When the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl game released in 2007, it was pretty revolutionary. Even though it was a little buggy, the unique world set around the 30 kilometer exclusion zone surrounding the melted Chernobyl reactor, as well as the slower pace of the adventure, made it a unique experience. Despite its flaws, it earned 4 out of 5 GiN Gems in our original review, and it quickly became a favorite of those who enjoyed its darker, slower-paced open world gameplay.
The original Stalker was followed by a second title, Clear Sky, in 2008, which was technically a prequel to the core adventure, and then by Call of Pripyat in 2010, which was more of a direct sequel to the original. After that, we did not hear too much about new Stalker titles from developer GSC Game World. The Ukrainian company apparently went through quite a few challenges over the years, including the Russian invasion that briefly turned the real Chernobyl into an actual battleground and threatened to overrun Kiev where GSC Game World is headquartered. Although that threat has passed for now, many of the developers ended up going into the army to defend their country and many of them remain on the frontlines. It’s a wonder that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl got released at all, but it finally did. And it was worth the wait.
Returning to the zone is an interesting experience for veteran players, although you don’t need to have played the original titles to enjoy Stalker 2. The zone is a lot bigger now, having grown over the years as the deadly emissions coming from its heart picked up. There are now 64 square kilometers of playable area, and Stalkers will find themselves walking over quite a bit of that landscape as they adventure, especially because there are very limited fast travel options. If you want to get anywhere in the zone, you will need to hoof it, which accounts for the slower pace that is still very much at the core of the series. Much of the adventure takes place on overgrown game trails and the abandoned streets of forgotten villages that exist between key locations, so walking everywhere is normally pretty interesting.
Many of the zone’s factions have changed, although most still exist from the original title. The Ward faction acts as a kind of zone police force now and keeps most of the others from engaging in open warfare. So you won’t be conquering territory for one faction or another like before, although you will likely get pulled into plenty of firefights or combat-themed missions. Bandits seem to have multiplied quite a bit and will pretty much fight anyone for any reason. And Stalkers are still around too acting as the only unaligned faction of free men in the zone, and your primary source of missions and quests for much of the adventure. And yes, the term S.T.A.L.K.E.R. still stands for Scavenger, Trespasser, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer and Robber, although nobody really uses that anymore.
The mutants have gotten an upgrade in both variety and, I think, toughness. Comprised mostly of mutated animals or humans, the mutants are a force to be reckoned with to the point where running away from or avoiding fights is normally the best plan. They are incredible bullet sponges and almost never drop any loot – so fighting them is going to set you back quite a bit in the zone’s very tight economy where repair and upgrade costs are extremely high for weapons and even more so for armor. I’ve sometimes sat back at a distance and watched different squads from various factions take on mutants, and the mutants almost always win. They will be a constant threat as you travel and adventure.
In addition to those dangers, there is also, of course, anomalies. They range from pools of acid to lightning storms and gravity wells that pull you in and tear you apart, and quite a few others. You need to be very careful that you don’t step into one as you travel because they do a lot of damage. You can, however, use those anomalies to your advantage. For example, mutants are pretty stupid. If you are being chased by one or even a pack, a good tactic is to quickly run through a field of anomalies, avoiding the trigger points, and then wait on the other side. Even most of the bigger mutants, like the humongous wild boars, will die when they try and pass through an anomaly field. That will save you bullets and wear and tear costs for your guns and armor – and the mutants never drop anything, so losing them inside an anomaly field is no big deal.
As with the other Stalker titles, anomalous fields sometimes also hide artifacts which you can detect with special gear, including a basic tracking device you get near the start of the game. Most of the lower-level anomalies you find early in the title will give you some small benefit like fire resistance in return for poisoning you with a significant amount of radiation over time, so their usefulness is pretty low. They are quite valuable, however, so they end up being a good source of early money (the zone uses a monetary unit called coupons) until you can find ways later to counter their radiation effects. Later on when exploring deeper zones, you can sometimes find much better artifacts too, most of which have better benefits and very little or even no drawbacks.
To help keep you alive in the zone, or at least to give you somewhat of a chance against all the bandits and mutants, there are a huge variety of guns to find, buy and modify. And there are lots of attachments for guns now too, so it’s possible to take any of the 30 or so core weapons found in the game and modify them for specific needs. For example, an assault rifle can become a sniper’s best friend by popping a scope on top and having a technician modify the barrel and stock to vent less gas, making the bullets travel farther, and maybe adding extra rifling for more armor penetration. Or you can add a silencer to a pistol while paying a tech to reduce the weight and recoil, making it a perfect special forces type of weapon for stealthy missions. The amount of gun customization between technician-funded upgrades and external attachments is pretty staggering in Stalker 2, and quite a joy for those who like realistic firearms in their games. I ended up with quite an arsenal of guns and gear stored in my personal stash, (a box where the contents follow you between the game’s main bases) unless I had to sell one for extra coupons.
The plot of Stalker 2 is pretty open, even sparse, which is how it was with the previous Stalker titles. You play a man named Skif whose apartment is ruined when an anomaly storm escapes the zone and destroys his home, leaving behind a dead artifact in his laundry basket but no roof. So Skif teams up with a scientist type character and decides to sneak into the zone to try and recharge his dead artifact so that he can sell it for a lot of money. We know Skif has combat experience because he carries an old military pistol in his inventory and the description of it provides some backstory, but that’s pretty much it. This leaves it up to players to decide how Skif will act in different circumstances, whether he is noble and true or a double-crossing jerk.
Unlike most modern titles, players are never forced to choose good or bad paths. Almost nothing in Stalker 2 is morally black or white, and you are never pushed to “do the right thing.” There are sometimes consequences to actions, like if you kill a member of a faction and his friends find out about it, then they might seek revenge or at least have their stores charge you higher prices. But for the most part, anything goes when in the zone. Players can adventure nearly completely free of a moral compass. I chose to try and be a good guy most of the time or at least someone who kept their word in Stalker 2, but that was just my personal playstyle.
Graphically, Stalker 2 looks amazing with the Unreal Engine 5 driving everything. The zone seems like a real place (many of the areas you visit actually do exist around Chernobyl). There are plenty of hidden places to find, and many of them brimming with loot and danger. There is a day and night cycle and different weather effects, something that was also included and was pretty revolutionary for the first Stalker game back in 2007. The weather effects today in Stalker 2 have gotten an amazing upgrade. Storms are incredibly powerful now, and you can see them as they slowly start to roll in, so you know they are coming as the wind picks up and the leaves begin to blow around more than normal. When they break, I normally try and quickly find some shelter. One time I didn’t, and I got struck hard by a booming lightning strike that nearly killed Skif, so I don’t tend to mess with the zone’s nastier weather patterns anymore.
When the realistic graphics are combined with excellent atmospheric sound, the zone really seems to come alive. You will often hear mutants or bandits approaching you with snapping twigs underfoot long before you actually see them, which gives you a chance to get ready if you’re paying attention. Some sounds are also just for atmosphere, like Stalkers in camp telling jokes or listening to all the new Ukrainian tunes that play over the radio now. It’s easy to lose track of time inside Stalker 2’s amazingly detailed world.
Having such a large, living world is amazing. For an explorer type gamer like myself who enjoys searching everywhere and everything, Stalker 2 is really fun. I was often rewarded with good loot and interesting experiences, as well as some deadly surprises, for traveling off the beaten path. If you see a building in the distance and want to know what’s inside it, or spot a tiny path in the woods and wonder where it leads, then by all means go and find out. Doing so might put you in danger, but who knows what interesting stuff you could find if you venture over there. Either way, you are in for a fun experience.
Stalker 2 is not perfect. The version of the voice acting in English is kind of bad, although playing with the native Ukrainian dialogue using English subtitles offers a much better experience. Also, the economy was recently patched, which was really needed for balance. Guns and armor still degrade way too quickly, but at least the repair costs are under control now. In terms of other balancing issues, even on the easiest level, the mutants are bullet sponges that can be a bit too challenging for more casual players.
Finally, the game engine tends to randomly drop mutants and bandits right near where you are standing, which breaks the realism since they can even appear in areas you just passed through. Still, you can overcome and push through Stalker 2’s drawbacks, and you probably will want to because in general Stalker 2 is a lot of fun to play.
It’s been over a decade since we last got to delve back into the zone with a new Stalker title. But after putting hundreds of hours into it and seeing two of the four possible endings, I can certainly say that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was worth the wait and is one of the best open-world shooters that I’ve ever played and enjoyed.
Developers: GSC Game World
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox Series X