The atmosphere of the Zone
Range
A non-linear story
Amount of content
Czech subtitles
Huge amount of bugs
Boring travel
Some outdated game mechanics
7 /10
FPS for PC and Xbox Series S|X • Price: 1,500 CZK • Singleplayer • Age restriction: 18+ • Official Czech translation
The development of Stalker 2 was not easy. It lasted more than 7 years and faced both the pitfalls of the covid period and, of course, the war in Ukraine, which had a significant impact on the development team. The studio moved, development dragged on. But now we can finally return to the Zone. What kind of comeback is that? Well, very similar to the first visit. In a good and a bad way.
In the sequel, we no longer play as a nameless Stalker, but as a guy named Skif, who goes to the Zone for purely selfish reasons – to earn a big buck. With the help of a special device, he wants to charge one of the wonderful artifacts here. But everything turns out differently. Betrayal doesn’t take long, so our dear Skif goes through the Zone, looking for the one who betrayed him and why. And I probably don’t need to emphasize that it will be a painful journey.
Even the prologue suggests that Stalker 2 will be quite a tough title. Before I looked around properly, I immediately died miserably several times. The worst was meeting the first enemy soldiers. Since the game starts at night, I hardly saw the opponent. But they did and fed me lead several times in a row. In short, the beginnings in the Zone are not easy and you need to endure several hours before you get better equipment, but also before you get used to the inhospitable environment here.
Stalker is still an FPS with RPG elements in a semi-open world. The game map is really gigantic as you gradually unlock more and more parts. In addition, it is quite detailed with a lot of nooks and crannies. There are also some towns where you can relax, buy supplies, repair equipment, but also not take side quests or meet representatives of one of the many local factions.
Then you are already going out into the world. A world that, as already said, is dangerous as hell. To be clear, you will die in Stalker. And quite often. The zone is deadly. And perhaps even more than it was in the first part. More than once you will be taken out by horrible anomalies that spew fire, electricity or simply tear you to pieces.
“To be clear, you will die in Stalker. And quite often. The zone is deadly.”
Anomalies are abundant in the environment and in my opinion are much more murderous than last time. But that’s not all. If you are not careful, you can also die from radiation. There are also mutants of all kinds, menacing mutated pigs, invisible monsters, wild dogs, but also overgrown rats and much more. However, the human opponents will attack you the most.
Let’s stop at them. Because other stalkers or soldiers are a topic in themselves. Sometimes he doesn’t seem stupid at all. For example, when they are not lazy to take a step and calmly bypass you and surprise you from an ambush. I dare say that most of the mischief will be done to you by their fairly accurate grenade throws. If you hide in one place for too long, they will throw an explosive under your feet.
There is no indicator or warning in the game about where the grenade landed. So you have to orient yourself by the sound of the impact, which is not the most accurate. That is why it is necessary to be constantly in motion. Even at night, your opponent often sees you before you do, and silent progress is quite a challenge.
Unfortunately, other times AI doesn’t work so well. Soldiers occasionally get stuck on an object in the environment. If you dispatch a few of their friends, all they have to do is hide for a minute or two and the rest of the group will lose interest and act as if nothing happened. Another time I attacked a military base with a partner. We took cover in the building and I see my friend shooting frantically at the ceiling. The AI knew there was an enemy sniper behind the building on the mast. But she no longer “noticed” the ceiling of the bar. And you will witness such scenes many times.
This brings us to an unpleasant topic. That is, to the bugs. There are again a huge number of them in the game. The first part could be forgiven somehow. But step into the same river twice? Especially when the game has been in development for 7 long years? The creators could have taken care of that a little better. To me, it’s simply inexcusable.
What did I encounter in the Zone? Right from the region, I went to pick up a reward in the form of a hidden treasure in one of the tasks. I arrived at the place, picked up the box without any problems. Subsequently, a guy calls me with the following conversation: “So what about Stalker? Did you find everything? Didn’t the mutants give you too much trouble?” To which Skif replies: “Well, they tried, but I gave them what they needed, and everything went well.” But I didn’t meet any mutants at all, which the game didn’t count on at all.
I have also often witnessed the levitation of objects and figures. And no, it wasn’t the result of one of the anomalies. Another time the NPC walked through a closed door. Scattered graphics sometimes cause problems even in cutscenes. It’s even worse with the quests themselves. In one I was supposed to talk to an important character, which I did. The game somehow didn’t register it and kept telling me that I should talk to her again, but that was no longer possible.
Other times I was supposed to take bottles of vodka to the designated stations. I handed over the first bottle, the game ticked off the point. I also handed in the second one, but it was no longer credited to me. Fortunately, it was a secondary task and could be accomplished in another way, but these mistakes keep happening.
Of course, there are also various jams on objects in the environment, the impossibility of going through doors, objects bouncing off into the distance and much more. Fortunately, we haven’t personally encountered a bug that would completely break the game. At worst, loading an older position helped. At the same time, the game never crashed for me, which is a plus. Still, I encountered a bug too often, too regularly, for my liking. It disturbs the otherwise great atmosphere quite a bit.
“I’ve encountered some bug far too often, too regularly, for my liking.”
The developers assume that they know about the bugs and are preparing a patch on the day of release. In addition, three big patches have already been released in the last week. But to be honest, I didn’t notice any radical improvement. The result is similar, as is unfortunately usual with Stalker. The game is underdeveloped and buggy.
Also controversial are other gameplay mechanics that I found dated. For example, there is no fast travel. This could at least work between individual safe settlements. You have to walk all over the Zone like this. And as I already wrote, the map is really gigantic.
In addition, you cannot run without a break. You also have to think about stamina. If you don’t carry a lot, it’s still fine. Alternatively, it can be supplemented with an energy drink. But as soon as you are more loaded, a few sprints or jumps are all you need and your stamina is gone. Even a simple slash with a knife will scratch a third of the stamina. So often, traveling becomes a boring ordeal.
I also disliked the save system. If there are enemies nearby, you will not save the game. But this is not always the case and sometimes I managed to save the procedure in some mysterious way. It’s a problem in larger firefights, when you face, for example, 20 enemies. You can clear most of them, but one nuisance is hiding somewhere and you have to find it. Regardless of the fact that he might fall into your back and shoot you. Which means repeating the difficult battle. But maybe I’ve gotten too comfortable in that regard.
Even fixing things seemed absurdly overkill. This is an absolute must. You definitely don’t want your gun jamming in the middle of a firefight. In the vast majority of cases, this means your death. But only the uncle in the settlement does the repairs. Plus at crazy prices. Repairing a better body armor costs easily 10,000 credits.
For completing a side quest, you will normally receive, for example, 800 to 1500 credits. Loot is a nice source of funds, but as mentioned above, your hero won’t take much of it. It is better to sell artifacts, but collecting them is quite dangerous. You won’t have too many credits, at least initially.
“The more I got used to the Zone and began to understand its principles, the more fun I had.”
In order not to insult, I have to admit that the longer I played, the more I got used to the Zone and began to understand its principles, the more fun I had. The first few hours were a mess. But then you learn how to move, how best to fight, what applies to whom. At that moment, you will begin to perceive the unique atmosphere, the post-apocalyptic backdrops and all the wonderful possibilities for living that the Zone offers.
The hunt for new gear, which you can further improve and modify, is also motivating. The bizarre characters and the ubiquitous shabbiness and all-absorbing decay that the local environment is full of will also please you. Fajn is a non-linear story full of difficult decisions.
It is also necessary to praise the visuals, if you have a powerful enough machine for it. The English dubbing is also great, but what are we talking about, playing the game with the original Ukrainian dubbing is a more authentic and stylish experience. Overall, the sound side of the game is great. The beeping of the Geiger counter, the Ukrainian scraper, but also the nerve-wracking grunts of the mutants, all add to the already dense atmosphere. Professional Czech subtitles will also please you.
Verdict
The new Stalker is a retro game in its own way. A game that gives you nothing for free and takes a while to get under your skin. It does not suit the player, on the contrary, it can even discourage him at first due to some outdated mechanics and mainly a huge number of errors. But beneath the hard shell is a diamond in the rough. The deeper you go into the Zone, the better the game gets. In short, Stalker 2 is an atmospheric survival shooter, which, if you give it a chance, can absorb and excite you in a brilliantly rendered post-apocalyptic world. It’s just that it might be worthwhile to wait a while before the creators (or the community) fine-tune the game better.
In what ways did your experiences and expectations from the first Stalker game shape your perception of the gameplay mechanics and atmosphere in Stalker 2?
1. How did your personal experience with the game, including the bugs and glitches, influence your overall enjoyment of Stalker 2?
2. As someone who has played the first Stalker game, how do you feel that the sequel compares, both in terms of gameplay mechanics and atmosphere?
3. What do you think is the biggest challenge in learning to play Stalker 2, and how did you overcome it?
4. How would you rate the visual appeal of Stalker 2, and how do you think this contributes to the game’s atmosphere?
5. In your opinion, which aspect of the game – storytelling, characters, or environment – is the strongest, and why?
6. What, if any, improvements would you like to see in future updates for Stalker 2?
