What you need to know
- STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl launches on Xbox and PC on November 20, 2024.
- Recommended PC system requirements are not lenient, with recommended RTX 4070/RX 6800 XT GPUs and Ryzen 7 5800X/Core i7-11700 CPUs.
- The latest system requirements are provided with TSR, DLSS, FSR, and XeSS upscaling tech considered, leading many gamers to worry about performance.
- Zero Sievert is one of my favorite games that recently got a 1.0 release, and it'll run on practically any PC.
I'm old enough to remember when STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl launched in 2007. The PC I had at the time was woefully unequipped to deal with the performance demands, and I can recall struggling for countless hours to make my way through the terrifying environment at about 10 FPS.
Roughly 17 years later, I still occasionally jump into the original STALKER and its sequels, albeit with a lot of mods installed. It remains an experience unlike any other. Needless to say, I've been following STALKER 2's beleaguered development with keen attention. The game launches on PC and Xbox on November 20, 2024, and like its predecessor, it's going to require a lot of power to run properly.
Will your PC be able to run STALKER 2?
Developer GSC Game World recently updated the STALKER 2 PC system requirements, and the revelation that the recommended specs are based on help from upscaling tech like DLSS, TSR, and FSR has a lot of PC gamers (myself included) worried about whether or not the game will run properly on their system.
If you'd like to play at 1440p with 60 FPS, GSC Game World recommends at least an Intel Core i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X processor (CPU). It also recommends at least an NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti or RTX 4070 GPU; on AMD's side, it's a Radeon RX 6800 XT. You should also have at least 32GB of RAM in your system. This is all with TSR, DLSS, FSR, or XeSS enabled.
These are not exactly lenient specs, and even playing at 1080p with 60 FPS will tax many systems. You'll want at least an Intel Core i7-9700K/AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU, with RTX 2070 Super, RTX 4060, and Radeon RX 5700 XT GPUs listed. Memory requirement is pegged at 16GB. These specs are given with the assumption that you have TSR enabled.
The great thing about STALKER 2 coming to PC Game Pass on day one is that many gamers will be able to test the game on their PC without dropping a big chunk of money. Of course, Steam is also known to handle refunds very quickly should you find that your system isn't up to snuff.
Let's say your PC won't run STALKER 2 at an acceptable level. You can always return to the original STALKER and its excellent conversion mods. You can also upgrade your system or check out a great pre-built gaming PC. However, there's a similar game that will run on any hardware, and it recently received a 1.0 release.
ZERO Sievert can deliver the same STALKER feel, and it'll run on any system
ZERO Sievert launched into Steam's Early Access program in November 2022, and it just received its 1.0 release on October 23, 2024. It sits at a Very Positive rating on Steam, with more than 11,000 reviews. If I'm not mistaken, it was created by one developer (Luca Carbonera), making the achievement even more impressive.
ZERO Sievert doesn't have the stunning and realistic UE5 graphics coming with STALKER 2, but its top-down pixellated style can nevertheless get the heart pumping. There's a ton of detail in every frame, the guns sound real, and the enemy AI is murderous.
I usually refer to it as a mix of STALKER and Escape from Tarkov, combining extraction shooter elements with supernatural anomalies, deep weapon customization, frantic looting and scavenging, base building, crafting, enemy factions, varied locales, and hardcore difficulty. No two runs are the same thanks to the procedurally generated maps, and it's the type of game where you'll say, "Just one more run" about 10 times before finally closing the game at dawn.
Recommended system requirements include a 1.7GHz dual-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a GTX 260 GPU. You should easily get by with integrated graphics from even a semi-recent Intel or AMD CPU. ZERO Sievert is also Steam Deck verified, and I can attest that it runs without issue on gaming handhelds.
At the time of writing, ZERO Sievert is on sale for about $19 at CDKeys, making it far more affordable than STALKER 2. If you'd like to get the same feel without baking your potato PC, ZERO Sievert is an easy alternative recommendation.
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