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

This is the game I had been eagerly awaiting after the original trilogy. While my opinion is subjective, I am sincerely sharing my thoughts after completing the game with the Skif ending. The in-game world captivated me with its immersive atmosphere, memorable characters, and compelling core story, which felt both engaging and rich.

That said, the game isn't without its flaws. Optimization at launch left much to be desired, with numerous graphical glitches and technical issues that detracted from the experience. Despite these setbacks, the foundation of the game shines through. I would confidently recommend it to others, especially in a month or two when further patches are likely to address and fix the current problems. For fans of the series or newcomers seeking a deep narrative with a vibrant world, this game has the potential to become a standout once its rough edges are smoothed out.

S. T. A. L. K. E. R. 2 sounds more legendary than artifact cloning) But the legend has finally come true!

• this is the same Stalker, all the best from the original is taken and transferred to the 2nd part, plus there are features from popular mods

• the visuals and atmosphere convey the spirit of the Zone, the anomalies are simply wonderful (the bodies of unfortunate stalkers in the anomalies give a dangerous feeling), deadly emissions, new storms and lightning that can even hit the main character

• the weapons are very well designed, with body kits, upgrades, several types of ammunition of the same caliber that really work (it's better to shoot monoliths with armor-piercing ones), grenades explode very well, and the alternative grenade throw was very helpful in buildings. The only thing I didn't like was the aiming of the under-barrel grenade launchers - it should be done like in the original. The costumes are very detailed, with various inserts on the shoulders, knees, etc., which hints at practicality and realism. In short, the wallpaper and equipment are top notch :)

• locations are well-designed, there are mini puzzles and platforming elements, there is a hidden bribe everywhere, there are consequences of certain tragic stories of different stalkers, some of them very creepy!

• Mutants are masterpieces, they attack cunningly and uncompromisingly, in the original they are just kittens compared to modern ones. The controller, who raises the dead and directs them at the player, is simply the boss of this rocking game. At the beginning, I just ran away from the chimera because I didn't have an automatic shotgun that gives me a chance to win. Well, bloodsuckers will suck your nerves throughout the game, even when you have the best equipment!

I, as a fan of the series, am completely satisfied with the game, decades of work have been realized as it should be - decades of expectations are 100% justified, the spirit of the original is present + modern developments. The bugs will definitely be fixed and the game will be optimized. I'm looking forward to DLC and remakes of the original Shadows of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, and of course, Call of Pripyat!

Good hunting, stalker!

Instead of biting on someone's rage therapy session, let me give you a realistic view of the game:

There are a few bugs that they've been ironing out quickly in patches. 2 weeks in and I have crashed exactly once. No quests were unfinishable. Imagine buying a day one release and then being horrified that -gasp- its in the state of a day one release! I must let the internet know how angry I am at this unforeseeable consequence. Truly, unimaginable anguish, I should sue GSC.

Get a grip loser.

The game itself is absolutely fantastic they knocked it out of the park. The atmosphere is so engrossing. The prologue had me very slowly walking through expecting an ambush or mutant at any moment just because of how much dread they have in the ambient soundtrack and visuals. Travelling feels dangerous, carrying too much loot WILL get you killed sometimes and the difficulty of this game is incredibly high compared to the previous 3.

Mutants are actually very threatening now, all of them. They have new attacks, are faster, hit harder, and all have AI that makes them good adversaries. Mutants will run and hide behind cover if you get out of their reach on top of something. That's an absolute game changer, this game is much harder to cheese than previous iterations.

The story initially I was kinda soft on like "do we really need a story in a stalker game" but after making it to the re-activation(No spoilers) the answer is YES. Its really fun watching this unfold.

The repair costs and rewards have been fixed (Oh no, patches within the first week fixed issues? What will we whine about now?!) and now the economy is pretty tense. Money matters, mutants eat a ton of ammo and its not dropped in massive quantities like it used to be. Its not "scarce" but you can run out of it for your favorite gun, and your favorite gun can wear out pretty quickly at that.

There's just so much to this game I am so happy with how seriously they took the challenge of creating a STALKER 2 that STALKER fans would immediately embrace. Ignore the static from the people who bought this product without realizing that no, its not Cawadoody 25 under a new name. If you like STALKER, survival games, tense atmosphere and some pretty challenging combat, you'll like this game.

Also it was on Xbox Gamespass if you just want to try it out. May still be depending on when you read this.

100% recommend buying. Game of the Year locked down no question.

I can see past the bugs and small issues. I recommend people to stick with it and give it a chance. So far this is a phenomenal game for me i can't believe it. Very atmospheric. Huge handcrafted world with a lot of interesting things and places to discover. What is happening is also very varied. I play it on quality mode on xbox series x and performance wise i have a pleasant experience because i have no issue with locked 30fps. In my humble opinion this is a rare gem and it will only improve when the updates are coming. You can see the devs put very much love into it. I am having a blast thank you!