After a difficult development cycle in and out of Ukraine, Stalker 2 is finally here to thrust us back into an open world fraught with peril, monsters and gunfights. Your character, Skif, has had his home destroyed by an unexplained meteor-like thingumy, and heads to 'The Zone' to get a better idea of what it is. 'The Zone' is a huge area centred on Chornobyl that's so dangerous that the authorities have built a colossal perimeter wall around it. And 'colossal' really is the right word - it's 64km squared, aka the size of six Fallout 4s, and it's riddled with anomalies, mutants, paramilitary organisations and, of course, radiation. The philosophy behind Stalker 2's open worldliness is decidedly old school. Yes, there's trudging about, there's loot collection, there are quests to be done. But mod-cons like ubiquitous fast travel, enemy tagging and x-ray vision are out, rendering the world difficult to parse and leaving the possibility of danger around every corner. Meanwhile, your kit will wear out and you need to keep on top of weapon maintenance lest it gum up at an extremely tricky moment. Alongside the fear-inducing game mechanics and feeling of scarcity, there's a general atmosphere of doominess and melancholy to the game. Combat is often frantic, gritty and scrappy. It's one for the players who like their shooters to be of the nailbiting variety, offering up a tough, often unpredictable challenge in which death can come hard and fast.
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