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

Return to the post-apocalyptic world of Chornobyl. Players can finally roam a large open seamless world, containing such iconic elements of the original trilogy as the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the city of Pripyat, the village of Novice, as well as secret objects like the Duga radar antenna.

Heart of Chornobyl is a first-person shooter, survival, and sandbox game with RPG and horror elements. The sequel retains the original's distinctive atmosphere of gloom, despair, and constant danger in the abandoned territory.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 features more than 30 types of firearms: pistols and submachine guns, assault and combat rifles, light machine guns, sniper rifles, and weapons based on new physical principles. The shooting model and technical characteristics are chosen with an emphasis on realism. Weapons, consumables, and ammunition follow USSR/NATO standards.

The player can customize each "gun" on the go by attaching a sight, silencer, grenade launcher, etc., but changing the weapon itself is only possible through technicians, without the level of fanaticism seen in Escape from Tarkov. Through upgrades, the arsenal can be tailored to fit one's play style.

Bonfires now play an important role; around them, the player (and other NPCs) can rest and recover, but they are much fewer than before.

The events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 unfold in an alternate reality, in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). After the 1986 disaster, the deserted territory was taken over by a group of scientists studying the hypothesis of the noosphere — the Earth's information field.

In the network of X-laboratories deployed in the CEZ, the existence of the noosphere was confirmed, work on advanced weaponry was conducted, the ability of living beings to generate directed psi-emission was discovered, and biological and technical psi-emitters were created to zombify anyone approaching them.

The goal was to break into the noosphere and subdue it. To this end, Generators were built a kilometer from the ChNPP blocks, and the scientists united into a collective mind known as "C-Consciousness". However, on April 12, 2006, the experiment failed.

The energy of the noosphere poured into the CEZ (the first emission), altering physical laws, creating anomalies and artifacts, and the mysterious "Monolith". The area around the ChNPP was covered by a high-intensity psi-field, frying the brain of anyone who entered it. Over time, monsters appeared in the Zone: some mutated, others were artificially created.

Trying to stop the spread of the contagion pouring out of the Zone, the military encircled it with barbed wire and minefields. Authorities' attempts to find out what happened continued in the following years but inevitably ended in failure. However, stalkers — daring illegal adventurers sneaking into the Zone — had more success.

They brought out almost magical artifacts, talked about anomalies, and told tales of encounters with deadly mutants. The settlement of the Zone was significantly aided by stalker groups, the largest of which were the ideologically driven "Duty" and "Freedom". "Mercenaries" took on any job, while "Bandits" robbed novices at the Zone's borders.

Over time, one of the stalkers nicknamed Strelok or Marked One (the protagonist of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and one of the characters in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat) managed to uncover the background of the Zone's formation and learn about the "C-Consciousness."

After making several forays in 2011-2012, Strelok goes behind the "Brain Scorcher," breaks through to the Chernobyl NPP, uncovers the secret of the Monolith, and destroys the "C-Consciousness." He passed this and other survival knowledge in the Zone to the state, becoming a consultant at the newly established Institute for the Study of the Chernobyl Anomalous Zone (NII CHAZ).

Heart of Chernobyl offers over 60 km² for exploration: predominantly rugged terrain with patches of rural villages, factories, plants, military bases, and settlements; a large part of the cities of Pripyat and Chernobyl; and the Chernobyl NPP itself. Buildings are recreated in the characteristic architectural style of the USSR.

The open world includes altered locations from the first trilogy: Cordon, Swamps, Wild Territory, Dark Valley, Radar, and the Chernobyl NPP (reactors 1-4). Iconic points of interest remain almost unchanged — Rookie Village, the church in the Swamps, the railway under Jupiter, the Brain Scorcher, and the Ferris wheel in Pripyat.

The list of new places in Heart of Chernobyl includes: the Chemical Plant, the military town of Chernobyl-2 near the "Brain Scorcher," the unfinished reactors No. 5 and No. 6 of the Chernobyl NPP, and the Cooling Towers (located southeast of the main station), as well as new laboratories.

As you move from the Perimeter to the center of the Zone, the danger increases: deadly anomalies and mutants appear, and stalkers change into exoskeletons. Exploring the world will take more than 100 hours, since you'll have to travel on foot as there is no transport in the Zone. Fast travel is available in an unconventional form.

After the events of "Shadow of Chernobyl," the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone began to live its own life and changed externally. Everywhere there is tall grass, many bushes, and mighty trees with impressive crowns. In the Swamps, there are impassable thickets of reeds and an abundance of cattails. From above, the Zone looks like a dense green forest, and only anomalous fields stand out from the flat green expanse.

The events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl begin 6-8 years after the ending of "Call of Pripyat" and continue the story of the first trilogy — newcomers are advised to complete it for a better understanding of the events.

The player will experience a large-scale branching storyline lasting several dozen hours, with decisions affecting other characters in the game, quests, and even the Zone itself. The Zone becomes a separate character, threatening all of humanity and finding protection among experienced stalkers. One of them, the Stranger, vowed to protect it from any threats, making him the main antagonist.

The main character of "Heart of Chernobyl" is a stalker nicknamed Skif. He is far from a newcomer, a seasoned veteran, but who he is, what he seeks, and which side he fights for — remains unknown. Skif is fully voiced in dialogues, which is a narrative innovation for the series. During the playthrough, the player will meet many new characters with detailed backstories and encounter a few old acquaintances.

In Heart of Chernobyl, there will be well-known factions such as Stalkers, Bandits, Duty, Freedom, and Monolith (their ideological direction has not changed), as well as new factions. One of them is Varta.

Skif is a free stalker, but to progress through the story, he will have to join one faction or another, and this choice will directly affect the ending. The player's choice will be influenced by the ideology pursued by each faction.

Familiar mutants include blind dogs, pseudogiants, burers, and bloodsuckers. New mutants in "Heart of Chernobyl" will be, but are not shown. A new feature of the game is regions with lairs where mutants live in large groups and aggressively hunt all outsiders.

Mutants have been given different behavior models, even considering subspecies and habitats. Their behavior is less predictable, and different tactics will be required to destroy them.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 features A-Life 2.0, a revamped life simulation concept from the original. Thanks to it, the positions of factions and mutants are never static: they constantly fight for living space, migrate, capture new places, or retreat under the pressure of competitors. And all this happens even without the player's involvement.

The main tasks in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl have changed little compared to the original trilogy:

The sequel is distinguished from the original by game mechanics reworked to modern standards, encompassing all aspects of the gameplay.

Studio head Sergey Grigorovich confirmed that a network mode is planned but will be added after the game's release. It is also known that by multiplayer, the authors mean classic competitive shootouts, not some kind of battle royale with loot boxes.