Gaming News Many new screenshots and details of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: night zone, anomalies, and stalkers by the campfire

Many new screenshots and details of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: night zone, anomalies, and stalkers by the campfire

October 17, 2024, 02:52 AM

Final previews of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl have started to appear online. Journalists spent several hours in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, recorded fresh gameplay, and shared their impressions. We've gathered all the materials in one article.

Fresh details from the previews:

Journalists were left with a positive impression of the game — the author from Windows Central even called it a contender for «Game of the Year»;
IGN's publication was most pleased with the variability in gameplay. For example, one of the first tasks offers either to kill a target or save it and unlock another storyline branch. «I couldn't help but recall the hundreds of hours spent playing Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas, and the same agonizing doubts about whether I made the right decision in various situations», — wrote Destin Legarie;
Eugene Grigorovich also talked about the significant focus on variability. «It's definitely not Baldur's Gate, but the game still has many different lines, different branches, and even within a single dialogue, you often have many options», — he shared;
Eurogamer's publication also appreciated the English voice acting, noting that it surpasses the translation of Metro: Exodus;
Many critics highlight the high difficulty. Even on the standard level, the game immediately makes it clear that this is not an arcade shooter like Call of Duty;
A journalist from VG247 noted that the current build is riddled with various bugs. During the playthrough, one of the quest givers got stuck in «combat» mode, and at one point, the game even crashed;
Gamepressure noted that the game has become much more polished, although crashes still occur. The journalist also complained about the overly complicated keyboard controls and the inconvenient user interface reminiscent of «the worst decisions of Ubisoft».

Other details:

Developers confirmed the appearance of the Arena;
Part of the team is already working on the first story expansion;
On Xbox Series X, the game runs at 60 FPS, although there are occasional drops to «55 frames or so».

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will be released on November 20, 2024, on PC and Xbox Series X/S. The game will be available on Game Pass from day one.