0 out of 5 star rating

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of game launches, some smooth as silk and others as bumpy as a dirt road. The launch of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl falls into that latter category, but it’s not without its charm and potential.

The iconic Stalker trilogy stood out mainly for its remarkable ambiance, gritty firefights, spontaneous gameplay mechanics, frightening sequences – all marred by numerous technical glitches.

They were games with a lot of heart, but lacking a certain polish.

Fifteen years on from the last instalment, Stalker: Call of Pripyat; here we are again.

I eagerly long to embrace Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl wholeheartedly, minus any preconceived expectations. As a child, I was introduced to its predecessors, yet it wasn’t until later, with the help of the modding community, that I came to truly cherish those games. I suspect a similar experience may unfold here.

As someone who enjoys older games and Bethesda titles filled with mods, bugs, and all sorts of quirks, I’m used to dealing with what the industry calls ‘jank’. However, Stalker 2 is unlike its predecessors, making it a bit more challenging to accept.

Originally, many games relied heavily on text or simple cutscenes to tell their stories, but they often felt somewhat unpolished. In contrast, Stalker 2 offers a more cinematic experience with exceptional acting, yet it seems that interactions about Zone mysteries, when conducted via a Walkman and floating headphones while the character is distant, could benefit from some refinement for a more immersive experience.

As a fervent supporter of Skif, the protagonist whom the Zone has touched, I can’t help but find myself wholeheartedly cheering him on. My personal experience during the hands-on preview was remarkably seamless and engaging, leaving me eagerly anticipating his journey ahead.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl review – An imperfect return to The Zone

In our introductory video, I specifically emphasized the challenging journey that GSC Game World has faced during the creation of Stalker 2 – it’s hard for me to imagine developing a game under such conditions. Although I can’t fully understand their situation, it seems that Stalker 2 has experienced some setbacks along the way.

As a devoted fan, I must express my enthusiasm for GSC Game World’s approach to Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. They’ve masterfully blended the essence and elements that made those classic games shine, yet wisely modernized where appropriate. However, just as those iconic games needed a bit more time to bake perfectly, so does Stalker 2. I can hardly wait for its final, delectable serving!

Beneath its surface lies an exceptional game that drew me in deeper with each passing moment. Without a doubt, it embodies the essence of Stalker.

Initially, I found it quite jarring as a longtime enthusiast, despite the familiar mechanics and gameplay. However, the transformation of the world into an open one, beautifully rendered by Unreal Engine 5, was breathtaking – yet, there were aspects that didn’t live up to expectations too.

Re-exploring places from the originals feels strangely familiar, especially when encountering and engaging characters you’ve met in them before. However, this isn’t done in a way that feels contrived or solely for fan service purposes. Instead, they are integrated seamlessly, making sense within the storyline. Given Skif’s growing reputation as a Zone legend, it seems natural that he would cross paths with those who preceded him too.

Delighting in the search for artifacts remains just as thrilling now as it did in 2007, and the sense of relief upon survival and making it back to safety is tangible.

In modern combat, artificial intelligence-controlled opponents engage in intense skirmishes more so than before. They take strategic positions, frequently launch explosive projectiles, and persistently advance to force your retreat.

Guns emit sharp, heavy sounds and mastering their use takes dexterity. Over time, they’ll deteriorate, and there’s no more exhilarating feeling than when one jams, especially when a menacing mutant bloodsucker is on the verge of mauling your face.

The audio design is absolutely superb. The Zone groans and creaks as it protests your very presence. Emissions crash and thunder. Mutants roar. Anomalies sound as otherworldly as they look.

I briefly touched upon it earlier, but Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is full of wonderful characters I deeply care for and those I loathe (in a good way). The Ukrainian voice acting is superb, but some of the magic is lost in the English dub.

Amongst the residents of the Zone, a sense of predestined inevitability is prevalent. Capturing this sentiment in writing can be challenging. Throughout history, Ukrainians have faced immense hardships – from harsh living conditions under the Tsars, the Holodomor famine, Nazi occupation and genocide, the Chornobyl disaster, Soviet rule, to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Countless millions have experienced suffering and death as a result. Many who survived those times are still alive today, and the repercussions of those events continue to be felt in modern times.

I don’t necessarily embrace my destiny as a surrender, nor do I view it as defeat; instead, I find resilience in coexisting with the atrocities without letting them consume me. It’s this grit that gives authenticity to the characters within the Zone – a quality evident in each voice I encounter.

Strider, a past leader of the spiritual group known as the Monolith faction, expresses this idea particularly well: “There are certain aspects that matter even beyond personal joy.

When actors speak different languages, they may struggle to fully convey certain ideas because they don’t share the same cultural background or personal experiences. This is one reason why representation in the arts matters. Often, stories resonate more deeply when told by those who have lived them. If subtitles aren’t a problem for you, I strongly suggest choosing the Ukrainian language version to fully appreciate the nuances of the story.

In the initial games, what truly brought the world to life was a dynamic feel, achieved through a system called A-Life that enabled non-player characters (NPCs), whether human or mutant, to carry on with their own activities without being influenced by the player.

It’s unfortunate that in Stalker 2, the advanced AI system (A-Life 2.0) seems to undermine the impressive world-building and character development. Instead of contributing to the immersive experience, the inhabitants of the zone seem to perform peculiar suicide rituals, where they agree to kill one another in a small circle. This ritual results in offering you an abundant amount of loot.

As a movie enthusiast, I found myself stumbling upon grim scenarios with such frequency that it began to feel like a comedic trope. It was either this, or the sensation of villains, mutants, or soldiers materializing right where I’d just been, accompanied by an unexpected heads-up display alerting me to being observed from behind – a feeling that sometimes seemed contrived or artificial.

Characters may also move erratically, some Non-Player Characters (NPCs) have been frozen in T-poses or partially buried. During my gameplay, I encountered just one serious crash, and it appeared that the game’s stability improved over the review period, with a day-zero patch scheduled for release. We’ll see if this trend continues over time.

At certain points, Stalker 2 seems to be the opposite of its initial counterparts. While its narrative, acting, and cinematics are impressive when functioning correctly, it’s the day-to-day gameplay that sometimes falls short.

Speaking of Unreal Engine 5, it offers breathtaking landscapes that are nothing short of amazing. The Lumen technology is skillfully employed to heighten the realism of the environment, causing underground areas and caves to appear genuinely dark at certain points, and the day-night transition to feel authentic.

However, several of these visual impacts are built utilizing temporal methods, which means they rely on data from previous frames to determine the appropriate lighting. Since Lumen is software, it has some innate imprecisions that lead to a final product that’s typically grainy and sometimes lacking sharp focus.

On a Razer Blade 17 laptop, outfitted with an Intel i9-12900H processor, Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti 16GB graphics card, and 32GB of RAM, I found it necessary to utilize Nvidia’s DLSS upscaler for playable frame rates at 4K. However, this choice resulted in increased blurriness since it reduces the resolution from which Lumen samples are taken even further. Furthermore, foliage appears shimmery and tends to blend together, making it challenging to distinguish enemies and already difficult to identify abnormalities.

In a favorable aspect, when initially played on PC, the game will automatically compile shaders, significantly reducing instances of stuttering. During my conversation with Technical Producer Yevhenii Kulyk, they detailed their efforts to adapt Unreal Engine 5 for use in such a vast open-world environment. While this endeavor has largely been effective, it’s important to note that running Stalker 2 requires a high-performance computer to ensure smooth gameplay and clear visuals.

In essence, reviews often involve a blend of personal opinions (subjectivity) and factual assessments (objectivity). However, in this case, I’ll be focusing more on the personal perspective. Despite its bugs, poor performance, and goofy aspects, A-Life 2.0 managed to captivate me as few other worlds have. I found myself compelled to continue playing. The story, characters, and the destiny of the Zone held my interest so intensely that I couldn’t help but persist.

Right from the start of playing this game, I found myself making significant choices: I was constantly mulling over which allies I’d support, which enemies I’d betray, who I’d rescue, and who I’d abandon in the next round, curious to discover where my actions might lead me.

The promise of mods too is ever-alluring and if the developers can deliver on this front, Stalker 2 will have a long, long tail.

As a devoted fan, I’d say if you’re hesitant, give Stalker 2 a spin since it’s accessible through Xbox Game Pass, making it a relatively safe bet for experimentation. However, for those who have already pre-ordered the game, the effectiveness of the day-zero patch in addressing any issues might influence your perception – you could feel a bit let down if there are initial hiccups.

Given more time for refinement, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has the potential to be an extraordinary game, if GSC Game World can perfect it. At present, it displays moments of greatness with glimpses of genius, but these are marred by technical issues stemming from unfortunate circumstances.

At this moment, it’s unclear where Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is leading. The journey to its release has been challenging, protracted, and fraught with difficulties, but there seems to be more road ahead for the developers at GSC Game World.

2024-11-20 20:35

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