We get up in a daze, the sky above us turning an ominous pink shade. We hear a loud growl, which will get louder within the first jiffy of Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl. A mutated canine is nibbling on our leg; it has most likely chosen it as its lunch. Its eyes are glowing pink, its fur is rotting, its flesh is rotting. Never thoughts, do away with it – one kick later, the mutant canine flies into an anomaly and shreds in a violent blood blister.

It’s like throwing a tomato right into a blender, however there aren’t any tomatoes right here. Instead, there’s loads of eye-candy due to Unreal Engine 5: deserted buildings flooded with deep, wintry mild; threadbare forests punctuated by oily, shimmering bubbles of distorted actuality; patches of quiet humanity sprawling throughout the wilderness.

That’s maybe the nicest shock. Stalker 2 has these chilly, gloomy basements that give off extra of a horror vibe. But it additionally has these stunning, nearly paradisiacal situations.

4K gameplay of Stalker 2:

We wade by way of veritable seas of flowers – complete fields filled with pink, lush tulips, eager to actually drift and fall, however gunfire shatters the silence. The crops are riddled with holes, these stunning tulips fly upwards, our life bar drops menacingly.

Stalker 2 is a type of one-hit video games the place a single assault can actually injury us and severely prohibit our motion. If a shot hits us within the leg, we limp. Another shot to the arm and our weapon is warped as a result of we out of the blue can now not steadiness the AK 47, which itself has a substantial recoil.

Atmospheric like Fallout 5, robust like Dark Souls

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Stalker 2 is a hardcore shooter that provides you a transparent message: “You are part of this world, but you are not important. You’re not the star here, you’re a victim, just like everyone else.”

A world during which we play a component, however should not the focal point. It requires us to think about shooters in a different way – extra like Escape from Tarkov or DayZ. One flawed transfer, slipping by way of the door and being found, and we’re simply one other corpse that’s taken over the zone.

It’s a tactical shooter, as a result of we now have to intention low, because the AK particularly has a heavy warp. And the timing of the reload is sensible – it takes time to unclip the outdated journal and insert the brand new one. Reload, let’s transfer on.

And reloading feels rattling loud. We actually flinch when taking part in – in spite of everything, somebody may hear the clatter. See enemy, shoot enemy, that’s how we all know shooters. In Stalker 2, it’s by no means that straightforward: cowl solely gives restricted safety, and if the enemy is of a better caliber, he merely punctures the overturned wood cupboards which might be supposed to offer us with safety.

A metal weapon cupboard, alternatively, can stand up to way more. We are solely ever one stray bullet away from loss of life. And the cruel recoil of the weapon makes capturing really feel actually tough. Not as clean and light-footed as in most shooters.

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It’s soiled, uncooked, a combat for survival during which each victory towards simply two or three opponents is hard-won and tastes all of the sweeter.

This can also be because of the actually good AI: they throw grenades to destroy our cowl. One of them retains us down with steady fireplace, the opposite runs up the steps, grabs a sniper rifle and will get into an optimum capturing place.

If we run out of ammunition, we now have to search for extra and the fellows then chase us. They need revenge, in spite of everything – we killed their comrade – and so a battle in a storage can shortly shift into the forest. We go from hunter to hunted, identical to in … Escape from Tarkov.

The story: We get up bare within the Zone

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In Stalker 2, we get up bare and destitute someplace within the Zone, be part of stalkers, do jobs for them and, above all, search for artefacts – radioactively charged objects which might be supposed to offer individuals superpowers.

However, we quickly be taught that Stalker 2 is not any atypical open-world recreation, as travelling is fraught with hazard and there’s no map for the artefact places; as a substitute, others inform us about what they’ve seen. “Follow the railway line,” stated one man. Too unhealthy that ravenous mutant wolves lurk there at evening.

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And one thing we merely name the mutant armoured deer: The bones of this king of the forest have grown collectively to type a form of Kevlar armor. Simple rifle pictures can’t cease it, salvation lies in fleeing.

In Stalker 2, there are all the time enemies for whom we first have to search out the appropriate weapons. But if there’s an armored deer close to an anomaly, we will in fact lure the bandits from the storage somewhat additional forward. That’s two enemies with one stone.

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And thus additionally change the world, as a result of the workshop was taken from our new associates – a bunch of stalkers who’ve now arrange camp within the forest by a small fireplace – by the bandits. They have fled right here, but it surely’s not protected on the market.

If we recapture this base, our status with the boys will improve they usually’ll make themselves at dwelling, which can unlock new quests and, in fact, weapons, gear and crafting. There are workbenches there to noticed off a shotgun, for instance, which makes it louder however offers it much more oomph. Or we will make an improvised silencer.

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In common, the standard of the cutscenes could be very sturdy and all the time has nerve-wracking resolution factors harking back to The Witcher 3 . We meet a common who’s blind however leads a sizeable military. We can be part of him or attempt to kill him from behind, however he hears us, confronts us and presents his imaginative and prescient of a “fairer zone.”

Is he telling the reality? Is he making an attempt to lull us to sleep? Are the others really telling the reality? Is there even THE reality or is everybody right here making it up for themselves? And then we meet a stalker legend:

This article was translated from German to English and initially appeared on pcwelt.de.