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

Day 3 Review of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl
After 27 hours on Veteran difficulty, I can confidently say this game retains the soul of the STALKER series, with engaging quests, an expansive map, atmospheric sound design, and an expanded roster of mutants and anomalies. The visuals, even on low settings, are immersive, and modding support is already thriving. However, optimization is a major issue—performance struggles even on decent rigs. Some mechanics feel watered down compared to previous titles: survival is less punishing, radiation trivial, and stash teleportation breaks immersion. While A-Life 2.0 and faction systems are underwhelming, mods may help address these shortcomings.

Bugs and clunky gunplay detract from the experience, but they don’t overshadow the solid foundation of the game. Stashes feel predictable, the economy unbalanced, and the parkour system frustrating at times, but the story, exploration, and overall atmosphere make up for these flaws. Despite its issues, STALKER 2 is a 7/10 on a Starfield-to-Baldur’s Gate scale—worth playing now and improving with time. For fans of the series, this is a journey worth embarking on, and I’m optimistic about its future.

Despite its shortcomings, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 captures the essence of the series, and the love and dedication poured into this wasteland are palpable. After over a decade of waiting and monumental expectations, the devs have delivered a sequel that feels like a worthy continuation, even if it’s not without flaws. The world is expansive, engaging, and visually stunning, with an intriguing story that keeps you invested. Exploring familiar locations on a now open-world map is a treat, and the atmosphere of danger—deadly anomalies, dangerous mutants, and plentiful bandits—remains as gripping as ever.

Performance bugs and fast-paced day-night cycles are noticeable, and some systems like A-Life 2.0 are absent but promised to return soon. Mutants are overly tanky, AI can be clumsy, and weapon progression feels off—I found a rare VSS Vintorez right at the start. Still, these issues can be addressed with patches. I wholeheartedly recommend the game, as every downside feels fixable, and it’s already a solid step toward a sequel worthy of the franchise. Don’t let pessimistic “veterans” dissuade you—this is, or soon will be, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. we’ve been waiting for.

This game is everything I hoped for as a fan of the original STALKER series. The atmosphere, gunplay, lore, and overall feel are spot-on, allowing you to explore the Zone at your own pace without forced quests. I’m thrilled with my purchase and how well the game captures the essence of STALKER.

There are only two downsides: the English voice acting isn’t great, so I recommend using the Ukrainian voices with English subtitles. Also, you’ll need to spend a bit of time tweaking settings for optimal FPS. Once I adjusted mine, I consistently hit 80–100 FPS with high/epic settings on my 3070, thanks to FSR upscaling and frame generation. Ignore the negativity about performance—it took me just 15 minutes to get everything running flawlessly.

My all-time favorite has always been Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl, and I’ve dived into Lost Alpha, Misery, and Anomaly like any dedicated fan. Nothing compares, though, to that magical moment in 2007 when I first installed the original game and heard its haunting menu music. Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl continues the tradition of poor optimization, so don’t even think about playing without DLSS. Despite the challenges of development during a war, the game feels surprisingly complete, with only two crashes in nine hours—by Stalker standards, that’s a miracle. Sure, it might initially feel more like Metro on steroids, but the Zone quickly reminds you: this isn’t Metro; it’s misery.

At over 150 gigs with no pre-load, downloading this beast feels like filling a pool with a teaspoon. But the game looks better than expected, even if the optimization feels held together by duct tape. When your gun jams, hunger gnaws at you, or a Bloodsucker ambushes, it’s pure Stalker. I can already see myself sinking 100+ hours into this radioactive masterpiece, bidding farewell to 2024 with at least 23 crashes along the way. Good hunting, Stalker.

1. Atmosphere and sound – Amazing 100/10
2. Bugs – didn’t find anything critical
3. Optimization – it’s just bad. Waiting for patches.
4. A-LIFE – there’s no A-LIFE. Game just spawns enemies within 50-100 meters. Hope patches will make it work like in previous games, because without it it’s not STALKER and the world is empty and lifeless without it.
5. Enemies are just sponges for bullets. Need rebalance. 4 mags to kill a bloodsucker? Really?
Other things to mention that I would like DEVs to change/add:
– Day/night cycle is too short
– No sleeping bags
– It costs a fortune to repair weapons and suits
– No dymanic shadows from the flashlight
– eneimes just spam you with grenades all the time
– would be cool to have more food/drinks options and cook monster parts like in GAMMA or order some meals in the bars
– weapons/suits condition goes down waaaaay to fast (shot 2 mags from AK and got -3%. Whaaaaaat?)
– when you sit at the campfire you cannot eat/drink/open PDA/inventory etc.
– you get hungry every 5-10 minutes. I assume longer day/night cycle would be a great option as well to fix the issue.
– mutants AI is strange. If you’re being chased by the mutants and jump of the car for example they just run away. When you get down they appear again. They don’t try to jump or at least swarm around the car waiting for their meal.

For now the game is medium rare. Waiting for the DEVs to cook it properly and then it will be the game of the year for sure.