Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl Review

To say that Stalker 2 has faced a troubled development cycle is putting things lightly. Even after it was first announced in 2010, the game has faced multiple challenging circumstances, some of which are unprecedented, like COVID-19. Considering the unfortunate situation in Ukraine, where GSC is based, one could only imagine how this game is even coming out this year. Despite all that, it is within arm’s reach, which feels absolutely surreal.

In Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, we follow Skif, who goes on a mission to energize a mysterious artifact using energy from The Zone. As expected, things go sideways, and after being ambushed by a group of Stalkers, Skif awakens on a quest to find out what happened as he traverses this dangerous world filled with anomalies, mutants, and the occasional factions along the way.

Stalker 2 is one of those games that you need to know what you’re getting into because it will certainly eat you for lunch if you go in expecting anything else other than what Stalker is meant to be—an uncompromising and challenging experience that will test you… and everything is trying to kill you.

Everything is Trying to Kill You

It is important to note that Stalker 2 is not your typical first-person shooter. Instead of expecting something like Call of Duty or Doom, the game plays more like the Metro series, in a sense. This is an open-world survival game where ammo and resources are scarce, and you’ll need to scavenge your way to survive, taking a more measured and tactical approach to exploration and confrontation than your usual shooter. It is uncompromising, unforgiving, and certainly not a game that will appeal to everyone because it demands just a bit more from you than other titles.

In fact, within the first few minutes of the game, I won’t blame you for dying multiple times. There’s even a tough, cloaked enemy that can swipe and kill you in a few hits if you’re not careful, and this is even one of the first few foes you will face. The game hilariously keeps track of how many times you die, which is a nice way of making light of the situation. While there’s an “easy mode” in terms of a difficulty slider, the essence of this game lies in its challenge, so choose what you prefer.

Stalker 2 will give you a constant reminder that fighting is not always the best way to go about things, and apart from simply running away, taking advantage of the environment is another way to approach encounters. While there are environmental hazards, there are also anomalies scattered around the world that you can use to your advantage, instantly ripping approaching mutants to shreds. These anomalies are double-edged swords as well and can take your life just as easily, so paying attention to your surroundings is paramount to survival.

In the world of Stalker 2, it’s good to keep in mind that you are not some savior or super soldier. You are as normal as anybody else, and as such, can get killed as easily, and to this effect, combat doesn’t feel as smooth as you’re used to with more recent titles. This places a lot of things in perspective: weapons have durability, reloading takes a while, aiming down sight and looking around is slower than usual, combat is a bit clunky, and several things can bog you down, like a stamina meter, a radiation meter, and much more.

At some point, it may get overwhelming for some players who aren’t ready for this sort of thing. You’ll need bandages to stop the bleeding, but that’s a different resource item from a medkit that will restore your health. There are stamina replenishers and a cure for radiation, but you’ll also need to deal with hunger, which requires eating canned food and sausages.

Exploring and picking up stuff will be a staple activity throughout Stalker 2, but it’s quite nice that you have a pretty huge bag to carry stuff in, which keeps you focused on the task at hand rather than simply playing Tetris with your inventory. There’s heavy immersion at play here, and the game succeeds heavily on that front.

As you can imagine, playing Stalker 2 can be quite draining. As mentioned, this is not your typical shooter, and there’s a lot of consideration and willpower required to keep pushing. The game constantly keeps you guessing and always on the lookout, demanding your attention at all times.

In The Zone

Stalker 2 is a direct sequel to the original trilogy, and while there may be new players looking to jump in, the developers have assured us that no prior knowledge of the past titles is needed to enjoy the game. This is certainly true, as, during my playthrough, it was easy enough to follow the events of this title when taken on its own.

One of the best things you can do in Stalker 2 is play the game in its native Ukrainian language with English subtitles. While the English dub is serviceable, playing it in Ukrainian is an absolute treat, similar to playing Stellar Blade in Korean. There’s a deeper immersiveness that the language adds, with its tough and rugged pronunciation of words.

One nice touch that I liked and hated at the same time since the most recent shooter I played was Black Ops 6 was that you can get low-quality weapons that affect their performance. That pistol or rifle that you have now can just die on you in the middle of a crucial skirmish, and you’ll be scrambling in real time to either find cover or just reload your save again.

The enemy AI in the game is capable, more often than not, and can shoot your lights out from a distance if you’re not careful. They also execute flanking maneuvers as needed. You’ll have to manage between using a medkit or dealing with bleeding with a bandage while hiding behind a tree or a wall. There’s no cover system in Stalker 2, so you’ll have to utilize leaning to full effect.

All of these little things reinforce the fact that the world of Stalker 2 is not your friend, and literally everything is out to get you. The game requires focus of the highest order at all times, needing you to check every nook and cranny, item, and environmental detail to avoid anomalies along the way.

Let Them Cook (Some More)

If anything, Stalker 2 looks absolutely gorgeous, and the developers’ work on the environment and atmosphere is amazing. Despite the bleak and ravaged world, there are stunning vistas to be had, and this is the first thing you’ll definitely notice. Character models are okay, and most avoid the uncanny valley look, despite some animations looking rather stiff.

For all the time that the developers cooked with Stalker 2, it’s sad to see that playing the game on an Xbox Series X has some performance issues. While the game does look gorgeous in quality mode, there are noticeable dips, and you can see and feel the frames fluctuate as you walk around portions of the world where the environment gets a bit busy. It gets worse when the weather effects come into play, which look utterly amazing, by the way, but the dips probably go to the low 20s if I had to make a wild guess on a number.

Performance mode is another side of the same coin, and while it feels and plays smoother during exploration and combat sequences, weather effects also take a toll. In fact, when approaching a town during a storm, some NPCs walking around will just pop up out of nowhere. Performance mode is surely the way to go when playing Stalker 2 if you want a smoother time because, while it looks like it doesn’t lock frames at 60 in some areas, it is overall a much better experience over quality mode. Just Unreal Engine 5 things, sadly.

Speaking of popping up out of nowhere, enemies suffer from the same habit, oftentimes appearing in front of you even if you’ve been looking that way the whole time. I can’t say how many times I died because someone just started shooting me from behind (I swear I was not flanked), and, by the time I turned around, I’d already been flanked by other foes (I was flanked here lol). The tougher-than-normal difficulty is challenging enough, but when paired with these surprises, it makes certain stretches of the experience frustrating. Even their pathing is bugged at times, having them walk over obstacles like barrels and boxes all too often.

Also, I wish Stalker 2 loaded in and out of the game faster. Considering how many times you’ll most likely die in the game, getting back in the fight will take a bit of waiting as the load times aren’t instantaneous.

Verdict: Buy it!

Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl is an unforgiving and uncompromising affair that’s not for everybody. For its target audience, it could quite possibly be the game they’ve been waiting for the past decade and a half, heralding the return of this beloved cult classic. The game is tough and will beat you down if you’re not attentive enough, requiring a commitment to immersion.

The key to the game is to simply keep at it. The journey to get there may be painful and frustrating, and many players will certainly tune out in the process. Players who persevere will find a rewarding title and a living world filled with possibilities as time goes by, despite several bugs and rough patches.

*Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl was reviewed on an Xbox Series X with a review code provided by the publisher.