S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Review (PC)

It has been 15 years since the release of the last official S.T.A.L.K.E.R game. The franchise is set in an alternative version of the Chornobyl exclusion zone, with key inspirations being the novel Roadside Picnic and its 1979 movie counterpart, Stalker. S.T.A.L.K.E.R is about exploring a world filled with mutants, anomalies, science gone out of control, and factions fighting for dominance. It mixes RPG, sci-fi, action, and horror.

I played the original trilogy from start to finish. The first game was amazing in spite of its flaws, the second game was disappointing, and the last one was alright. Each sequel introduced new ideas to varying degrees of success. You had moments of genuine tension and unparalleled immersion, among moments that made it seem like you’re playing a beta build. The jank gave the series some of its personality.

The good news is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl is good while retaining the jank people have come to expect. Whether the jank is good or bad ultimately depends on you.

A beautiful and irradiated presentation

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is currently one of the most graphically impressive games on PC and has managed to preserve the spirit of the previous games. The texture work, modeling, lighting, weather effects, and ambient sounds really manage to make the world feel like a real place.

Similarly to the original trilogy, the visual style is heavily inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 movie Stalker. You’ve got dilapidated Cold War-era shops, households, and military installations, all overtaken by nature. Combine that with the modern elements such as the factions and the fantastical elements like mutants and anomalies, you’ve got a world that seems to be ripped out of time. There’s a palpable sense of isolation that few games have managed to evoke. You’re constantly reminded that people have vacated the premises for a good reason.

Although the visuals are grounded in realism, the weather effects and the color changes brought on by them help spice up the experience. A small, but meaningful detail. The developers have tried their best to make every major locale feel distinct, whether it is a base surrounded by garbage and radiation or an installation next to a marshland. Fans of the series will immediately recognize some areas, and the anomalies are a mix of wonder and death.

I think the overall story is better than the previous games. The new direction and the inclusion of full voice acting give it a much more human element than the previous titles. The same old themes are present. Struggle for survival, authoritarianism, and unscrupulous science. There’s a decent chunk of memorable quests, and while not the highlight, the story here is good.

One small gripe I have about the narrative and presentation is that the voice acting is all over the place. Not just in quality. The main character and primary cast give a solid performance. Problem is; seeing Irish, British, and American accents in a Slavic setting can break the immersion. You got actors who are professionals, while some actors try way, way too hard to be funny or serious.

Good combat… for the most part

If you’re familiar with the gunplay of the original games, then you’re going to feel at home here. The following is based on the game’s STALKER (normal) difficulty.

Weapons are modeled nicely and most of them feel and sound powerful. The previous games’ RPG mechanics are present, such as the upgrades, item degradation, weight system and ammo types. Gunfights last longer than your typical action shooter, so trying to play like Rambo is going to get you killed. It’s fresh to have slower, more grounded gunfights. The addition of a simple cover system means larger gunfights are easier to tackle. Human enemies still love tossing their grenades and flanking, so being mobile is just as important as having a good arsenal. It’s common to find yourself constantly swapping between weapons to stay alive. Most mutant enemies will bum rush but they each have their own quirks and spawn compositions in order to add variety to the gameplay. Fan-favorite mutant enemies, such as the poltergeists and bloodsuckers, are back. One moment, the game can feel like a regular military shooter, and in a different moment, it feels like a horror game. The transition between adrenaline and terror felt smooth. There’s also some clever scripted moments.

Similarly to the previous games, exploration is key to survival. The need for repairs and new equipment pushes you to take on quests and find the numerous stashes throughout the world. The loot in the stashes can vary, from vodka and bread to unique guns. Quests can lead to the game’s more visually distinct areas, such as the poppy fields, and can have different outcomes. There are some twists and turns here and there, and the reputation system reflects how you treat those around you. The addition of these systems means there’s a nice bit of replay value in the game.

On STALKER, the bleed mechanic felt pretty forgiving. It felt like it added subtle pressure instead of being a major problem. Same with the hunger system, it just never felt like a big issue. Food is still your second most important source of health but because of the way the new inventory system is handled, food items are best used after battle. Luckily, medkits are frequent and have short animations, so the combat has a consistent pace. In fact, on STALKER difficulty the game is incredibly generous. I never found myself running out of supplies; I only ran out of ammo a few times. While enemies are a genuine threat, I have noticed their AI bug out a few times. Human enemies do things like going the wrong way during a fight or suddenly spotting me when in stealth and away from their line of sight. I’ve seen mutant enemies get stuck around trees. Situations like this make combat unpredictable but in a bad way. Not all the time, but it is noticeable. More on that later.

There is a stealth system implemented involving sight, sound, light, weather effects, a Far Cry-style detection meter, and takedowns, but stealth did not feel as reliable as good old-fashioned taking cover and shooting. Foliage does not seem to impact their sight, and it has the trope of if one enemy spots you, then all enemies know exactly where you are. It’s only good in areas with plenty of blind spots. Equally unreliable are melee attacks with guns. Weak damage output and incredibly short range means it’s only good for breaking containers or dealing with the mob enemies. Then again, if you’re dealing with mob enemies, automatics will always be better.

Some gripes

Just as the anomalies make life harder for Stalkers, the numerous bugs in the game make things more difficult for the player. The bugs are plenty, ranging from simple hiccups to mechanics that don’t appear to be working at all.

Here are a few known ones*:

• Screen stutter (common)
• Audio hiccups (common)
• UI disappearing (common)
• Quest markers not working (common)
• Items not being consumed even though the animation is playing(common)
• Items disappearing from the inventory (rare)
• Crashes (heavily depends on your system)
• Quests being bugged (heavily depends on your system)
• Getting stuck in the peeking from cover position (rare)
• Bugged textures (heavily depends on your system)
• AI freaking out, as was mentioned

*This review was finalized on November 28, future patches may and probably have fixed or remedied some of these bugs.

Different users have experienced such bugs, and more, to a different degree. Even if you have the best rig, there’s no guarantee your experience will be the smoothest. It’s not the buggiest launch, and the devs have promised to fix the issues. That being said, it is a bit disappointing how the devs neglected to fix some quest bugs, since quests are the player’s primary motivation to explore. With a good rig you can still play the game from start to finish and have plenty of fun, but there’s a good chance your patience will be tested at some point.

Another gripe is the game’s A-Life system, taken from the original trilogy. It promised to create scenarios for NPCs to interact with in order to give the impression that the Zone is a real, populated location. Right now, it feels more like a glorified spawner, forcibly putting the player in combat scenarios even though the area was previously clear, maybe alongside some friendly NPCs. Sometimes, it can take the player by surprise, but besides combat, it really doesn’t seem to work as promised/intended.

Final thoughts

Overall, there’s more good than bad here. While some parts of the game still need a bit of time in the oven, I can see myself coming back to the Zone.