After 15 years, the much anticipated sequel to the first-person horror survival classic has been released, and fans new and old can now enter the Zone. Developed by the Ukraine based GSC Game World team, it is frankly nothing short of a miracle that the developers were able to make Stalker 2, with the Ukraine/Russia conflict into it’s 3rd year. Yet, in spite of the ever-present danger, the team saw their “love letter to Ukraine” through, a testament to their bravery, tenacity, and passion.
The game currently has an early MetaCritic score of 74 and an OpenCritic score of 77, with review scores ranging from 9s to 5s. With many applauding the game for its realistic visuals, unforgiving gameplay, and impressive world design, most are also reporting that Stalker 2 is mired in technical issues, from textures not loading in correctly to random frame drops.
On the same day as the game’s release, the team at GSC Game World released a statement on their social media, with a message to fans of the Stalker franchise.
After commenting on the difficult nature of the game’s development, and describing its release as “very important, very exciting, and very memorable”, they go on to hope that fans “stay with us [GSC Game World] for a long time.”
“This is a project of endless love and passion from the entire team. We genuinely believe that this is felt throughout – you’ll feel it in the handcrafted world, you’ll feel it in the laboratory and in the poppy fields, or during the first emission, or intense battle with a bloodsucker, or the stylish reload of your new gun, or first seeing Prypiat under the moonlight. There are so many things in the game that we are incredibly proud of.”
Later on, the dev team acknowledges the “rough edges” Stalker 2 has launched with, and promises to to support the game long after launch, starting with hotfixes and moving into larger patch updates in the future. “We’re absolutely committed to being here,” the team says reassuringly, “monitoring your feedback, and quickly fixing any issues that need our attention.”
The GSC Game World team also promised free in-game content, with a roadmap for the game to be shared in December. “We have big plans for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R universe.” These plans no doubt include future games, but could this also be alluding to projects in other media?
The message ends with a heartfelt note from the dev team to the fans:
“We’re blessed to have you before, we’re blessed to have you now The Zone belongs to you. Have fun.”
Keep an eye out for our own review of Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl coming in the near future!
Will you be picking up Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl? Let us know in the comments below!
