Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl overview: ambition at a price

[Editor’s Note: Ahead of its release, Digital Trends received a PC copy of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl that was plagued with more technical issues than we typically see in a review build this close to launch. I personally hopped into the Xbox build once our critic started raising red flags and was instantly met with bugs within my first 20 minutes. The PC build received major patches meant to address those issues during our test, which radically altered its performance. We are still testing that build, which does seem to improve performance and fix a swath of bugs, so it’s safe to say that the version of Stalker 2 you will play when it launches will likely look very different from what we tested.

While we have previously declined to run reviews for games still being worked on so heavily during the review process, our critic identified a general instability, in addition to core design woes, that we don’t believe will be quickly fixed by a single update. It’s with that in mind that we have decided to run our review based on what we’ve played. We encourage our readers to do their research beyond this review once Stalker 2 is out to get a sense of how well the launch version is running with additional updates.]

A sport like Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is extremely difficult to overview.

I write this after putting in a third monumental prerelease replace, this one a 135 GB whopper that patched and reinstalled over 145 GB value of information. On one hand, I can applaud developer GSC Game World for its dedication to perfecting its first-person shooter earlier than it launches. On the opposite hand, I can’t assist however fear. Massive modifications like this so near the wire are the textbook definition of a pink flag.

Even with these patches, although, Stalker 2 nonetheless presents a mountain of frustrations that aren’t really easy to pave over. Some of these frustrations had been brought on by bugs — from minor annoyances to main ones that wasted loads of time throughout my playthrough. Others had been as a consequence of issues with the person interface (UI) and quest targets. Some will possible be fastened by future patches. Others may be the builders’ imaginative and prescient. It’s not all the time clear which is which.

Is it honest to overview a sport after I’m nonetheless downloading large patches for it? Whether you consider that reply to be sure or no, the headache-inducing roadblocks that I encountered whereas enjoying the extremely unstable Stalker 2 have made for a disappointing playthrough. After practically 15 years of ready for the following mainline sequence entry, the sport feels much less like a groundbreaking continuation and extra like a world full of missed alternatives.

Back to fundamentals

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl combines first-person taking pictures, survival horror, and open-world exploration. Set a number of years after the occasions of the unique trilogy, the Exclusion Zone (the positioning of the Chernobyl nuclear disasters) has grow to be a thriving area with quite a few disparate factions vying for management. A relative newcomer, Skif, arrives for his first project, solely to get betrayed by his comrades. Thankfully, Skif manages to outlive, and it’s as much as you to assist him settle the rating.

Action gameplay in Stalker 2 is your customary first-person shooter (FPS) affair. You can equip two main weapons and one sidearm, in addition to choose upgrades and add mod attachments. You do must hold weapons in tip-top situation, since wear-and-tear causes them to jam. Weapon selection is one thing value praising because of all of the accessible choices. This permits gamers to fine-tune their armaments to go well with their wants. My present favorites are the Saiga D-12 shotgun and AS Lavina rifle, since each deal excessive harm and might have suppressor attachments.

Open-world exploration, in the meantime, will earn reward and frustrations in equal measure. Praise as a result of the Exclusion Zone is larger and badder than ever earlier than, and frustrations as a result of quick journey is proscribed to a Clear Sky-esque taxi service. Basically, that you must chat with information NPCs in particular settlements, and you may solely quick journey to settlements with different information NPCs. Certain incidents prompted me to lose information NPCs or a means of leaving areas. It turns navigating the huge world into a sluggish slog.

I perceive the concept behind this, because it’s meant so as to add a layer of problem as you additional discover and courageous the hazards within the Exclusion Zone. However, there’s a advantageous line between problem that comes from a problem and the problem born from inconvenience. Stalker 2 too typically falls into the latter class.

As for marketing campaign development, it’s largely a semilinear affair in that there are particular quest chains that you should full and result in the following portion of the story. However, there are additionally main selections that create diverging paths, resembling sure factions that you just’d aspect with. Likewise, a few characters from the unique trilogy make their return in Stalker 2. Scar, Trapper, Nimble, Sultan, and extra surprises all present up, which might be a surefire deal with for longtime followers.

Story shenanigans

One of Stalker 2’s largest missed alternatives is its narrative, which fails to ship a concise or coherent story. While the marketing campaign has some promise, it’s slowed down by a plodding narrative arc, the place the targets you sort out and the conclusions you attain are sometimes repetitive and unsatisfying.

Quest chains in a number of areas might be summed up as assembly a couple of essential leaders; going to at least one or two areas to collect, activate, or disable MacGuffins; combating a few mutants; and encountering some anomalies. You then return to leaders after this roundabout means of doing duties, solely to be instructed that your fundamental goal is within the subsequent area.

It simply appears like a 40-hour marketing campaign that ought to have ended 15 hours earlier.

This “Princess is in one other citadel” method would possibly work in some video games, however not once we’re speaking about a large open-world sport the place quick journey is extraordinarily restricted. In the identical vein, that is a sport the place you spend most of your time strolling round, so there must be a satisfying conclusion to every mini-arc. Otherwise, it simply appears like a 40-hour marketing campaign that ought to have ended 15 hours earlier.

There are segments that just about really feel insulting. Case in level: An extended mission chain the place I needed to stroll all the way in which to the southeastern half of the map to clear a Monolith-controlled manufacturing facility. I then needed to assault the faction’s base, however I needed to skirt across the space lest I get immediately killed by “invisible snipers.” Shenanigans ensued, so my comrades and I needed to retreat. Next, I used to be requested to advance with different NPC troopers, however we needed to retreat once more. I’d then obtain a radio name telling me to journey to the northeast as a result of I needed to seize a new MacGuffin.

For everything of the 2 hours I spent on that quest chain, I didn’t see a private stash so I may hold objects for later as an alternative of throwing them away if I acquired too encumbered. I additionally didn’t see a single NPC for merchandise promoting or repairs. The quest chain felt thrown collectively as an afterthought with none regard for the participant.

Compounding these woes, the faction system isn’t as detailed or interactive as I’d hoped for. In the unique trilogy, sure factions could also be impartial or hostile by default, and you may be part of a choose few. I anticipated Stalker 2 to broaden mechanics like that. That’s not the case, leaving my creativeness to run wild with options that might have helped deepen my playthrough — maybe a faction menu or panel the place you see all of the teams, their bosses, rivals, members, accessible quests, retailers, and notable rewards.

Anomalies, artifacts, and adversaries

Similar to its predecessors, Stalker 2 is a sport the place the surroundings is a character in its personal proper. The devastating occasions which have transpired within the Exclusion Zone have made it a land of nightmares, crammed with deserted amenities, empty fields, and derelict buildings. It’s additionally crawling with quite a few mutants, together with the camouflaged Cthulhu-esque Bloodsuckers and psionically-gifted Burer. In my first few hours of enjoying, I felt the rising pressure as I explored areas at nighttime, worrying every time I heard a low growl or a thrumming noise within the background.

The Exclusion Zone can be teeming with numerous unstable anomalies, from gouts of flame spewing from the bottom to toxic swimming pools with acid bubbles to semi-transparent air pockets pushing you thru a dimensional area. There are even terrifying climate disturbances like Emissions that flip the skies to a bloody crimson hue, in addition to lightning storms that may strike bushes and begin a hearth. These mysterious phenomena maintain each an ethereal high quality, which generally made me stare in awe, and unequalled hazard, as I do know that one incorrect transfer may spell my character’s doom.

Getting near hazard even yields rewards since some of these anomaly fields conceal artifacts. All I needed to do was carry out a scanner, stroll round till the lights blink quickly, and watch because the artifact materializes from an anomaly. These artifacts can then be outfitted to realize bonuses to resistances and different stats.

This function is one thing that’s current in earlier Stalker video games, however Heart of Chornobyl doesn’t broaden on it in any significant means. New mechanics, like artifact upgrading, mixtures/infusion, and even perk/ability bushes or on-use talents, may have helped to clean up a formulation that was in want of a tune-up. Regrettably, very like factions, this idea barely feels modified from its authentic inception over a decade in the past. That results in an expertise that feels caught prior to now.

Technical troubles

Regardless of how I really feel about Stalker 2’s story and world, I can’t stress this half sufficient: I skilled notable efficiency points throughout my testing on PC. I’ve an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, Intel i9-10900K CPU, and 32GB RAM. I’ve a native 4K decision TV and, given the big file dimension and necessities, I knew that this might be a very demanding sport. Unfortunately, even with DLSS-Performance and medium graphics settings chosen, I used to be nonetheless experiencing main body price drops, generally beneath 20 frames per second (fps), particularly in bases like Rostok and Slag Heap.

Stutters and slowdowns had been pretty widespread in my playthrough, as had been associated points. For instance, the sport would possibly decelerate to a crawl whereas speaking to vendor NPCs. At occasions, my button inputs wouldn’t get acknowledged at all because of the delay. If I wanted to open the map, generally the interface would get caught. If I wanted to heal myself with a medkit, the animation wouldn’t set off and I’d need to entry my backpack to right-click on the merchandise. There had been additionally cases when areas, terrain, and NPC fashions took a whereas to totally load.

These little tidbits had been simply the tip of the iceberg. The earlier overview construct that I’ve been enjoying has had a litany of technical troubles. Some had been simply minor hiccups, like floating and T-posing NPCs, muted gunshots and different sound results, and Skif’s voice sounding like he’s on the opposite finish of the radio as an alternative of being the precise participant character. Fortunately, these issues don’t happen as incessantly after the latest replace.

Others had been extra egregious, resembling “useless spots” in swampy terrain. If I a lot as waded into these spots, I wouldn’t be capable of transfer or bounce again on strong floor. Some areas prompted my character to fall by way of textures. Certain quests couldn’t be completed both as a consequence of bugs – one, specifically, had an NPC that prevented me from exiting a constructing, leaving me with no alternative however to reload an earlier save. Another bug prompted a facility to grow to be completely locked. There was no indication that I needed to enter it instantly, so I began in search of close by loot. The constructing grew to become inaccessible as I moved farther away from it.

In a completely different occasion, the dialogue was tremendous complicated and a UI bug prevented the NPC’s icon from showing within the compass and map. I puzzled if I used to be purported to scour the huge wasteland only for one particular person. I later found that he was hiding in a close by shed, and his marker wouldn’t seem except I used to be standing a few toes away. Additionally, a dialogue sequence with an NPC even prompted my controls to cease working, so I needed to restart the sport. Stalker 2 additionally compiles shaders each time you launch it. Good luck with restarts in case of glitches or crashes, as a result of this course of can take anyplace from 10 to fifteen minutes.

It’s a beefy sport that crumbles underneath its personal weight, however these technical ambitions don’t all the time really feel definitely worth the effort. Take A-Life 2.0 for instance, which the sport’s official website touts as a “life-simulating system that builds a holistic dwell surroundings the place the participant’s actions have an effect on the world of the Zone.” On paper, it could be akin to seeing NPCs, mutants, and anomalies reacting to at least one one other to make the Exclusion Zone really feel alive.

This is way from what truly goes on in my playthrough. At finest, I can describe it because the AI Director from Left 4 Dead sporadically throwing enemies my means. Sometimes I’d clear a small space as half of a repeatable quest. Just after I thought there have been no enemies left, a squad of bandits would abruptly spawn, despite the fact that there was no inkling that they even existed or had been close to the situation. I determine this is perhaps why some generic NPCs have randomly generated names; they had been made to spawn in that spot so you would at least encounter somebody or one thing.

Missed alternatives

Believe me after I say that I used to be rooting for GSC Game World to succeed, particularly with the circumstances surrounding the Ukrainian studio that made it and which have prompted this title to get delayed and pushed again a number of occasions. Those circumstances have even prompted the builders themselves to forgo their jobs to allow them to valiantly battle for his or her nation. The story behind Stalker 2 is extra essential and harrowing than the one on display screen.

Unfortunately, Stalker 2 is stricken by points, from critical technical troubles to questionable design decisions. Another delay won’t have been possible, nevertheless it nonetheless may have used one.

I can’t assist however concentrate on the missed alternatives. There are ideas that simply aren’t absolutely fleshed out, and sure options really feel completely absent. Stalker 2 depends too closely on current concepts from the unique trilogy that got here out 15 years in the past, maybe to enchantment to longtime followers. The draw back is that little or no was carried out to broaden on these ideas. If we glance at quite a few open-world journey/survival video games which have been launched prior to now 15 years, we are able to see a wealth of options and improvements that make gamers’ time really feel effectively spent. Stalker 2, much like its predecessors, basically has sufficient participating mechanics for a glossy 12-hour story, however far too little for a 100-plus-hour open-world providing.

If you’re actually actually desperate to dive into Stalker 2, hold your fingers crossed that some of these extra egregious technical points have been ironed out by the point you begin enjoying. If you’re nonetheless on the fence, you’ll be able to wait till extra fixes are in place or strive it out first you probably have an Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass subscription.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl was examined on PC with a code supplied by the writer.