STALKER 2 Promises Not to Disappoint Fans Seeking Difficult Challenges. Another Trip to Pripyat Will Separate Boys From Men
STALKER 2 will throw us a considerable challenge even on the normal difficulty level. The optimization will not spill our blood, as the game is expected to run smoothly on the weaker Series S as well.
Yesterday, the first impressions of journalists appeared online, who, thanks to an invitation from GSC Game World, had the opportunity to play STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl for 3 hours. Our editorial team also visited the studio's headquarters, which you can read about in the article below.
Reviewing the critics' texts, one can immediately conclude that the game promises to be really solid. Additionally, we can find in them a lot of additional information, such as those concerning difficulty levels or performance.
STALKER 2 will be "really hard"
Considering the fact that the action of STALKER 2 takes place in the Zone, where we can encounter competing factions, murderous mutants, and dangerous anomalies, it seems natural that this world should pose a significant challenge. One of the game's creators told Windows Central that this is exactly what we should expect, and not only on higher difficulty levels.
At the time of the premiere, we will have 3 difficulty levels, but on normal, the game is already adjusted to be really hard. We have an even higher level of difficulty, which not only makes the gameplay more challenging but also removes HUD and UI elements.
Every modern game can run well on Series S.
In the same article, we can find information about the performance of STALKER 2 on Xbox consoles. Visually, the title looks great in the previews, so it's even more pleasing that it will maintain 60 frames on the more powerful Series X. At the current stage, there are minor drops, but these are to be eliminated by the premiere.
In the case of the weaker Series S, the game currently runs at 30 fps, although it managed to reach 60 fps at times. The studio is still considering adding this second option, so it's possible that we will get smoother gameplay on the release day. A developer even conveyed that in his opinion, every modern game can work well on Series S with proper optimization.
Be careful whose body you loot.
A lot of information from several articles was collected on X by user Shinobi602. For example, one journalist found the element of skillfully managing resources for the purpose of survival to be “refreshing.” We are talking here not only about ammunition but also about food, without which our character will get tired faster.
The tasks in the game are to be designed in a flexible way, so that we can immediately come across the final goal, bypassing many others along the way, which theoretically we should have encountered. The gameplay will adjust to such a development of events. Interestingly, we'll also have to be careful what bodies we loot, as some NPCs may suddenly end the quest if it turns out that the corpse whose pockets you're emptying is their old friend.
The game world, in turn, is supposed to be filled with intertwined mechanisms. For example, an attacking mutant may accidentally trigger a fire anomaly, causing it to get scared and run away. During the journey, we will also encounter other Stalkers or bandits fighting them, and some characters will intervene when they notice our character during a shootout.
S. T. A. L. K. E. R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will debut on November 20, 2024. on PC and XSX/S consoles. The game will also be available to play as part of the Game Pass subscription.
