Stalker 2 player compared game's locations with their real counterparts. Devs worked hard to recreate exclusion zone
The dust is slowly settling after the release of STALKER 2, and gamers are sharing the developers' inspirations. The photos and screenshots are really impressive.
More than two weeks have passed since the release of STALKER. During this time, fans have been tempted to compare the locations from Shadow of Chornobyl to those we can visit in the second installment. The community also discovered numerous references to other cultural works, including Harry Potter and The Witcher. However, in recent days one of the players shared a few photos from his trip to Pripyat. Interestingly, the places and objects that he took photos of can be found in the game, almost at a 1:1 scale.
STALKER is like an open-air museum
Several photos taken by the user vbohush have been uploaded to the Internet. They were presented in the form of a list with locations that can be found in the game. If you experienced the realism of the locations presented in Heart of Chornobyl during the gameplay, what would you say about that?
In the photographs, you can see many characteristic places of Pripyat. The devil's mill, abandoned cars, and public buildings serve as reminders of the tragic history of this place, which the developers from GSC Games seem to perfectly remember and understand. After all, this is the core story of the entire STALKER series.
Old photos
It's also worth noting that supposedly 5 years have passed since the mentioned photos were taken. As the author writes:
In September 2019, I was in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. Now playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. I saw many familiar locations. As a result, I spent several hours taking screenshots in the same locations I was in 5 years ago.
This is quite interesting because the photos and screenshots from the game look strikingly similar. It's not just a matter of the content presented, but also of framing. All of the positions in the list, perhaps with the exception of the sunken house, look almost the same. This clearly shows the professional approach of the devs in reflecting the realities of the Zone.
Regardless of the date the photos were taken, the fact remains that they made a very positive impression on the gaming community. Many people appreciate the photorealism of the locations, which is reflected in the number of positive reviews on Steam. As of today, 84% of players seem to appreciate Stalker 2 on the Valve's platform. The game from the Ukrainian studio may soon receive "overwhelmingly positive" reviews, as the number of positive opinions has been increasing in the last week.