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

The long - awaited sequelS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobylis set to release early next year , over a decade after it was first announced . The GSC Game World rubric is the 4th mainline incoming in the series , follow 2009’sS.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Call of Pripyat . Screen Rantwent hands - on with the game this week at Gamescom which gave a glimpse at what can be require from the full release , while simultaneously raise a few questions about the final product .

Just like its predecessors , S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobyltakes place in the Zone , an irradiated barren near the noted atomic meltdown location . The preview start out with the protagonist being awakened by a hot dog blast ; after his own gun give way to fire , he ’s saved by a mysterious stranger who shoots the eyetooth - which proceed to explode into bits . The man then put up the player with a key piece of equipment : a rust alloy bolt , which is what players will use to cover through anomalies .

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Anomalies are mortal distortions to the natural world due to the radiation sickness in Chornobyl , which look sort of like swirling hepatic portal vein . They ’ll harm the histrion if they essay to walk through them normally , but give a bolt of lightning into them shortly resets them and render an chance to pass through unscathed . This is one of the many environmental threats inS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 , which the booster ’s Geiger tabulator makes one keenly cognisant of . Certain areas are more irradiated than others - the bodies of water near the starting breaker point of the prevue killed me almost instantly , for good example .

The biggest environmental threat included in the preview was something called The Emission . It begin with an announcement over the radio set that everyone should take shelter , presently followed by rain beginning to fall . The storm progressively worsen until the sky turned completely red and scarlet waves became seeable in the melody , at which point anyone unsheltered will immediately die and be come back to the biz ’s plate screen .

After leaving the demonstration ’s start spot , the next coming upon involved saving a group from another cad flak , which offer the first taste of the game ’s gunfight . shot feel a bit clunky - weapons are tricky to ensure and farming shots due to striking kickback and retentive reloading times , and foe AI was a mix of either mortal topographic point - on or prone to simple mistake . It ’s easy to get stuck in an inauspicious spawn fix as well ; after dying to a group of bandits I respawned perfectly in the line of ardor for all of them , repeatedly being gunned down before it was possible to take covering .

Stalker 2 Key Art showing the title and a rifle being held in a poppy field.

The colloquial encounter with other characters also feel off , mostly due to their visuals . Facial vivification during conversation feel fairly unfinished , with sassing and eye movements that give a fleck of an uncanny vale effect . Lips either strike too dramatically or not at all , and actual expression were sometimes contorted and unusual around the oculus sphere . While most of the voice acting felt meet , the odd delivery of some line paired with the character ’s odd visages was off - putt .

As with any pre - release demo , it ’s important to note that what was played was n’t a final variation of the game . Although combat and conversations find a bit unfinished , the reality itself sure as shooting does not , offering strong environmental storytelling and a general sensory faculty of dread that the series is known for . With a 2024 release escort , participant will have plenty of time torevisit previousS.T.A.L.K.E.R.titlesand get reacquainted with the serial while they wait forS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobyl .

Check out more Gamescom 2023 insurance coverage here !

Stalker 2 protagonist pointing a gun at a wild dog on a railroad.

Source : Xbox / YouTube

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobylwill release in Q1 2024 for Xbox Series X / S and PC.Screen Rantattended a exceptional men - on prevue consequence for the purpose of this trailer .

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

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