S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl - Ultimate Edition
Description
Newest patch available!
Ultimate Edition for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl provides all the Deluxe bonuses, including weapon & armor sets and Bonus Side Quest!
Weapons:
Rhino Revolver “Model Competitor” (transferable to multiplayer)
Viper “Monolith” SMG (transferable to mult...
Discover the legendary S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe and experience:
Unique gameplay built on a blend of FPS, horror, and immersive sim
It is a non-linear story, with a variety of paths that lead to one of the several endings
Benchmark-setting graphics developed using cutting-edge photogrammetry and scanning technologies
Advanced artificial intelligence systems that will keep engaged even the most hard-boiled players
Immersive survival mechanics like hunger, sleeping, bleeding, radiation effects that enrich the gameplay
Dynamic day-night cycle and weather will add even more realism to the gameplay experience
Mod support gives the freedom to the creative stalker to extend and enrich the game universe
Multiplayer mode, will be added after release as a free update
Chornobyl Exclusion Zone has changed dramatically after the second massive explosion in the year 2006. Violent mutants, deadly anomalies, and warring factions have made the Zone a very tough place to survive. Nevertheless, artifacts of unbelievable value attracted many people called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, who entered the Zone for their own risk, striving to make a fortune out of it or even to find the Truth concealed in the Heart of Chornobyl.
EPIC NONLINEAR STORY IN SEAMLESS OPEN WORLD
Take over a role of the lone stalker and explore photorealistic seamless open world in a 64-km² radioactive zone with a variety of environments that reveal post-apocalyptic atmosphere from different angles. Make your way through the Zone to define your destiny as you choose your paths within highly branching epic story.
VARIETY OF ENEMIES AND HUNDREDS OF WEAPON COMBINATIONS
Meet members of different factions deciding who of them worth your friendship and who deserve a bullet. Engage intense gunfights with a variety of enemies that follow different tactics trying to outsmart you. Choose your preferable firearms from 30 types of weapons with numerous modifications that allow creating hundreds of distinctive lethal combinations.
LEGENDARY MUTANTS WITH DIFFERENT BEHAVIOUR MODELS
Prepare to encounter horrifying mutated creatures that will try to slaughter you following different behaviour model. Each mutant may appear in different subtypes which makes their behaviour less predictible. Truly extreme danger represent regions with lairs with numerous mutants hunting in large groups.
ARTIFACTS OF INCREDIBLE VALUE AND UNFORGIVING ANOMALIES
The most valuable artifacts and secrets of the Zone are hidden in the most dangerous places. Beware of the hazardous anomalies and unique devastating arch-anomalies as you hunt for highly valuable artifacts scattered around the Zone. Will you dare to unveil the mysteries of the Zone that took lives of many others before you?
After 6 hours of gameplay, Stalker 2 combines what is best in previous games and adds more. A lot more. You can tell it has been influenced by Metro and Chernobylite but in good way - it is still good old Stalker! Atmosphere is thicker than Shadow of Chernobyl, and mechanics are better than Call of Prypiat.
Graphics and world... density is phenomenal.
If you liked any of the previous games, you will love Stalker 2 with all your Heart... of Chernobyl.
Imagine you're carrying something very valuable through a very hostile wasteland, only to be betrayed by someone you trusted and left for dead. Now imagine that you wake up and start on a quest for revenge only to end up being a kingmaker. Sounds like Fallout: New Vegas, right? That's the basic premise this game shares with that one.
But far from being an imitation of New Vegas, this STALKER game does what STALKER games do: give you a vast and weird world to survive and thrive in while allowing you to do the right (or wrong) thing or take a third option.
VISUALS
Outstanding but not without issues.
Nanite comes into its own, allowing literally billions of polygons to be displayed at once though instancing. This is the same developer that boasted of a million polygons being displayed in the originals.
However, the current version of the game uses software raytracing through Lumen, so you need a strong CPU to run it until hardware raytracing is added in a future patch. The game will also compile shaders every time you start, which gets annoying.
The game also lacks optimization, but for now, there are several mods to fix this.
SOUND
Most of the sounds have been ported from the previous STALKER games, but I can't complain.
GAMEPLAY
Here is where I have some criticisms. Using quick-access items isn't intuitive - you 2 keys for 4 items; press x once to use item 1, hold for 2, press z for 3 and hold for 4. This is easily forgotten and I have used medkits instead of bandages by accident. There is a also selector wheel which is more straightforward.
The menu doesn't make clear that you can rebind keys - you can by pressing the word "keyboard" in the menu above the myriad of hold-or-toggle options.
Combat is similar to an ArmA game with controls for things like holding your breath while aiming. Actions such as using medkits take time, so you can't press the heal button in a gunfight.
VERDICT
Recommended, but be prepared to use mods or wait for patches.
I am writing this after just 30 minutes of playing, so keep that in mind...
Performance is great so far - i run the game on RTX 4070 Super at 1080p@60fps with VSync enabled.
Not using FrameGen, using DLSS only for DLAA at 100% resolution scale.
Almost all settings on Epic, except sky/clouds/fog/reflections/shadows quality on High.
So far i didn't notice any stutters, or FPS drops below 60, and that is really all i need.
Atmosphere is EPIC. They just nailed it. This is a true Stalker game.
If you remember the original Stalker game, you should be very happy with this.
And if you didn't play its predecessor, you will be happy too (but the game is not easy, even on Rookie difficulty).
So far i have only one minor gripe with the game - its dumb method of detecting your Joystick as a damn XBox Controller.
Forcing the controller control scheme on you without any means to switch it off or switch to Keyboard+Mouse.
Your only way to fix this is to disconnect your Joystick before starting the game, or if that doesn't help, you need to go into Device Manager and disable the Joystick device(s).
Hopefully they patch this behavior, or add means to switch to KB+Mouse.
Overall, i would wholeheartedly recommend the game to everybody - Stalker fan or not.
That said, keep in mind that this is very early "review" after just under one hour of playing.
I really like it! I got everything I wanted from the game Stalker 2. Works quite well even on a laptop i5-12500H RTX3060. I think a couple more patches and the game will be perfect.
If you liked the previous games, you'll like this one. I personally didn't have any crashes yet after playing for 6 hours. The game is fun and challenging. Performance is ok on my PC (a beefy one, but not the beefiest).
This game is waiting for a review. Take the first shot!
{{ item.rating }}
{{ item.percentage }}%
Awaiting more reviews
An error occurred. Please try again later.
Other ratings
Awaiting more reviews
Add a review
Edit a review
Your rating:
Stars and all fields are required
Not sure what to say? Start with this:
What kept you playing?
What kind of gamer would enjoy this?
Was the game fair, tough, or just right?
What’s one feature that really stood out?
Did the game run well on your setup?
Inappropriate content. Your reviews contain bad language.
Inappropriate content. Links are not allowed.
Inappropriate content. Content contains gibberish.
Review title is too short.
Review title is too long.
Review description is too short.
Review description is too long.
Not sure what to write?
You cannot save your review due to the following reasons:
You need to select star rating
You need to enter review title
You need to enter the content of your review
Show:
5 on page
15 on page
30 on page
60 on page
Order by:
Most helpful
Most positive
Most critical
Most recent
Filters:
No reviews matching your criteria
Written in
English
Deutsch
polski
français
русский
中文(简体)
Others
Written by
Verified ownersOthers
Added
Last 30 daysLast 90 daysLast 6 monthsWheneverAfter releaseDuring Early Access
Your review should focus on your in-game experience only. Let the game stand entirely on its own merits.
Avoid noise
To discuss topics such as news, pricing, or community, use our forums. To request new games and website or GOG GALAXY features, use the community wishlist. To get technical support for your game contact our support team.
Critique responsibly
To keep our review sections clean and helpful, we will remove any reviews that break these guidelines or our terms of use.
Ok, got it
GOG Patrons who helped preserve this game
Error loading patrons. Please refresh the page and try again.
