Nearly 14 long years separate the first announcement of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl from its firm and definitive release date, this November 20, 2024. A complex project which has encountered multiple complications, particularly in recent years with the war which broke out in Ukraine. That being said, the situation will not have prevented the developers from completing their baby to offer it to us at the end of the year. The obstacle course gave birth to a game with multiple qualities which, despite everything, seems to have arrived on our machines a little too early… Explanations.
Our story begins with a long cutscene which takes our character in the Zone, a hostile and particularly dangerous place. We are there to use a machine that is supposed to restore value to an artifact, which could earn us a lot of money. We go there for the lure of profit, armed with a flashlight and a gun. Our first steps set the framework, make us discover an atmosphere as icy as it is threatening. We move with caution and we encounter our first enemies before coming across soldiers who knock us out, if not eliminate us. We then wake up a few hours later, naked and without equipment. Helped by a stranger, we collect bolts – a highly important object – and go to a small town which turns out to be the nerve center of the region. From there, we collect equipment, our first missions and we set off on an adventure in the unforgiving world offered by STALKER 2.
If the general context and the proposed story are quite pleasant to follow, we cannot say that it is revolutionary. It pushes us to move forward and discover the mysteries surrounding the Zone and its occupants, while offering us to help certain natives and making choices. These are relatively numerous and can really guide your way of solving certain quests. We can attack the NPCs we encounter, but also negotiate, pay them, provide them with a service. The possibilities are multiple – like the approaches – and that’s really appreciable !
But beyond a story, STALKER 2 is above all an atmosphere. The world you immerse yourself in – which is frankly massive and which will occupy you for many hours of play – contains dangers. The latter are numerous – very numerous – and it doesn’t take much to switch the weapon to the left, even on the simplest difficulty. The GSC Game World title is unforgiving and you have to show with great cautionconstantly, to avoid distortions, wild animals/mutants, patrolling soldiers, radiation… You are constantly in demand and you must move forward with caution. We can also tell you frankly that fleeing is an option that should not be neglected, as the slightest confrontation can quickly end.
In short, on top of all that, STALKER 2 invites us to discover a dark world that shines with its oppressive atmosphere. Closed places are often very dark, narrow and enemies can appear from anywhere. Add to this, storms that tear the sky, which turns red with great bursts of lightning and which push you to find shelter in just a few minutes, and you will understand that everything is done to keep you in a permanent state of alert. Obviously, the dialogues with the NPCs are not left out and the tension which exists between the different factions really does not help. Brief, a whole series of elements that make your journey as immersive as it is violent and dangerous. Simply tasty.
On the gameplay side, STALKER 2 therefore takes the form of an FPS, like its predecessor. Handling is relatively classic and does not require any special learning.. The introduction still serves as a tutorial and allows you, in just a few minutes, to integrate the basic commands. That being said, don’t think that GSC Game World’s game is limited to this, because that would be a big mistake. The survival aspect is omnipresent and has a considerable impact on gameplay and the approach you will have to game situations. Understand that you must feed yourself, water yourself, take what you need to recover stamina or reduce radiation. Another important point: the wear and tear of your weapons. The more you use them, the more they get damaged. The consequence? During a confrontation, your equipment may jam, the magazine may become stuck. An annoying problem that makes you vulnerable to your adversaries who won’t ask for more to kill you. It is therefore necessary to check the condition of your equipment, repair it and/or improve it if necessary at the camp, before even considering an outing.. An operation which, once again, places a sword of Damocles over your head and which creates omnipresent pressure on your adventure. You have been warned.
Obviously, STALKER 2 is not limited to confrontations in closed spaces. Most of your journey takes the form of a trip during which you will be able to visit many places : tunnels, bunker, military base, abandoned buildings… Some will not be frequented, while others will contain their dose of traps or adversaries of all kinds. But what undeniably makes the game so charming is the exploration.. If you think about running from one point to another without taking the time to explore the places you cross, you may frankly encounter difficulties. And this, even at the start of the game. You must therefore visit each of the rooms made available to you in order to find ammunition (which is not excessively numerous) or healing objects which you will probably need regularly. We are also taking advantage of this point to address an element that seems a bit excessive to us. Each of our wounds causes damage – logically – but can also apply a penalty called bleeding. If you don’t use bandages quickly, your health points will fade like snow in the sun. The problem is that with every encounter, practically with every injury, bleeding is inflicted on us. It’s off-putting and, above all, terribly boring, especially at the start of the adventure. Subsequently, with better armor and especially more efficient weapons, this tends to diminish. That being said, the difficulty remains very uneven and it often happens that we die when facing a powerful enemy. Frustrating.
On the side of the bestiarythe GSC Game World game offers us two very distinct types of enemies: soldiers and creatures. The first are quite classic, numerous and often well equipped. They generally approach confrontations with a certain aggressiveness and do not hesitate to come and dislodge you from your position, even if it means using explosive material such as grenades. Fortunately for you, the location of the damage allows you to quickly separate yourself from it, with a simple bullet to the head, at least for “basic soldiers”. On the creature side, it’s noticeably more complicated. Varied and numerousthey can be very small, massive or possess powers that make them downright dangerous (invisibility or telekinesis, for example). Facing them is a real challenge, especially at the start of the adventure where every fight can be deadly. In general, they show excessive resistance (especially the one that disappears and appears just to hit you), which makes fights unbalanced. We would have liked a little more nuance on this side, especially since the change in difficulty (going from normal to easy) didn’t change much.
Regarding the interface and menus, the game plays the immersion card. All your belongings are stored in a backpack that you have to manage. Be careful not to take too much equipment, otherwise you will no longer be able to move around correctly. From that point of view, it’s quite classic and effective. We simply regret the fact that there is a certain slowness in navigation. Indeed, we quickly see – including among retailers – that the game is designed as a PC title and that this has not been modified for consoles. The other menus are found on a tablet that you carry and which shows the world map or the different quests that you follow, among other things. It’s relatively intuitive and we must admit that the work is generally well done. A little useful clarification for future adventurers who will try the Zone experience: when you are in your backpack, enemies can still attack you. So be sure to be careful, as always. Caution, as you have normally understood, is the key word of the game.
Now let’s tackle the last point of our test, the annoying part, the technique. We’ve had the opportunity to try out STALKER 2 twice over the past two Gamescom editions. If the first test was inconclusive on this point, the second was reassuring. However – let’s not beat around the bush – at the time of writing, the GSC Game World title is impacted by a gigantic number of frankly disturbing bugs : flickering, popping, clipping, character who remains stuck after loading, enemies who remain standing even though dead, slowdown… The problems are really numerous and really detract from the gaming experience. Worse, they really come to take us out of the immersion sought by the developers.
And even if it turned out to be clean and free from these defects, STALKER 2 cannot claim to be a game that matches the capabilities of our machine, the Xbox Series. The environments, although sometimes pretty, often appear dull, in particular because of aging textures. Facial animations are dated and NPC movements are frozen. An observation that applies to many elements of the game which would have benefited from more care before its release. A release that we imagine would be difficult to postpone, especially after the numerous postponements that the title has undergone. This is truly the very biggest weak point of the game. Finally, in terms of sound, the GSC Game World game is a little more solid. The music is well chosen and contributes greatly to the atmosphere that emanates from the place. The dubbing for their part – we chose the developers’ language – is convincing, while promoting immersion. However, English is the only other possibility offered by the game. Note that among the bugs, some also affect this aspect of the game : music that doesn’t start again, lines that loop, noises that repeat… It’s complicated…
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