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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is Out Now

TheLostSwede

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is now available on PC and Xbox Series X/S, marking the end of a long and challenging development cycle that included the pandemic, relocations, cyberattacks, a fire in the Prague office, and, above all, the ongoing war in Ukraine, which continues to devastate the developers' Homeland.

The game is available for purchase on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG), Xbox Series X/S and Microsoft Store. Also, the game is available for Game Pass subscribers day one.




S.T.A.L.K.E.R. takes place in a fictional Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. The nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl Power Plant in 1986 wasn't the only one to occur, as the second explosion hit the reactor in 2006, creating the Zone. It's a dangerous place, filled with mutated creatures, deadly radiation, and a strange, anomalous energy.

Bounty hunters delve deep into the Zone, driven by its treasures and mysteries. Some of them are running from their past, others are blinded by money, and some are obsessed with finding the truth behind all the mysteries.

You will take the role of Skif - a lone stalker, who enters the Zone after a series of unforeseen events. On the way to the Heart of Chornobyl, you will gradually uncover the secrets of this world, explore the balance of power between factions, fight, and survive. In this non-linear story, every choice you make will impact the outcome of this global and epic tale, featuring three hours of scripted cutscenes. Thanks to Unreal Engine 5, photogrammetry technology, and the developers' regular visits to the real Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, the authenticity and atmosphere that have always been the hallmark of the series are better than ever.

"It feels utterly surreal to say that, but after more than 7 years in the making, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is now released. That's totally wild. So was the whole development story.

What started as the most ambitious game by GSC eventually turned out to be an ultimate personal challenge. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was always supposed to be a truly Ukrainian product, showing our culture to the world in the ongoing effort of the nation to be recognized. I truly believe the team we have consists of exceptional people, but I never actually thought they would be finishing the game under the circumstances like these.

Despite all the odds, it's there. Our biggest game, our own story, our love letter to Ukraine. All the time, effort and passion we put into this is about to be witnessed by the players from all around the globe. After 15 years, the doors to the Zone will be opened once again", - says Ievgen Grygorovych, CEO and Game Director.

The game was finished amidst Russian full-fledged aggression towards Ukraine. War Game: The Making of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a full-length documentary about this game development. It was created in collaboration with Xbox, and it gives a deep insight of what the team went through. We would highly recommend watching it before playing the game, since it gives the important context.

The war in Ukraine continues. GSC Game World has been supporting our home country in all the ways we can. For those willing to do the same, we recommend following a link to the official charity fund of Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine himself: https://u24.gov.ua/



View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
 

Kalisse

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I’ve been really excited to dive into STALKER 2, but honestly, I’m having a hard time enjoying the game because of all the bugs and crashes I’m experiencing. It feels like every time I start to get into the atmosphere and immerse myself in the world, something goes wrong.

I’m playing on a system with an RTX 4070, so I was expecting decent performance.
 

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So, is it true what that they say? Darkness Comes for the Realms of Man?
 

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So, is it true what that they say? Darkness Comes for the Realms of Man?
What's true is that singleplayer RPGs are best played years after launch.

See CP2077, FONV, Skyrim, BG3, No Man's Sky etc.
 
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What's true is that singleplayer RPGs are best played years after launch.

See CP2077, FONV, Skyrim, BG3, No Man's Sky etc.

Bethesda RPGs are best played after modders fix and upgrade them. :p
 

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What's true is that singleplayer RPGs are best played years after launch.

See CP2077, FONV, Skyrim, BG3, No Man's Sky etc.

Agreed, I still have yet to see a single video on CP2077 and have 0 minutes play time, and I have every intention of playing it still. Best to wait for games to be fully polished.

I am considering upgrading to a rtx 5090 or rtx 5080 SUPER or w.e it ends up being called next year. I probably won't buy at launch, but if tariffs get announced for gpu's, I am buying one same day it gets announced. CB2077 with all the bells and whistles turned on will be fun as hell
 
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What's true is that singleplayer RPGs are best played years after launch.

See CP2077, FONV, Skyrim, BG3, No Man's Sky etc.

- Indeed.

I virtually only patient game and love not only enjoying relatively polished bug free games but at a fraction of the cost of new purchases.

Only way to fly for single player games nowadays. Also I completely gave up on MP games.
 
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Agreed, I still have yet to see a single video on CP2077 and have 0 minutes play time, and I have every intention of playing it still. Best to wait for games to be fully polished.

I am considering upgrading to a rtx 5090 or rtx 5080 SUPER or w.e it ends up being called next year. I probably won't buy at launch, but if tariffs get announced for gpu's, I am buying one same day it gets announced. CB2077 with all the bells and whistles turned on will be fun as hell
You better be super quick about it because there will be tens of thousands of people with the same idea as you the minute tariffs are announced. I think if you are willing to get a GPU because of tariffs, you are just better off buying at launch or preordering. Better the price you know than the price you don't know.
 
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Yeah i had hope for at trouble free game, on fortunate Stalker 2 is yet another game plague from bugs and problems at launch.

Guess i will have to wait and se if they can fix it. It looks interesting, but i will not pay for a game and be plague from bugs and none enjoyable experience.
 
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Bethesda RPGs are best played after modders fix and upgrade them.
It would be nice if Bethesda reaching 100% completion before games doing 100% on their games :D
First major U5 engine game is out now! :toast:
Looking forward to see streams of this!
(correct me if I'm wrong)
 
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Over an hour in, and not a problem at all. All on high, running fine. Looks as good as the preview vids. Got some nice pre order goodies too.
 
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TPU performance comparison review, soon?
 
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What's true is that singleplayer RPGs are best played years after launch.

See CP2077, FONV, Skyrim, BG3, No Man's Sky etc.

Skyrim expansion packs made it sooo much better. I own stalker and have yet to play it
 
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started playing , but XBOX controller has issues , can get you sick , will wait for a fix , now the good news , on my system runs great , 4090 and 5950X, with 4K EPIC DLAA ONLY , from what I seen from
1732163410461.png
other YT , with 4090 - 14900 CPU , same settings ,55 FPS , GPU usage 97 98 , this game love threads , when loading ,was getting almost 80 percent CPU usage , be aware of this !
 
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Was going to pre-order but.. decided to wait and see how it handled older hardware and how bad the bugs are.

Kinda glad I did. Hoping the bulk of the bugs and performance is improved over the next 6-12 months.
 
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What's true is that singleplayer RPGs are best played years after launch.

See CP2077, FONV, Skyrim, BG3, No Man's Sky etc.
I liked your post cause you didn't mention starfield. Keep it that way :roll:
 
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always bugs at launch
graphic mid : I got 20 to 50 fps while recording it => unplayable
dlss 67 quality
I need to lower presets
 
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I’ve been really excited to dive into STALKER 2, but honestly, I’m having a hard time enjoying the game because of all the bugs and crashes I’m experiencing. It feels like every time I start to get into the atmosphere and immerse myself in the world, something goes wrong.

I’m playing on a system with an RTX 4070, so I was expecting decent performance.
Live and learn, next time just curb your enthusiasm and wait.

Its honestly The Way. Everything else is setting yourself up for a lot of wasted time and money.
 
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