I may understand your reaction about this bad mark, and during this review you will understand my decision. I was waiting for this game for many years, read many stalker books earlier and played first 3 games for several times. Many people decided - it’s correct to compare this game with Cyberpunk, I would say No, and will show why I compare it with Witcher 3 and Death Stranding. Hope if you read this review carefully enough - you will know a bit more about this game.

Ok, here is a real plot, comparing to previous parts. If in previous parts you used to search for a plot as in Dark Souls games. Here - I don’t know who the person needs to be to say - ‘I didn’t understand what this game is about’.
Long story short - You lost your house due to an artifact, and now you want to charge its power, ideally later on to sell it and buy a new house. As usually, everything goes not by the plan.
The plot is simple enough, but at the same time it’s quite interesting. I do enjoy about game that if you make a break for couple of days you wouldn’t forget some necessary parts of the plot.

That part you heard earlier (at least I hope about it). Now to explain what I enjoyed and what I didn’t enjoy will be spoilers: so, in Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl were 7 endings, as main was taking where Strelok shoot all scientists, while at the same time in another ending he had a chance to take the last capsule. In Stalker 2 characters several times mentioned this situation, but still you have an ending, where Strelok in Stalker 2 takes this chance and lies to that capsule. I was really misunderstanding this plot situation.
Another situation which I was shocked about - from the very beginning you decides which side you take - military or free stalkers, and you get few different quests and ways to achieve the next main quest. But at the same time, you may take any ending which you wish. So technically all this decisions which were made earlier doesn’t make any sense. Is it good or bed decision in higher perspective - not able to say for sure, maybe thats good for gamers, but I think it’s bad for plot.

I may divide the game in two parts. One part is a great game with wonderful side quests, which returned me into times of Witcher 3 (review may be seen by the link). The great plot of side quests, which opens the world of Stalker from a new way, totally different way, with new characters, who always says a bit information about the Zone, but you always have a feeling - they say not all the truth. Each moment of side quest was opening a new part of the Zone, which haven’t been seen earlier, with wonderful locations as poppy field, wandering lights or which I enjoyed most of all - the strange house where you may find strange cauldron. Unfortunately to find other two places except poppy field - you need to find them personally, without side quests. As well you see all main characters from previous parts and the game has bunch of references.

The second part of the game is not such shiny. If you think, that all the game may be passed with really interesting side quests - unfortunately no. After 40% of the plot (of course if you were doing side quests exactly when they were appearing) - side quests finishing. I mean not all, you still may ask traders for quests, where you may need to go and find something. But in reality they are not interesting at all and I don’t really see any sense in doing them once more during the second gameplay.
If you heard earlier that the game is big - that’s false. It’s huge, Big as Hell! It’s good, of course, and usually no one should complain about it. But, here is few buts. The map is twice bigger then Witcher 3 and the only fast travel you have - is to main locations. But you still have a bunch part of the map where you are not able to make a fast travel. It becomes a problem when you have found much loot, and wanna sell it, and you slowly try to achieve the hub. At this point I was feeling as I am playing Death Stranding (review as well may seen buy the link) - the same slow, the same big distance and the same problems while you try to achieve final destination.
I do understand from one side - why the map is such big. Unfortunately if developers did map smaller with the same amount of NPCs and anomalies - PC requirements would be much higher. While in other games made on Unreal Engine 5 (later UE5) as HellBlade 2, Silent Hill 2, Black Myth - there is or free space which allows locations to load and reduce the load on the system, either the small cutscenes which technically do the same. Here it’s made by increasing world distance, and careful distribution of actions to different parts of the map.
But still I have a question - it’s very good that developers made Hubs exactly due to original games, but due to Plot - 10 years have past, and developers could logically implement more Hubs in map not to torment players. Or at least allow guides to deliver the player to any discovered location.

I don’t know why, but in many reviews people are saying that visuals are not so good for games made on UE5. I would say that playing on Ultra settings game looks great. I still think, that HellBlade 2 is the most beautiful game made on UE5, but Stalker 2 is not ugly at all, doesn’t matter which graphical settings you use. It’s also beautiful enough and while I was playing - I was enjoying each location from older parts which were redone and shown here in much more beautiful and interesting view.

Ooooh, we are coming to the most ambiguous part. I didn’t want to compare Stalker 2 with Cyberpunk 2077 (review on which may be seen by the link). But people are comparing it, so I decided to show - why comparing them is bad idea. While Cyberpunk on release was unplayable, ugly and it was impossible even to look at this game (who wants - may search in google for some screenshots, there is bunch of them). Stalker 2 was OK. It was OK, for first two locations.

After you leave a garbage there starts Hogwarts magic - problem with side quests, problem with main quests, problem with weather, problem with dialogues, doors, entrances…
On my luck I have seen only few problems, but they appeared:

• Quest Zalissya - broken ;
  
• Quest marks randomly disappeared;
  
• Quest ‘In the name of Science’ - broken;
  
• When I achieved Pripyat - i have seen only rainy weather;
  
• And the loveliest one ‘Strange Water’ - broken );
  
• DLSS Framegenartion (later FG) - broken.

Overall the game is not such bad, it may be played, if you are ready for those problems. I was thinking as well, that I would be able to achieve those problems, and would enjoy the game. I didn’t enjoy to play with fast saves and fast loads, with UE5 console, with looking for non spawned artifacts, with fps drops…
It would be a lie if I say that I didn’t enjoy a game at all, I had my fun about the game. It would be a great game after few more patches, a bit better optimization. Or at least without problems with quest marks and Side/Main quest bugs. And when all those problems will be fixed - I for sure will change my review, because I am going to play it once more. Hope there would be no such problem as was in Metro Exodus, which I reviewed earlier previous year, where non of the problems since release have been fixed. So after few patches and fixed all problems Stalker 2 would be a great game, for now I am not able to recommend you to play it.