Game series S.T.A.L.K.E.R. saw the light in the tunnel under the agricultural industry back in 2007, and a good 12 years have passed since the release of the last part. However, interest in the franchise created by the GSC Game World studio has not subsided. Even before the announcement of the long-awaited sequel, loyal fans have been relentlessly sawing mods of varying degrees of quality: from the now-meme “Shadow of Stinky” to the stunning “Anomaly” and even “Gunslinger”, which turns S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to a small branch of Tarkov.
Unfortunately, when the original trilogy was being developed, the studio simply did not have such cool technological opportunities to realize its ambitions. The heart of Chernobyl is 64 square kilometers of the Zone, which the player can freely explore. For comparison, in Red Dead Redemption 2, the map is spread over 75 km².
Stalker 2 review
In the game Stalker 2 you are waiting for secret laboratories, dungeons full of creatures and acid moss, and locations that are not similar to each other, but always fraught with mortal danger.
The locations also differ in mood – from creepy gray areas with buildings from the Soviet era, which fell into complete decline in the years after the disaster, to a flowering poppy field, which you can see in the screenshot. As for the screenshots, I would very much like them not to be the so-called bullshots. That is, processed and edited screenshots.
And if in the end everything turns out without any downgrades, then it will be fine. Since this is still one of the first games on Unreal Engine 5, there is every chance that plus or minus such graphics will be in the end. But I’m afraid the realities are such that there will still be a downgrade, since this is too good to be true. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will be the most direct sequel.
Years have passed since the end of Call of Pripyat, and the events of the sequel will unfold in our days. Somewhere nature has taken over an alien, aggressive Zone: fields of flowers and lush bushes hide the remains of rather deceased people and monsters. You will see buildings from the original games more than once or twice, which have been even more subjected to the inexorable, destructive influence of time. It is obvious that the world outside this ulcer on the face of the planet also did not stand together, largely due to the study of anomalies and artifacts taken out of the Zone. Therefore, in addition to the Soviet junk, which is still highly reliable at times, the player will use modern devices.
Once again, you will meet face to face with old creatures, such as a pseudo-giant, burer or bloodsucker, but be prepared for new, hitherto unknown threats. The developers of Stalker 2 talked about a mutant deer whose hooves and horns are the least of the threats. His psi abilities not only create illusory phantoms, but also call other mutants to help him. Unlike its normal counterpart, the mutant’s body is covered in thick growths, so it won’t be easy to kill him. All this description reminded me of such a deer from the State of the Wild 3 trailer, in fact.
Full-fledged survival mechanics came here too. You will have to sleep and eat in order to remove negative effects and receive positive ones. For example, having refreshed himself, the stalker will move faster. And if you forgot to have lunch while working in the fresh air, it’s worse to aim. Classic energy drinks will help you go longer without sleep and give you the opportunity to move faster. But sleep will no longer be just a mechanic in Stalker 2, which was used solely to rewind time until morning, as in the Scrolls. One sleepless night and Skiff’s stamina drops, his hands begin to shake. Two or three – hallucinations appear, and then go and figure out which of the attackers is real and which is a figment of your imagination. The state of the protagonist will also be affected by hunger and thirst.
As in previous games, our hero Stalker 2 can suffer from bleeding and damage by insidious radiation, which are treated with appropriate consumables like bandages or antirads. Another thing, I would not want the game to turn into a stupid survivalist, of which there are already plenty on the market. Small but not overloading the player survival mechanic, it seems to me, will be enough.
Each gun has two types of upgrades – a body kit and a full-fledged upgrade. The first protagonist can change right in his misadventures (that is, on the move in the field): sights, grips, underbarrel grenade launchers and all that stuff. For the second, you will have to turn to the technician. Local kulibins will be scattered throughout the ChEZ, as, for example, in Clear Sky. He will be able to increase damage, stabilize recoil, improve the rate of fire and so on.
Naturally, you can also upgrade your armor. Alas, nothing has been specifically said about the armor itself, its types and pumping. At first, she will not play such a big role, but the further into the Zone, the thicker her offspring. For example, in the game Stalker 2 there will be a fiery whirlwind, from which ordinary armor (some kind of conditional bandit’s leather jacket) will not save. I guess I’ll have to carry several suits with me.
But there are enemies in the Zone who can’t care less about even the most powerful bullets. Of course, I’m talking about anomalies. In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 there will be three types of them: ordinary, anomalous fields and arch-anomalies. With the first ones, you probably had Delhi in the original trilogy:
Funnels, Frying, Electra, Kissel, Rusty Hair and so on. Fields are groups of anomalies occupying a relatively large area. You can pierce the field through and even survive, but the armor will turn into useless dust.
Well, as for the arch-anomalies, everything is more or less clear from the name – these are the most dangerous formations of the Zone, in which, nevertheless, extremely expensive artifacts lie. You can still get them, the main thing is to choose the right protection or observe the behavior of the arch-anomaly in order to understand, so to speak, the principle of its operation. First you need to find the right protection or learn the timings of activity.
Among the activities in the open world, the authors of Stalker 2 single out hunting for artifacts, attacking enemy territory with a sweep, going to dungeons and story missions. Before each such sortie, the stalker needs to understand how many resources to take with him and what benefits he can derive from this (for example, sell a valuable item). We also need to tell them about the enemies of the juggernauts and it’s in the bag. In general, we are promised that in all locations there is something to do, but it is always important to correctly assess how many resources will be required for a sortie so that there is enough space in the backpack for swag.
Story
All these elements are connected by a plot, the script of which at the moment is 350 thousand words. 30 writers are responsible for the missions. Grigorovich made a special emphasis on the fact that one of the main features of the second S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is in a non-linear plot. According to him, in order to see all the forks and explore the world completely, the game is worth playing several times, and this will take almost a hundred hours. The game will also offer a large number of additional quests.
He promises that there will be no unambiguously right or wrong decisions in the plot of the sequel. All factions differ from each other on an ideological level, and even within them there are conflicts. What’s more, unlike the first three games, the choice of faction will really affect the outcome of the game, so fans will be able to play the game multiple times. What is there, many GSC employees do not agree on some of the forks in the game. My only hope is that this doesn’t become a problem that creates plot holes and loose ends in the story.
As for the factions themselves in Stalker 2, you will again cross paths with Duty, Freedom and Monolith, but now Warta will join this confrontation. This is a military group engaged in the protection of order. You can consider the fighters of this group as a kind of police of the Zone. Obviously, the bandits who cheer more cheerfully hate Warta. That, in turn, sets as its main goal – to extract the maximum benefit from the Zone for all mankind. To do this, it is only necessary to establish order in it in order to ensure the safety of research conducted by scientists from the Research Institute of the Chernobyl Anomalous Zone. Duty and Warta are somewhat similar, but the latter considers itself a full-fledged military unit. Its head, Colonel Alexander Korshunov, is a man far from white and fluffy, he is used to keeping everything in a tight rein. He needs not only unconditional discipline, but also absolute fidelity, the concepts of which the Colonel borders on paranoia.
Stalker 2 Gameplay
As for the gameplay, the developers made a clear decision to completely abandon the co-op, as it does not fit with the fundamental elements of the game. Here you are, here is the Zone, you are one on one, all the rest are the scenery of your misfortune.
However, after the release, Multiplayer will be added to the Heart of Chernobyl with immortal modes like Timdesmatch and Every Man for Himself. Whether they will be somehow interesting – I have no idea. This is due to the fact that in previous games in the series, multiplayer was unusual, but not directly super exciting. But I think that with the current technologies and capabilities, something worthwhile can be done.
In addition, as has been known for a very long time, the Unreal Engine 5 will be the new foundation for the sequel. Now the developers have clarified the situation, why they decided to take it. There are many reasons for this, but the main ones are: Nanite and Lumen technologies, which allow you to create highly polygonal surfaces without increasing hardware requirements, and advanced global illumination, respectively. Also, the engine will speed up the loading of the open world, so I hope we can do without waiting for several minutes, as it was ten years ago in the original trilogy.
So far, the developers say that the creation of Stalker 2 is going according to plan and transfers are not included in these plans. But whether the Heart of Chernobyl beats on time or with another long-term delay, only time will tell. Personally, I, like many fans, hope for an early, and not as problematic as in many new games, release.
Of course, you can also share your thoughts. Do you think it will work out in the end or not? How do you like survival mechanics, outposts? Are you waiting for a project?
Official website of the game – https://www.stalker2.com
