Preview: STALKER 2 is a merciless trip down memory lane

Skif, lying on the ground in moss has a dog-like creature gnawing his shin. He pulls a pistol to fend it off, but — Gasp — the clip is empty. Before it could chew his neck, the man musters up a powerful kick to boot the dog into a gravity anomaly. It floats in its embrace, before it is compressed into meaty pieces. Welcome to the world of STALKER 2, Heart of Chornobyl

It has been 14 years since the last official STALKER game (2009’s Call of PripyatGSC Game World returns with a new blend that looks like a complex mix of FPS (first-person shooter), RPG and survival horror. The game is similar to its predecessors. Heart of Chornobyl is set in an alt-history version of the Chornobyl Anomalous Exclusion Zone, where a second disaster in 2006 summoned strange environmental phenomena, coveted supernatural artifacts, and a rogues’ gallery of mutants.

As one of the titular stalkers, you come to chart “the Zone” in search of riches and answers, dodging its hazards and liaising with its lone wolves and various factions. The choices you make will determine how the game unfolds. The series’ hands-off approach and treacle-thick atmosphere are why the games have nurtured such a die-hard cult following (and countless fan-made spinoffs).

It doesn’t take long for me to find comforting hallmarks in STALKER 2.. A curious stranger gives me a metal bolt, which is a signature tool in the Zone series. I use it to throw the object into different directions so that I can detect the anomalies and stay away from them. The spatial distortion that mutilated the mutt was either a Vortex or a Whirligig — but there are so many more varieties beyond those, and players will come to know their names and their subtle differences if they aim to survive in this hostile environment.

GSC Game World

Once I make it to my feet, I notice I’m surrounded by these anomalies, ripping through the fabric of reality with an oil-slick soap bubble effect, evocative of the Hiss in Remedy’s Control. STALKER 2.Unreal Engine 5, and it’s a beautiful game at that. But the quest for graphical perfection has cost a lot. The version I tried was rough. There were a few hard crashes and some bugs, but it was still a good game.

But nothing stopped me from playing. Every time I was kicked back to the demo’s starting point, I always ended up stumbling into something new and intriguing in STALKER 2.’s dynamic open world. On one run, I paid attention to the guardian’s advice and received some useful guidance. Then, in another instance I tossed a bomb at his feet while running the other way. I was glad to discover early that like its forefathers, STALKER 2. allows you to completely disrupt the content funnel if you’re so inclined. The quests randomly failed as I moved through the Zone. Chaos and casings were left in my wake.

The demo’s main path almost always led me to a rotting shack where hounds had beset some unfortunate stalker. Then, after saving him, we had an odd, and eventually hostile, conversation. He asked me to leave. His ingratitude didn’t leave me without threads left to tie up, though. He mentioned a dilapidated outpost nearby, tattooed with the persistent nature of bandits (and decay).

GSC Game World

This is the test I took STALKER 2.’s gunplay, which feels closer to a military simulator than a modern shooter. Enemies don’t just run out of cover like spongy sacks of XP; the wily crew I faced preferred to outthink me with gradual flanking movements. There are no health bar and the AI is brash. Accuracy, therefore, is key. It’s also nice to feel the guns, which have severe kickback and long reload animations.

But it was the game’s more surreal encounters that left a lasting, tantalizing impression. Close to the end of my first run, I cautiously opened a barn door to find impossible spouts of fire — Burner anomalies, it turned out — emanating from the concrete. A group of quadrupeds, with frightening, loud faces, started to slurch at me before I had time to react. The quadrupeds looked like headcrabs on a gym membership.

Once I’d dispatched them, I quickly scanned for any equipable artifacts that could have spouted from the anomaly — the remnants of a Roadside Picnic. I couldn’t find any in this build, but you can spot them in trailers for STALKER 2., so I’m sure they’ll factor into the full game.

GSC Game World

Eventually, the “Steamed Hams” segment of my 22 Short Films About STALKER 2. reared its head as I went to loot the remnants of an old house and noticed a Bloodsucker’s invisible silhouette aberrating in the corner of my eye. The battle that followed was exhilarating and long. I had to be aware of its attacks, time my injections for health to prevent certain death. Thankfully, the space helmet-wearing soldiers who were chasing after me helped to finish the beast off.

As the sky began to turn burgundy I sprinted as fast as I could away from the soldiers, fearing a deadly, imminent emission. It was impossible to get past this sea of colour, as it dominated my environment. The walls of the unfinished, checkerboard-textured office in which I took refuge were lined in color. After roughly 20 minutes, my mind was absorbed by the Zone.

It is a series that has the spirit alive. STALKER 2.I was excited after playing the demo but I still got the feeling that it needed more time to bake. STALKER 2. was delayed to early 2024 during Gamescom, but I’m sure fans won’t mind waiting a little longer to get their hands on it, especially considering the unimaginable disruption to the game’s development caused by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, where developer GSC Game World is based.

I’m fascinated by the prospect of STALKER 2.Xbox Game Pass is expected to launch with a game that has a oppressive, old-school atmosphere. It’s a niche game that doesn’t adapt to a new audience. It is inevitable that the game overwhelms some players or leaves a negative first impression. However, we hope they stay around to get the full picture. It’s all in service of an inimitable world and an atmosphere unlike anything in a very long time.