It’s 2024 and finally got the next instalment in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl. 15 years have passed since ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat’ the last game in the series and a lot has happened in the gaming world since then. we have had new hardware, graphical enhancements, and the way games are made. In that time we as gamers have (unfortunately) become accustomed to games released in broken and unfinished states, requiring multiple patches to get them to the stage they should have been released in.
We all know the reasons and I won’t go into it as this review would be 6 pages long. The point I’m getting to is that for once I’ve come to review a highly anticipated game and have got what I was promised. A working game that is fun and enjoyable and above all, playable! Yes, there are a few bugs here and there but nothing in comparison to the mighty list of games that have been released in unfinished states in recent years.
And I just want to say hats off here to the developers ‘GSC Game World’ for achieving this. Yes, the game has been delayed a few times but for reasons out of their control due to current world events.
But in spite of that, GSC Game World still manage to craft a game that feels polished, immersive and a true continuation of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise which makes the Chornobyl exclusion zone feel more alive than ever before.
So without further ado let’s dive right in.
In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl you play as Skif, a veteran of the Ukrainian army. Having returned home from a long deployment he awakes one day to find his home destroyed by an anomaly outside of the Chernobyl exclusion zone and an artifact left in its wake. Skif then decides to try and sell the artefact in order to get money for a new home. You start the game being smuggled into the zone by a scientist called Professor Hermann.
He gives you a device to put the artifact in and you then proceed into the zone looking for anomaly locations. You try and few locations turning on the device in order to stir an anomaly and harness it to re-activate the artifact.
After searching through a lab and finding the bodies of some scientists you were told to meet you make your way to the final location and strike gold with the anomaly re-awakening the device. The good news is cut short though after you get attacked and the device and the artifact within it are stolen from you.
After waking up you befriend another Stalker, make your way through an anomaly field and then head to a Stalker camp. You then embark on your mission to get back the device all while securing jobs to earn money and explore the zone.
I’ll be honest, I spent more time doing side jobs and exploring the zone than doing the main story missions first in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl as the world is so vast and so well-made that I got lost in it straight away. It’s amazing, beautiful and somewhat harrowing all at the same time.
Now if you’re a long-time fan of the ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’ series you’ll know what to expect from the zone. If you’re a newer fan like myself you most likely will have played the re-released ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’ games in the ‘Legends of the Zone’ bundle that was released on console for the first time recently this year. That release really helped me understand the zone and got me hyped for ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl’. If you’re not a long-time fan and haven’t played the Legends of the Zone bundle or original releases and are coming at this completely fresh then boy are you in for a treat.
Let’s start with gameplay for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl.
‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl’ has to be the most refined ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.‘game of the series. Everything feels so responsive from the gunplay, to using your sensor to find anomalies, operating the map and sorting out your inventory. It feels familiar and new at the same time.
My main gripe with the past ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’ games was the HUD but even that has been refined and slimmed down to include the basic info that you need. Less is more. I even love the fact that when you’re not using the quick actions on the hud it will fade to give you a full screen view of all the action giving you a cinematic experience. Another way the game brings immersion into this world is through the animations of the guns and how you interact with food and drinks.
Your gun can degrade over time from wear and use and this can be seen visually when using. If your gun is too damaged it will start to jam and cause a missed fire. You’ll then see a really cool animation of removing a jammed bullet from the ejecting port and interacting with the charging handle to clear the jam and reset the gun. This will keep happening if you don’t repair the gun. A really nice detail.
The other really cool animation within S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl is how you interact with food and drink when replenishing your hunger and energy. Taking bottle caps of vodka, unscrewing water bottles and opening up a can of energy drink all feel authentic. But what puts the cherry on top is how food looks and feels authentic when Skiff interacts with it. Taking a bite of a sausage or a piece of bread?
You’ll see chunks start to go from your bites like how it would in real life. Even canned food reacts in a life-like way of being ‘floppy’ in movement as opposed to a stiff generic animation. It may all sound trivial in the long run but it’s these fine details that really suck you into the immersion that ‘GSC Game World’ has created.
Now onto the improvements of the past games.
First off (and the biggest change) in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl is that all lines of dialogue are voice-acted and are in English and that the main character has a voice. My one gripe of the previous instalments was that there were some interactions with NPCs which were voice-acted, some in English and some in Ukrainian, but a vast majority weren’t voice-acted and required a lot of reading. If you’re like me and prefer audible dialogue over reading the dialogue then this part in ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl’ comes as a wonderful addition.
Other notable changes in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl are that character animations feel more life-like and less robotic making you connect with them more. Gunplay feels more refined with each bullet feeling impactful. You can even mount attachments like scopes and silencers in the game using up on the d-pad rather than going into your inventory. It even comes with a cool animation of mounting the attachment which again makes the game more immersive.
The weather in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl also feels completely overhauled and dynamic making your time in the zone feel unique, real and sometimes scary. Especially when an emission comes and the sky turns red. You best start running for shelter when this happens and things get really tense.
A final note on the differences between ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl‘ and past games in the series is the sound design and music. I would find myself too often (especially in ‘Shadow of Chernobyl’) that sound effects, especially crows, would just cut in and out and would be way too loud in the mix. The background ambience would also at times feel a bit drab and lifeless. The music as well would also cut in and out and again would be too loud at times.
This time around the audio mix feels levelled with nothing feeling too loud and over the top. Sound effects like crows fade in and out naturally. The background ambience also feels more alive and harrowing with the sounds of distant gunfire or howls of mutants keeping you on your toes moving in the audio space depending on where you are looking. The music also feels much more like a background ambience with fades in and out, being present but never too overbearing.
In conclusion, ‘GSC Game World’ has built upon what made the ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’ series so great to create a truly beautiful and compelling world filled with rich lore and immersion that references the events of previous games to make you feel like you never left the zone. The attention to detail is what truly makes this game great and so unique from other games out there.
‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl’ is a prime example of how to build upon what came before and make something even better.
If you’re a fan of the ‘Stalker’ series or new to the world of the Zone you are going to really enjoy your time with the game.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl Trailer
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl should get a well-deserved 10/10, however, due to the number of bugs, not gaming breaking bugs it get a 9/10 instead.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl is available now on Game Pass for both Xbox Series consoles and PC.
Read more awesome reviews >>here<<.
The code was provided by the distributor.
