Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Publisher: GSC Game World / Microsoft
Developer: GSC Game World
Format: PC, Xbox Series X/S (reviewed)
Platform: Unreal Engine 5
Release date: Out now
I would argue that Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is more than a mere video game: it’s a full-blown cultural artefact. That’s certainly true for anyone who comes from developer GSC Game World’s homeland of Ukraine. 2007’s original Stalker game, a survival-shooter set in the Exclusion Zone around the Chornobyl nuclear reactor, became a touchstone of Ukrainian culture as the country forged an independent identity when the USSR collapsed shortly after the Chornobyl disaster.
Stalker 2 is offers proper survival-shooting
This game (I’m reviewing on Xbox Series X) is very much a modern-technology sequel to the original game: although a first-person shooter, it casts players as Skif, an ordinary guy who becomes a Stalker – a drifter aiming to survive and make his name in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Although Skif acquires more sophisticated armour and weaponry as he traverses the game, he never acquires any superhuman attributes. Stalker 2 is an unforgiving game that requires frequent saves and a self-preservation-heavy approach.
Stalker 2’s distinctive use of Unreal Engine 5
Stalker 2 was built in Unreal Engine 5, whereas the original game used GSC Game World’s proprietary X-Ray engine. Undoubtedly, using such a popular engine helped them to get the game out in the face of such adversity. Aesthetically speaking, Stalker 2’s use of Unreal Engine 5 is, shall we say, interesting.
Exemplary survival combat
As in the original game, Stalker 2’s first-person shooting is exemplary. At first, Skif – after a short but handy tutorial – is left with just a handgun and no equipment, but his early missions bring some more useful weaponry, although ammo for that is enormously scarce. It really is a survival game, poles apart from more military-inclined shooters. Eventually, as Skif moves deeper into the Zone, in pursuit of Solder, who he perceives as betraying him, and the scanner with which he was entrusted in the tutorial (which plays a central part in the story), he amasses a vast array of shotguns, snipers and automatic weapons of all conceivable types.
Conclusion
Unsurprisingly, given the difficulties that GSC Game World experienced when making it, it isn’t perfect. It has one of the biggest ever game-worlds, and a number of systems (weather, random packs of dogs and rats, patrolling factions and the like) layered on top of each other, so it’s never going to be as polished as a scripted single-path game. But crash-bugs, as experienced a few months ago in a preview session, appear to have been eliminated, and a general air of unpredictability is very much in keeping with Stalker 2’s general vibe.
FAQs
Q: Is Stalker 2 a horror game?
A: No, it wouldn’t call itself a horror game, but it throws up a steady stream of genuinely chilling moments.
Q: Can I play Stalker 2 on PC?
A: Yes, Stalker 2 is available on PC, as well as Xbox Series X/S.
Q: Is Stalker 2 a survival game?
A: Yes, it’s a survival game that requires frequent saves and a self-preservation-heavy approach.
Q: Is Stalker 2 a sequel to the original Stalker game?
A: Yes, it’s a sequel to the original Stalker game, set in the same Exclusion Zone around the Chornobyl nuclear reactor.
