Gaming News STALKER 2: We take stock of one of the most anticipated Xbox exclusives
Possibly one of the most anticipated games of the last decade, STALKER 2 should finally be out in 2023 if all goes well. So let’s take stock of this great Xbox exclusive.
summary
- What is the release date of STALKER 2?
- What are the technical features of STALKER 2?
- What is the plot of STALKER 2?
- What can be expected in terms of gameplay?
- An open world game?
- Mods on the program?
- NFTs in game or not?
What is the release date of STALKER 2?
STALKER 2: The Heart of Chornobyl is a long, very long project. Last I heard, GSC Game World Studio was supposed to release the game in April 2022, but was forced to delay the release for obvious reasons: the team is based in Kyiv, Ukraine and is severely constrained by the current geopolitical events . For now, it’s difficult to pin down the release date, but the studio seems to be hinting that 2023 will be the good thing this time. And while we haven’t had any new footage in months, and even pre-orders have been cancelled, recently the developers finally gave us a new gameplay trailer, all in 4K:
What are the technical features of STALKER 2?
At the moment we know that the game runs on Unreal Engine 5. The trailer above also seems to indicate a great experience on PC and Xbox series. Count on RTX support on the S and X series too, and 4K display on the X series
| Minimal | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| operating system | windows 10 | windows 10 |
| processor | AMD Ryzen 5 1600X / Intel Core i5-7600K | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / Intel Core i7-9700K |
| R.A.M. | 8GB memory | 16GB memory |
| graphic card | AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB | AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB |
| disk space | 150 GB available storage space | 150 GB available storage space |
Graphic”of the highest quality, developed using the latest photogrammetry and scanning technologiesare also promised in the game.
What is the plot of STALKER 2?
STALKER 2: The Heart of Chernobyl is the fourth installment in the franchise that started in 2007. It invites us to play a leading role in a non-linear story that will be set in post-apocalyptic Eastern Europe. The whole thing takes place in an alternate version of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone after the 1984 disaster. Some of the plant’s reactors remained active, which unfortunately led to a second explosion in 2006.
The Chernobyl exclusion zone changed dramatically after the second explosion in 2006. Violent mutants, deadly anomalies, and conflicts between its many factions have made the Zone a very difficult place to survive. However, the incredibly valuable artifacts inside attract many people, so-called “stalkers”, who invade the zone at their own risk, hoping to make a fortune or find the truth that lies at the heart of Chernobyl.
So you embody a stalker who is dropped into this hostile world of 64 km² where you have to make a lot of decisions to determine your trajectory and therefore your destiny. Many branches are promised for this. This includes talking to the different factions of the world and forging the alliances you want.
What can be expected in terms of gameplay?
For now, The images show a lot of frontal action, but also camouflage. Note that multiple difficulty modes are included to adapt to all levels.
Engage in intense battles against a variety of enemies who will use numerous tactics to neutralize you. Choose your favorite weapon from over 30 fully customizable weapon types and experiment with hundreds of deadly combinations on your enemies
For “enemies,” expect encounters with both humans and mutants. It is also said that each mutant is degraded according to different subtypes and therefore their behavior would be difficult to predict. Note that they often hunt in packs.
Inventory management could well have an important place in game design. It will be possible to customize your weapons in multiplayer. And let’s not forget about the valuable artifacts that you need to collect throughout the game.
After all, whoever says survival game is saying mechanisms that handle hunger, sleep, bleeding, or even the effects of radiation.
An open world game?
If the first episode consisted of huge connected areas, for this part the studio promises us a very large open world in a radioactive zone of 64 km² with varied environments. In the columns of the official Xbox site, we even learn that this open world would be one of the largest yet.
With STALKER 2 we are finally doing what we wanted to do from the start. For the first time in the series, you can explore the Zone in a post-apocalyptic open world, one of the largest yet.
This is our most immersive world yet, and we’re creating it with the love and passion this environment deserves. With our most advanced technology yet, the Zone has never looked so beautiful. And it’s up to you to conquer it – or lose yourself in it forever.
So we would be presented with an immersive and constantly evolving world. The game will also retain one of the qualities of the previous component: “A-Life” which allowed PnJs to interact with each other; For example, this led to clashes between mutants and stalkers. This system should be improved here.
Mods on the program?
STALKER 2: The heart of Chernobyl will have official mod supportenough to give talented stalkers the freedom to expand and enrich the game’s universe and unleash their creativity.
NFTs in game or not?
It was the fear from last December: GSC Game World had announced that the game would integrate NFTs, i.e. unique digital objects. An initiative that followed in the footsteps of Ubisoft and its Quartz program, poorly received by the public and some collaborators. For its part, GSC intended to sell parts of the game to the players, including digital objects, but which would not give any additional advantage during the game. Eventually, due to player dissatisfaction, the studio backtracked: “Based on the feedback we’ve received, we’ve made the decision to revert everything related to NFTs in STALKER 2“, “The interests of our fans and players come first for the team. We make this game so you can enjoy it no matter what the cost. If it’s important to you, we’ll take care of it too.”
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