Stalker 2 is a dark and oppressive survival shooter primed to test your patience

GSC Game World's long-awaited return to the Zone is bleak, punishing, but absolutely absorbing to inhabit and play through.

Following three hours of hands-on time with Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, developer GSC Game World’s survival shooter sequel is delivering exactly what long-time fans are looking for.

I can’t remember the behind-the-scenes circumstances for a game being anywhere near as unique as they are for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. After all, not only is this a long-awaited sequel charged with modernising the iconic PC survival shooter series for a new and existing audience; it’s also being developed against the backdrop of an actual war, so no wonder it's been (understandably) subject to various delays. And while I firmly believe any product should be judged purely on the end result, such context makes it all the more surprising that, following my three hours of hands on time playing through its first and second episodes, Stalker 2 appears primed deliver on exactly what fans are hoping for. Is this return to the Zone dark, oppressive, and often mechanically obtuse? Absolutely. Albeit it in ways that left me aching to explore it more.

Up until now, journalists have only been able to get hands on with Stalker 2’s atmospheric prologue at events like Gamescom and Summer Game Fest. It goes like this: you arrive at the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in the dead of night and investigate a lab, before undertaking research by gingerly placing a pulse scanner in three pre-defined areas. So far, so linear. It’s… fine, but doesn’t do justice to the the seamless world this sequel has promised, hence why I was most excited about delving into Episode 2. Beginning with player-character Skif waking up to the sun after being double crossed (that old chestnut) thus begins his mission to find the fellow Stalker that wronged him. This is the point where my demo fully let me off the leash, pretty much leaving me to explore in any way I chose.

Stalker 2 makes the intended emergent nature of its world apparent almost right away. After being told to speak to a specific soldier in the nearby town of Zalissya located in the Lesser Zone region, I happened across a person being attacked in his home by raiders. It’d be at this point in a lot of other open-world titles where a mission prompt would pop up challenging me to save the civilian in need. At no point, however, did Stalker 2 ask me to get involved. I had full freedom to let the raiders complete their pillaging, but the goody two shoes in me meant I refused to let this injustice carry on. Thanks heavens I did, too, as it was after assisting this poor chap that he pointed me in the direction of a stash as a perfect reward for my bravery.

GSC Game World’s sequel is absolutely stacked with moments of optional opportunity in this way, and it’s this aspect I came away from my demo impressed by most. Very much in the style of, say, a Fallout or Cyberpunk 2077, it was always made evident that it’d be my choice what to do and what not to do while scavenging under the shadow cast by the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. My main mission to seek out Solder, the fellow stalker, always remained in place, of course, but I lost count in how many of the optional side missions exactly I could have cut proceedings short by showing them the end of my rifle rather than finish whatever job they asked of me. More so than any impressive graphics, I was heartened to see Stalker 2’s more open-ended structure complimented by this freedom of choice.

Survive the night

It of course helps that, for as strange as it may sound, the Zone itself is an appealing place to be in. Full of abandoned houses to pillage, main hubs in which I could talk to other survivors, and mutant creatures primed to test my survival skills, Stalker 2 excels in creating an atmospheric sense of place – even in the light. I spent the majority of my three hours leaving the main mission to the wayside, instead choosing to get invested in the problems of locals while testing the exact limits of the Lesser Zone. It kept me intrigued, but also a little intimidated by its nature to represent what is merely a small portion of the full map that will be explorable in the final game.

From a mechanical standpoint, I’d be lying if I said that Stalker 2 didn’t take some getting used to. This is only because it’s a type of open-world shooter you have to meet on its own terms, particularly in terms of what’s asked of you to merely survive within it. Near-invisible anomalies litter areas prone to radiation, for instance, and more than a couple times did my health instantly deplete by this supernatural enemy force I couldn’t see – thank heavens for the ability to manually save anywhere (away from foes) alongside autosaving. Mutated creatures can similarly pack an especially hard punch, forcing me to always consider my options and encouraging me to empty my gun’s mag as a last resort. Mechanical and design aspects like this truly lean into the franchise’s survival roots, emphasising Stalker 2’s nature as a more contemplative brand of FPS.

I can see a lot of general players – particularly those playing on Xbox – becoming frustrated by these creative choices; choices that make perfect sense for any long-time Stalker fan, but will surely baffle Xbox Game Pass subscribers seeking a sexy new single-player shooter to download. The only other shooter from recent years I can liken it to is Metro, yet even then the last entry in that franchise – which released over five years ago – consisted of hub-like areas rather than a true open world, and more often only gave players one way to resolve main and side missions. Stalker 2, by contrast, is almost guaranteed to frustrate a lot of players, yet equally appears set to reward them if they are patient enough and willing to overcome said frustration by finding an alternative gameplay approach.

Against even the most incredible odds, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has maintained a steady course and is on track to deliver an undeniably singular survival shooter experience. The open-world is an engaging and enthralling one to pick away at, while the tasks available come packed with plenty of moral choices players will be forced to contend with. I can comfortably say that Stalker 2 is unlike any other FPS I have played in recent years, so far delivering on GSC Game World’s ambition to present its fictionalized take on the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in a far grander scope. The punishment and challenge that comes with it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it’s only fitting that a harsh world should appear and function just as harshly.