Stalker 2 will be enjoyable to new and returning players, because even its protagonist doesn't know what's going on

It's been a long time coming, but Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is finally on the horizon, and based on what I played at Gamescom 2024, it seems like the wait is going to be worth it for series veterans and Exclusion Zone newcomers alike. 

I'll be honest, I've never played any of the Stalker games before, so heading into my hands-on demo, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. However, the opening 30 minutes has me thoroughly intrigued – even if I did get my ass kicked several times – and it's almost hard to believe that this is the same game that 12DOVE's own Josh West found to be rather rough around the edges at last year's Gamescom. Clearly, those extra couple of delays were well worth it. 

For a start, things are visually lovely – well, as lovely as a decaying, post-apocalyptic world can look. Water glistens beautifully, and you can almost smell the rotten, rusty metal of the dirty pipes and ladders as you explore. It's paired with a surprisingly sleek performance – the frame rate remains consistent, and action feels smooth, although I did notice some lengthy loading screens whenever I had to reload after a death (which happened plenty, but more on that later). 

In an interview with 12DOVE, GSC Game World technical producer Yevhenii Kulyk tells me that there's been "a lot of tuning" to Stalker 2's systems since last Gamescom – in fact, the devs are still working on some of the feedback they received last time during their last stint in Cologne. "We're now processing tons of this feedback, and we are working to optimize [and] make the game experience the best possible."

A harsh world

There's no two ways around it, though – Stalker 2 is brutal. There's no hand-holding here – I was quickly beaten to a pulp by a quadruped mutant, and even once that had been dealt with, I came across a small group of unfriendly people firing very painful bullets, who got the better of me again, and again…and again. This wasn't helped by the lack of resources available to me – I'd already burned through my healing items, so I was in quite a pinch.

Kulyk very kindly offered me some advice during this fiasco (which namely involved equipping a much bigger gun I'd found while exploring that I'd lost in my inventory), but also pointed out during our chat that there'll be a selection of different difficulty options available when the FPS launches "so everyone can enjoy in their way." I'd been playing on the "target difficulty" which offers the "most authentic Stalker experience," but there will be a more approachable one which "should be challenging, but not as hard as our standards." 

That's not the only reassuring thing for newcomers, as Kulyk also tells me that "we are preparing our game so everyone can enjoy it," even if they didn't play the original games. "Of course, it is not mandatory to play the original game to understand what's happening during the events of Stalker 2," Kulyk begins. "Of course, it is always good to know what happened before, because – a little bit of spoilers – you will be able to meet some old buddies during your playthrough of Stalker 2. 

"But still, we are making it, let's say, story-accessible for everyone, especially for the new players, so they can enjoy. This world is new for both new players and our main protagonist, Skif. He basically doesn't know anything about the zone, the rules [...] new players are experiencing the zone for the first time along with our protagonist."

Do it your way

Regardless of whether you're a new or returning player in Stalker 2, Kulyk hopes that everyone will experience "their story" – and ultimately have a unique experience depending on how they tackle things. The non-linear story is a large part of this – during the demo, for example, I was running around using a Scanner in a few designated areas, but to progress with the main story, there was one I could skip entirely. There are also choices to be made, with "both short term and long term consequences" which will play into this.

Not only that, but the technical producer notes that everything you see in the environment has been "made by the hands of our talented level designers, level artists, team designers and so on," which means you'll never see "two exact buildings or two exact rooms with the same placement of the same props." That means some players may find totally unique things in the environment that could have been overlooked by others, depending on how thorough they are with their exploration. 

After all this time, it's thrilling to think that Stalker 2 will finally be in our hands on November 20. Whether it'll have what it takes to be one of the best FPS games remains to be seen at this point, but it's clear that GSC Game World has been putting everything it has into making Stalker 2 everything that fans have been hoping for.

12DOVE is in Cologne playing the most anticipated new games of 2024, and speaking to the developers bringing them to life. For more of our hands-on previews and exclusive interviews, visit the Gamescom 2024 coverage hub.