S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl at gamescom 2024

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, released in 2007, became a phenomenon in the post-Soviet space. Its aesthetic resonated with many, helping to accept the supernatural themes the game explored. The prequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, and the sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, expanded the game's universe and lore, while the fans, who fell in love with the series, created a huge number of mods. The series became a cultural touchstone.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was planned to be released in 2012, but the plans were shortly canceled. Rumors of the project being revived appeared in 2018, with the game expected to be released in 2022. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted all plans and significantly impacted the game's framing.

At gamescom 2024, I played the first 45 minutes of the game, and it’s incredible.

GSC Game World faced many challenges while developing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: COVID-19, war, server hacking attempts, lack of a publisher, and financial difficulties. But the developers, who attended gamescom in Cologne, had a look on their faces that said they couldn’t not finish this game. For them, it was more than just another shooter. They’ve poured all their passion, love, frustration, anger, joy, and, of course, pain into it. Before being forced to relocate to Prague, the company’s office was less than 200 kilometers from the Chornobyl exclusion zone. The events of February 2022 took a toll on every Ukrainian. And S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 means something more to them.

The game’s introduction begins with the main character, Skif, entering the “Zone” through a hole in the wall after taking a roundabout route. You can feel the tension from the very first moments – the soldiers’ radio chatter noticing the breach, the color scheme of the location, the sound design. It all makes it clear that we don’t belong there. The developers did an excellent job of turning familiar architecture into something otherworldly and terrifying.

This was one of my biggest questions about the second Stalker – did they make the game too beautiful and picturesque? Did they lose the elusive “atmosphere” for which the original was so loved? Given that I only saw the introduction, which takes place almost entirely in pitch darkness, I can’t give a definitive answer. But the locations I saw were beautiful yet unsettling and wrong enough not to turn them into a backdrop for desktop wallpapers.

The game’s audio also enhances the atmosphere. The music, when present, is somewhat muffled, while the sounds of the “Zone” – the creaking and groaning of wooden buildings, dripping water from a broken pipe, howling of unknown creatures, and distant gunfire, the growl of a generator at a checkpoint – take center stage. There are moments where the music dominates, building tension or easing it, but the choice to prioritize natural sounds greatly helps immerse you in the game's world.

Those who played the earlier Stalker games remember that the technical aspects were not of the highest quality, and there were many fan modifications to fix bugs, balance, visuals, and more. I’m happy to report that the prologue of Stalker 2 ran flawlessly. I don’t know the specs of the computers they had at gamescom, but I didn’t notice any frame drops, bugs, or other technical issues. The game runs on the Unreal Engine 5, and it seems that GSC Game World has mastered it well. Despite this, the developers told me they’ve always been big fans of fan modifications, and the second Stalker will have a full modding toolkit available to everyone.

As for other details, the shooting stands out – it’s very unlike the fast-paced action of every modern Call of Duty, and it strongly evokes classic games, taking us back to the late 2000s. I also want to highlight the design of the anomalies, both visually and in gameplay. They lure you in with their... unnaturalness, but it’s not always clear how to deal with them – should you run, shoot, or try something else?

After playing through the prologue, not a single minute of which I want to spoil for you, I had a strong urge to keep playing right away. But even if I had more time, the gamescom build only included this segment. Those who loved the previous games in the series will find everything they liked – no hand-holding, hardcore survival in a deadly world that rewards you for exploration, and a protagonist who starts as a nobody and tries to make a name for himself in the “Zone.”

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is real, it exists, and it’s set to release on November 20, 2024. I wish you all a terrifyingly enjoyable journey into the “Zone!”