Now that Stalker 2 is finally out in the wild, after more than a decade in development hell, you may be wondering if it’s worth your time?
Perhaps, you played the enthralling trilogy in the late 2000s and have been patiently waiting for the sequel. Or, you’re just a fan of the type of dystopian, open-world terrors Stalker 2 promises (like the solemn cousin to Bethesda’s maniacal Fallout series). Maybe, you’ve heard that it’s out on Xbox Game Pass and simply want to give it a try.
For many, its biggest sell is its setting: a fictional spin on the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – the hauntingly atmospheric site of the tragic, real-world 1986 nuclear meltdown; an area you’re completely free to explore, as long as you can survive its world-bending anomalies and mutated residents.
So, should you hop in now or wait till it gets a discount later down the line? Here’s what the critics are saying about Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
Stalker 2: a buggy mess
The main theme emerging from most Stalker 2 reviews is that players may want to exercise some patience. At launch, the game is mired with bugs that, in some cases, render it completely unplayable.
YouTube channel Skill Up struggled to get it running on one of their PC builds. And, both Eurogamer and Pure Xbox have refrained from publishing their reviews partly due to the technical difficulties.
These range from horrid lightning to hilariously buggy enemies to widely fluctuating frame rates. So, if you do end up purchasing the game instead of playing on Game Pass, be prepared to ask for a refund.
A message from the GSC Game World Team.
— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) November 20, 2024
Before you step into the Zone, we’d like to take a moment to share something from the heart. pic.twitter.com/wuLRAkq7Ba
Ultimately, bugs are pretty commonplace in modern gaming and, as Eurogamer points out, it probably didn’t help that Stalker 2 was being developed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Most reviewers are hopeful the game will be saved with updates (to that end, a day one patch is expected on Wednesday). There’s definitely a precedent here in Cyberpunk 2077, which went from a similar botched launch to being hailed a modern masterpiece.
But, as GamesRadar+ summed up: Stalker 2 is “the greatest game you shouldn’t play right now”.
A treat for open-world fans
According to Polygon, Stalker 2 is a must for fans of open-world survival games like DayZ and Horizon Zero Dawn, who may be more forgiving of its flaws.
“A beautiful new world has been made available to you, with more than 60 square kilometers of forbidding wilderness to explore, enemy AI be damned,” writes Charlie Hall.
“When you tire of the swamps and the hills, of the sinkholes and the ruined cottages, its densest industrialized areas hold labyrinthine warrens of industrial decay that will satisfy the cravings of the most ambitious urban spelunkers.”
The beginning of the game may break you
Clearly, Stalker 2 is a massive game. Thanks to its branching quests, reviewers have spent 40 hours roaming its wasteland and still aren’t close to completing it.
But, you may not get very far if you can’t stomach the start. In a world that is hellbent on killing you, Stalker 2 gives you precious little ammo to fight back at the beginning.
“The first few hours are punishing. Without much cash, you scavenge damaged weapons prone to jamming,” writes The Verge’s Lewis Gordon. “In time, and with a gradually expanding arsenal of exactingly rendered weaponry, the game softens.”
Its headline sums it up: Heart of Chornobyl is a glorious and beautiful pain in the ass.
Awesome gunplay
Speaking of guns, Stalker 2 will be right up your alley if you love gritty, first-person shooters.
“For fans of tactical shooters, games like Escape from Tarkov and the Call of Duty series, there’s a lot of potential here,” states Polygon’s Hall.
“The selection of firearms feels limited at first, but it quickly opens up, providing new and interesting tools for exploration and destruction.”
