I am falling in love with STALKER now. There are no bugs, just anomalies. Failure to compile the shader is not a fault of "game performance"; it is just an anomaly.

I wish I could live in a universe where Unreal Engine 4 and 5 didn't exist. It's kind of sad to see developers nowadays choosing this engine, which often struggles to bring their ideas to life when they don't have the resources to make their own engine. Budgets are everything, and that's completely understandable.

Unfortunately, Stalker 2 joins the list of buggy and unoptimized games made on UE5. It's easy to understand why, especially since the studio was working under tough conditions after the war started. The resources needed to develop and polish the game probably doubled or even quadrupled. It's just not realistic to expect a team to work normally on their product during times like that. And with Microsoft as your publisher, there's probably extra pressure to deliver.

For now, the product feels unfinished. The more you play, the more it feels like the developers were figuring out Unreal Engine as they went. The animations are repetitive and feel like something out of an old Source engine game. There are so many bugs, from important NPCs missing in cutscenes to crashes during shader compilation, making every launch of the game a game of Russian roulette.

I also feel like most games made on Unreal Engine 4/5 end up looking the same. There's this lifeless vibe you get right from the start of any gameplay trailer. Sadly, Stalker 2 has that same feeling. It looks more like an engine demo than a real game (looking at you, Atomic Heart).

That said, I do believe in GSC and hope they'll release a bunch of patches by the end of 2025 to fix these issues. But right now, the game is barely playable. Sure, you can play and finish it, but will you enjoy it? Probably not.

In its current state, I just can't recommend the game.

Don't buy this game at full price. At least not right now as the game needs a little bit more time in the oven. I enjoy the main gameplay loop of exploring, looting, and shooting. The gripes that made me bother to leave a negative review is:
1) this game is 150 gb like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Idk what is taking up all this space, but can we make some cuts somewhere? Maybe it's just me but I'm not looking for the finest quality textures for this radioactive wasteland. Hell, really thinking I should have just replayed ZERO Sievert instead of buying this, but I digress.
2) Stealth. Where I am at in this game is a mission that heavily encourages stealth. They give you a silenced pistol, there's multiple points of entry, and tons of heavily armed guards. These are all good things. The problem is that actual act of sneaking around does not work and makes me wonder how it got past QA or if any testing was done at all. Enemies can see you in pitch black, behind boxes, bushes, and even through walls. I can try to reposition and they will always know where I'm at.
3) Perfect bot aim. As long as the enemies can see you they will not miss. It's not a big problem when you've got a good position and know where the enemies are. They will rip through your health but meds are very generous in this game so usually you can out heal them in a fight. But if it's night time and you're just trying to carry your loot home. You will not be able to outrun them. Their range of detection (which let me remind you lets them shoot at you with 100% accuracy) is much further than you can reasonably see without a scope. So you better be prepared to sprint at them while stabbing 10+ syringes into your arm.

This game has potential and I do genuinely enjoy it. If they fix the problems before I'm done/bored of this game then I'll fix this review.w

іди до мене

Stalker 2 is an odd one. The game is visually the best looking realistic game I've ever seen, the guns feel good, there are tons of callbacks and references for long time fans, and the team managed to fit nearly the entire existing Zone into a single map without a single loading screen, and yet the game is in need of a metric ton of WORK.

Finished the game as of version 1.1.3. on Veteran difficulty, NPC spawns are still pretty busted, stealth feels wonk, enemies have near perfect accuracy and reaction time and score what feels like 80% of their shots on you the millisecond you pop your dome out of cover, and that's provided your cover is actually cover, I've been shot at through walls and what SHOULD be sufficient cover way more than I would have preferred. Mutants are TANKS and are all now 100% aggressive the second they're aware of your presence (which is usually instant, but there are exceptions).

As far as bugs go, we got plenty. Memory leaks, story cutscenes breaking and soft-locking you, main scenario missions breaking, forcing you to load an earlier save, NPCs and Mutants getting stuck on everything, and in my all too common experience, gravitational anamolies that just warp you to a grey screen, forcing you to quit the game.

Story-wise, it's the most involved a Stalker game has ever been. I've always preferred the minimal voice acting and lone-wolf type stories of the older titles, but this game flips it on it's head with EVERYTHING being voiced, by both you and every single NPC in the game, and having your character, Skif, involve themselves with nearly every single major character they come across. Everyone knows you, everyone needs you, everyone loves you and hates you. It's kinda bizarre why so many people in the Zone are even giving you the time of day, considering we're really no one special. With the ending I got, the story was overall -okay-. Serviceable.

The game very much feels like an Early Access title, and it's what it should have been released as. I enjoyed my time with it, but I'm hoping in time with official updates, and community mods, the game will shape into something better.

Overall; 6/10. If you like Stalker and your PC can tank UE5, go for it. Otherwise, unfortunately I'd rather everyone else just wait for the game to get patched to high heaven, or maybe a nice overhaul mod to get the game feeling right.

I have to recommend this game even with its flaws at the corrent state that it is and i will try to explain why.

First of all i havent touched this title before neither i was waiting for this game at all.I am not even a fun of this survival post-apocalyptic monster things and what not genre,but i took a long shot and forced my self to finally play one.
The game for me was a journey that i didn t expect to happen at all,i was captivated by the dark atmosphere and scenery.I was in a constant state of adrenaline bursts every time i explored any building,cave,lab,tower and anomaly field, afraid i was gonna jumped by a mutant or by a hostile patrol.Remember i as i said before this was a first for me in this genre so i guess is normal behavior i and found my self liking this so much much that got me going further and further.I understand that most veteran players do nt have get this a lot cause they are used to this situations after years of playing this games,as i was in the end of the game felling more brave and not scarred as much.
As for the story it got me captivated after a couple of hours that made research what happend in the previus titles.All i can say with out spoiling anything is that i had fun and it was a nice expirience overall with the choices i made and the ending i got.

As far the gameplay it was fun most of the game for what its was offering, i cant and will not compare it with other games cause from my point of view most people are baised and its logical to be because of what others games similar to this and mods offered before.(Anomaly/gamma).It is a huge feat for me to expect something this in depth just because its exist in other games or mods,as i said i am coming clean and have nt experienced a lot in this genre.Its not a pure sandbox game neither a true survival one,it is what it is.
In a year or so i think the community/devs can tailor this game to be whatever each one wants it to be.

Closing this review my time with this game was greater than the problems it has and all i got in the end it was a nice experience for what it has to offer.It has a start,mid and end.I will be waiting for the next big update and content to follow and of course the modding community/devs to help the people make their experiernce better.

Stay safe stalkers

Usually we complain when games release incomplete and full of bugs. As a consumer we are entitled to demand games that at least play properly.

Stalker 2 is the only exception to this. After the unmesurable challenges that the devs went through, this game releasing is nothing short of a miracle.

At the point of this review, the game received more fixes than probably all of the releases of 2024 combined (for example the legendary 100GB patch) so those devs are focused on making this game something that will become a masterpiece in the years to come.

Play now if you want to support the devs, or wait at least one year after all the patches and new content and you will have the best Stalker 2 experience ever.

Unbelievably poorly optimised, and just... empty. This isn't S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The enemies will see you from a mile away, visual cover is pointless. The economy is awfully balanced and gear breaks down way too quickly. For someone who spent hundreds of hours on the franchise this feels not only like a slog, but a slap in the face.

The game looks great. It sounds good. Other than that, it's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Let’s be real, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl isn’t just a game, it’s an existential crisis wrapped in a radioactive haze. The air smells faintly of nuclear waste, the wildlife has a bit of an attitude problem, and your best friend is a rusted-out AK-47 that loves to jam on you at the worst of times. (Pro tip: repair your gear.) However, this game is one of the most fun and immersive experiences you’ll have. If you ever wanted to know what it's like to wander through a post-apocalyptic landscape where everything wants to kill you, but somehow still looks beautiful, this is your game.

First off, the atmosphere. Imagine the quiet hum of your AIO CPU cooler, the ominous wind howling through the desolate remains of Chornobyl, and then boom, you hear something scuttling in the distance. Your heart rate skyrockets as you realize, no, it’s not your dog. It’s a Bloodsucker, and it’s ready to rip your ever living jugular apart. Every corner of the Zone feels like it’s trying to kill you, but in the most beautiful way possible. Between the monsters, radioactive anomalies, and the weird guy who just wants to trade a can of beans for a grenade launcher, there's no shortage of things that’ll make your heart race.

Then there’s the combat. Ah, yes. The combat. It’s like the game looked at all your expectations and said, "What if we made this harder?" Every time you think you’ve got a situation under control, a pack of mutants shows up to ruin your day. The gun-play is smooth, trigger pulls are felt with heavy recoil requiring careful adjustments every few bullets. Going full auto spray and pray will not work out for you. (I haven't customized my guns with recoil reducing attachments yet.) When you finally get the drop on an enemy and you loot them, it feels like you’ve just won the lottery, if the lottery was 7 more precious bullets and a slice of delicious mouth watering stale bread and if you're lucky, vodka.

RPG elements. Decisions actually matter, whether you choose to help out a shady group of bandits (who will probably try to kill you), deciding whether to loot a building full of anomalies (which will probably try to kill you), or making the difficult decision between a mysterious artifact or not getting irradiated to death (which would kill you). The choices you make actually matter. One minute you’re helping a guy find his missing dog (who probably has grown a third leg by now if you know what I mean), and the next, you’re deciding if you’re going to team up with a faction of people who may or may not be hoarding secret nuclear weapons... or just more radioactive snacks. Every decision feels like you're playing 4D chess, except the pieces are sentient blobs of goo, and no one is playing by the rules. It’s like an emotional roller-coaster, but with more bullets and fewer safety precautions.

On a more serious note, the immersion here is insane. The world feels alive. You’re constantly battling not just mutants, but your own survival instincts. Do you engage that group of wandering Stalkers that don't see you lurking in the shadows with your flashlight off? Do you loot that building full of anomalies for an artifact that might explode and rearrange your face? Or do you just leave and pretend you didn’t see it? Decisions, decisions.

In conclusion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a masterclass in FPS survival horror. It’s tense, it’s beautiful, and it’s so unforgiving that you’ll love every second of the radioactive wasteland. If you like heart-stopping action, creepy yet cuddly blood sucking, jugular eviscerating monsters, and an environment that’s pretty much always trying to kill you, this game is for you. Just don’t forget to pack some extra bandages and a whole lot of vodka. Because trust me, you’ll need it.

Good hunting, Stalker.

TL;DR - This is a positive review.

I have 83 hours in this game I do not recommend there are too many bugs I've had to restart my playthrough three Times Now I've had missing models floating heads quest items that cannot be picked up because they're in the ground
elden ring is fair this is not everything in this game is actively impeding enjoyment and ability to play this game aimbot enemy who can see you through walls and shoot through them despite using nothing more than SMGS and a shotgun are NPCs are not fun
weapon reloads that take far too long and restart from the beginning because you interrupted it at the tail end of the animation is actively hostile to the player this also applies to medicine healing and other things everything takes too long intense situation with aimbot AI and hyper aggressive mutants there is no way to win this you cannot flank you cannot run away is beyond me
weapons and armor stats make no sense they're nothing but bars I can't tell what is good or what is bad not to mention the weapon balance itself how a pistol does more damage than an AK is beyond me
armour is the only thing actually makes a difference only problem is that you pay an arm and leg to prepare it after a single engagement
artifacts are supposedly able to make the game a lot easier but I see no difference other than the radiation protection artifacts maximum bleed resistance does nothing I still get bleed a one shot I'm bleeding in one hit there is literally no difference same with physical protection my health still drops to a sliver after AI aimbot mag dumps me
and then there's equipment degradation I have completed several story missions where I have come out red or have nothing but broken equipment halfway through the mission
and finally the supposed the economy all of my coupons go straight to repairs and the majority of those coupons are not coming from selling artifacts or missions no they come from the food and medicine that are extremely ridiculously overly abundant my stash literally has an entire stack of 999 bandages and a second stack of 12 meaning I maxed out the stack and it had to make a new one and Medkits I'm approaching 800 I have sold so much bread beer vodka and sausage I have literally solved world hunger games supposed to be about survival well not really survival if you have the entire food and medicine supply of an entire country
the other stalker games weren't this bad holy crap I'd rather replay the old ones than this I do not recommend this this game is actively hostile to the player