On November 20 the largest project of the Ukrainian studio GSC Game World ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl’ was released. The review embargo was lifted two hours before the start of the official sale. We have collected their main opinions
In a letter to fans, GSC Game World called the release day ‘memorable and important for all of us’, and noted that they will be monitoring the game’s bugs in the coming days and fixing them as quickly as possible.
‘This is a project of endless love and passion from the entire team. Our own story and our love letter to Ukraine. After more than 15 years, the doors to the Zone are opened once again’, the studio team added.
Повідомлення від команди GSC Game World.
Перед тим, як ви ступите в Зону, ми хотіли б поділитися з вами чимось від щирого серця. pic.twitter.com/1TGSh46NUH
— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) November 20, 2024
As at 6:00 p.m., the game has received a score of 74 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 50 reviews. According to them, ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’ continues the main traditions of the franchise — atmosphere, difficulty and technical issues.
According to PC Gamer, the developers didn’t sand down the game’s ‘rough edges’ for a new audience of potentially more casual players.
‘‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’ doesn’t hold your hand, and the Zone doesn’t care about you. This is a game where the first mutant you fight is completely invisible. It will not hesitate to chuck its strongest enemies at you if you happen to make a wrong turn early on. Even if you escape, you spent precious resources on staying alive and your equipment probably got chewed up in the tussle’, the review from the publication, which rated the game 83 out of 100, reads.
Michael Higham from IGN adds that the mechanics we commonly see in hardcore survival games nowadays, putting you into situations where you must make deliberate decisions:
‘There’s gear wear that can cause malfunctions, high damage in combat so just a few hits can kill you, bleeding wounds if you survive that, hunger to keep at bay, radiation levels to hold down, limited inventory weight to manage, and constant looting in order to survive. It’s inelegant, though at times I mean that as a compliment, because I admire how very little is streamlined’.
At the same time, the critic draws attention to the bizarre behavior of the enemy AI, which makes enemies ‘dumb as rocks’ — monsters walk in ‘nonsensical patterns’ and are not aware of their surroundings.
‘Yet their immediate pinpoint accuracy and near-perfect vision still still make things difficult. Erratic mutant movement is more annoying than it is challenging, and takes off a bit of the horror-ish edge that they sometimes instill. I’ve seen more believable and consistent enemy behavior from the old games in the series, so it’s disappointing to see steps backward more than a decade later’, Higham added.
He also failed to complete the game due to bugs that slowed down gameplay and sometimes forced him to restart from the last checkpoint.
Game Rant emphasized the open world quality of ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’ and its tension, ‘from which it is almost impossible to escape’.
‘There are certainly plenty of dangers lurking in the Zone, but the world is not without its moments that feel like something out of a Quentin Tarantino film, where the tension could be cut with a butter knife. For myself, every little noise I heard had me turning my head and aiming down the iron sights of my gun, even though it was sometimes just a bird flying away’, the publication, which rated the game a 9 out of 10, wrote.
Another detail that the publication’s critic pointed out is the lack of clear morality. According to him, most games with answer/decision choices have clear bad and good options, while almost every choice feels morally ‘gray’ in ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’.
‘‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’ is brutal, unforgiving, and not for the faint-hearted. While its storyline is poised for new players, its gameplay feels the opposite, providing a hardcore experience for anyone looking to dive into the Zone. Nevertheless, this is the kind of game that ages like a fine wine, getting better, richer, and slightly bolder as you push through its 35-hour campaign. That being said, the performance issues and missing features do leave a somewhat bitter taste’, Dexerto summarizes, rating the game a 3 out of 5.
Read more about ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl’ here.
