Key Takeaways
- Stalker 2 reviews are generally positive, praising the game’s narrative and open world.
- All of the reviews also mention the game’s significant technical issues and bugs.
- Stalker 2 isn’t trying to appeal to a casual audience.
The reviews are in for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and they’re generally positive albeit with a couple of mediocre scores. GSC Game World’s hardcore first-person shooter has debuted with a 76 on OpenCritic, designating it as ‘Strong’, the second-highest identifier on the review aggregation site. It’s a similar story at Metacritic, with the game holding a 76 Metascore.
TheGamer’s Branden Lizardi felt Stalker 2 had clearly defined strengths and weaknesses in his 3/5 review. These elements come together to create an average open-world first-person shooter experience. “It’s an interesting setting with well-realised characters, but it’s held back by unsatisfying gunplay and run-of-the-mill exploration,” writes Lizardi. He tops the review off by saying he wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but if you’re a fan of the Fallout series, you will likely find a lot to like in Stalker 2.
PC Gamer’s 83/100 review is more positive, praising GSC Game World’s refusal to “sand down the series’ rough edges” for a new audience, with Stalker 2 keeping the spirit of the original game, which was a pioneer in survival horror. “It’s almost uncanny to play something with such unsentimental, old-school design sensibilities that looks as good and feels as modern as Stalker 2 does, and it’s a welcome return for one of PC gaming’s greatest and most eccentric series,” Joshua Wolens writes.
GamesRadar has awarded Stalker 2 a 3/5 score, citing the game’s many bugs and technical issues as a reason to not play the game in its current state, calling it “the greatest game you shouldn’t play right now.” Reviewer Andrew Brown echoes this sentiment later in his review saying, “Even with these bugs, Stalker 2 is the best hardcore survival shooter I’ve played, and few settings can live up to The Zone’s beauty or bleakness.”
GameRant has given Stalker 2 a 9/10, calling the sequel “truly something special.” Josh Cotts praised the game’s open world and writing, “Its open world is one of the best I’ve been in for quite some time, but its morally grey choice-driven narrative is also something worth writing home about, with the immense amount of player power it offers.” As a counter-point, Cotts also acknowledges the game’s technical issues and “immersion-breaking” bugs.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the long-awaited follow-up to the apocalyptic first-person shooter. As a Stalker, you must venture into the deadly Exclusion Zone, contending with mutants and warring factions alike, in search of valuable artifacts.