Sticking the touchdown with a sequel is difficult, doubly so for a recreation as lengthy within the making and with such a nightmarish growth as Stalker 2. GSC Recreation World’s survival FPS will arrive 15 years after 2009’s Name of Pripyat, a recreation that also haunts my goals. The sequel was introduced in 2010, canceled in 2012, and resurrected in its present kind in 2018. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to additional delays as GSC confronted essentially the most difficult circumstances any creatives might probably think about. Now, with launch mere days away, the developer has had years to replicate on the unique trilogy, however lead producer Slava Lukyanenka stresses that Stalker 2 is its personal beast.
Earlier than I even sit down in a comfy assembly room in GSC’s lavish Prague studio, I’m already reminded of the hype and sky-high expectations for Stalker 2. A whistle-stop tour whisks me by the developer’s world, from workers hunkering to refine essentially the most minute of audio particulars to the UI staff tweaking each aspect of textual content. There’s a tangible reverence for the primary three video games, as posters and memorabilia paint a celebratory image. Whereas the Stalker collection hasn’t been within the limelight for a while, its devoted fan base has ensured its legacy alongside the perfect FPS video games on PC.
Lukyanenka displays on engaged on Stalker 2, saying that for “a number of years, the extent of tension, it’s growing continuously.” Stalker video games are recognized for his or her unnerving ambiance and brutal, uncompromising design. They’ve a legendary popularity within the PC gaming house, however Lukyanenka is aware of that Stalker 2 can’t relaxation on the trilogy’s laurels, saying “we’re not simply making an attempt to marry [it with] new references, new cool tech.”
But Stalker 2 nonetheless glistens with a refined sheen, balancing rural magnificence with otherworldly horror in painstaking constancy. The unique trilogy is stuffed with moments of cold-blooded terror of the kind that scrapes away underneath your pores and skin. My Stalker 2 preview makes it clear that GSC has achieved this as soon as once more.
“We took the trilogy [and thought] how can we preserve the essence of what there was? What ought to we do to make it extra fashionable?”, Lukyanenka explains. The originals aren’t the be-all, end-all, although; GSC is trying to them to “enhance” Stalker 2’s personal sense of identification.
Given the sequel’s protracted growth, I ask the way it feels to lastly see gamers go hands-on with it. “Each time that somebody is taking part in Stalker 2, typically, it both makes me decided to repair one thing or makes me excited to search out that it may be performed ‘this’ approach,” he shares.
I too felt Stalker 2’s huge sense of freedom throughout my three hours with it. I might method most conditions nevertheless I wished, be it tactically or in any other case. Any intrusive concept lurking in my mind would inevitably result in stunning outcomes, although Stalker 2 is simply as more likely to mess with you as you might be with it. It has a grim humorousness in that approach, with its techniques primed to upend your expectations at any second.
Lukyanenka explains that the “zone retains residing. It’s alive. It’s not simply [full of] empty methods to finish with nothing and nobody.” Cultivating a mounting unease in in any other case idyllic landscapes is usually integral to Stalker 2’s strongest moments. “The fantastic thing about nature is one a part of the visible type of the Zone, which has by no means been that nice within the authentic trilogy, nevertheless it must be [in Stalker 2] to point out you the sensation of the hazards, and of the loneliness,” Lukyanenka provides.
With that comes the friction the Stalker collection is understood for. I felt Stalker 2 was much more punishing than its predecessors. You die quick, you’re in virtually fixed hazard, and minor errors can snowball into full-blown disasters. “It won’t be forgiving. Assuming that not everybody is a big fan of being challenged on a regular basis, we’re nonetheless preserving the simple mode, which permits the viewers to see it by the eyes of a close-to-invulnerable stalker,” he clarifies.
We’re simply days away from the Stalker 2 launch date now, however GSC is already wanting in the direction of the sport’s future. Pre-ordering the last word version grants entry to the season cross, which options two confirmed post-story DLC packs. “We’ve 4 endings. One in all them will certainly be canon for future DLCs and future titles within the franchise,” he teases.
Earlier than my interview involves a detailed, he passionately says that the studio “is counting days until the second we see many gamers will have the ability to play it. We need to begin this journey of Stalker 2 with you as a result of that’s not the top for us. That’s the start.”
You may get a headstart by trying out our lists of the recognized Stalker 2 weapons and Stalker 2 anomalies earlier than launch on November 20.
