STALKER is a series known for not holding your hand.
It is brutally difficult, and asks you to adapt to each new situation on the fly without telling you how.
Stalker 2 is brutally challenging and doesn’t hold your hand[/caption]
And we love challenging games, but this one is just a slog[/caption]
It doesn’t respect your time and feels like a chore rather than entertainment[/caption]
Stalker mirrors the brutality of war, and it does that by removing typical gaming comforts like fast travel, regenerating health, and indestructible weapons.
It also focuses on the psychological aspects of war, not just in the tension of managing limited ammo with breaking weapons, but with the terrifying Zone.
The Zone is an area of nuclear disturbance where supernatural horrors and game-changing pressures await.
However, more terrifying than anything in the Zone are the bugs that are littered throughout the world.
Enemies spawn inside each other, meaning that if you shoot one down, it’s not unlikely that another will spawn from its innards.
The NPCs all have the same awful pathfinding, so if you climb a tower they will cluster at the bottom and throw grenades at themselves.
Stalker became a cult classic despite how broken it was at launch thanks to how brutal of an experience it is.
Over the last decade and change modders have improved the game, fixing all of the bugs the developers didn’t.
This has allowed opinions to brighten over time, but Stalker 2 is a reminder of just how broken these games are at launch.
That’s not to mention the massive 150GB download size that finishes just in time for another 140GB patch to claim your time and space.
It’s a faithful sequel in that sense, and we’re sure that once the modders get a hold of it our opinions will change too, but as it is we can’t recommend it.
In 2024, we want games that respect our time, when so many excellent titles demand our attention.
Most of your time is spent slowly trudging around a nuclear wasteland, avoiding all of the terrors that are intent on killing you.
You begin looking for ways to cheat the system, quicksaving constantly rather than making progress inch by inch.
We don’t mind punishing games, but broken weapons don’t just make combat more tense, they make you frustrated that you have to trudge back to town to get them fixed.
Stealth is also disappointing, as what enemies can hear or see feels wildly inconsistent.
The concept and scenery are both incredible, but the actual gameplay doesn’t allow Stalker 2 to rise above mediocre.
If you want to read more gaming reviews, check out our Stray review.
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