Key Takeaways
- Stalker 2 and Fallout 4 offer unique takes on post-apocalyptic settings. Stalker 2’s Zone setting is more immersive and varied.
- Stalker 2 has superior graphics, while Fallout 4 shines in replayability with diverse options and DLC content.
- Fallout 4 emerges as the winner with varied difficulty options, compelling plot, and colorful characters, catering to new and old players.
Post-apocalytpic games are a subgenre in and of themselves. Full of dangerous worlds, horrible creatures, and people just trying to make a life for themselves, there’s a surprising amount of variation in such a bleak premise.
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Two games in great series: Fallout 4 and Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl take some pretty different approaches to the genre, but even they have some common ground. Whether you’re fans of either of the series, or are new to the entire genre, one may be curious which of these modern-day cult classics is worth your time?
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Setting – Stalker 2
Both games have their own take on what life looks like when it’s turned upside down, in the form of Stalker 2’s The Zone and Fallout 4’s Commonwealth. Each of them has their own nuances that make them unique.
Stalker 2’s setting comes out on top though. The Zone is a varied place with anomalies that defy physics and explanation, mutants that haunt every corner, but, most importantly, stalkers that just want to make a living for themselves.
It should be noted that Stalker 2’s setting isn’t necessarily a post-apocalyptic one, at least not entirely, as the rest of the world is just fine. It’s just the few miles of The Zone itself that pose the danger.
These little pockets of humanity really shine in Stalker 2. It’s hard not to take a moment and appreciate a conversation in a stalker bar, or watch as a group sit down by a fire while one plays a guitar. It’s those little moments in between survival that feel important.
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Graphics – Stalker 2
It is an impressive feat to make the often depressing world of a post-apocalyptic survival game look “good” on the eyes. Graphics are an important part to any game, even if they’re not the first thing that draws you into one.
Stalker 2 takes the lead against Fallout 4, but not by much. There are some seriously impressive parts in Stalker 2 where a ball of lightning is coming at you, or an emission is wracking the area with storms that you almost want to stand there and watch it unfold (if it wasn’t so dangerous anyway).
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Gameplay – Tie
How a game runs and functions from second to second says a lot about how much effort and love was put into creating it, and you can see this effort in both of these games.
Both games have their own quirks about them. Bugs are common in either of the games, as they are in each of their respective series as well. These range from little humorous moments where a body may ragdoll across a room, to the ever-frustrating game-crashing one.
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The real takeaway here is what you want out of your experience. Fallout 4 often has a more lighthearted approach to the concept, with some emotion and horror thrown in there for balance. While Stalker 2 leans more towards the grim and survival-focused ideals.
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Replayability – Fallout 4
Each game is open-world and has a fair number of sidequests to complete on top of the already large maps to explore. But, Fallout 4 comes out on top when it comes to replayability. You just get a lot of options in each playthrough.
These show up in the form of sidequests, dialogue choices, factions to join, playstyles to try out, and even how to approach the ending of the game. This means it’s often hard to have two playthroughs come out the same way.
Not to mention the DLC that adds more storylines, new maps, and more crafting options for your character.
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Plot – Fallout 4
Both games have pretty compelling storylines, each with the ups and downs that you would come to expect from a genre like this. Fallout 4’s plot, even without the sidequests, is one that stands out from its competition though.
It has the classic plot structure that you would expect from a Fallout game, supported by factions and enemies that all have different valid reasons for existing in that space. Which Stalker 2 has as well, but often times the main plot gets put to the side for long stretches of time when surviving The Zone becomes priority.
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AI – Stalker 2
AI, both for enemies and friendly characters, is an important aspect in any game. They help make a story come to life, whereas bad AI can make you all too aware of the programs running behind the scenes.
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Fallout 4’s AI often feels rather simplistic, with companions getting stuck in doors or falling behind only to reappear minutes later. The enemies usually make good work of cover, but don’t often do much more than shoot, hide, and shoot again.
Stalker 2’s AI are surprisingly adept at their jobs. The friendly ones will still get stuck or just meander around form time to time (also, they’re quite capable of being struck by lightning often). But, the enemy AI really doesn’t mess around. Bandits will communicate with one another, flank you, throw grenades, etc. And don’t even mess with the rabid dogs that call The Zone home.
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Characters – Fallout 4
The main and side characters of a post-apocalyptic game have to match the setting their in, and both of these games have characters that do just that. Stalker 2 has a long list of random NPC stalkers and mercenaries that just want to make ends meet.
Fallout 4 characters, though, are something else entirely. Sure you still get plenty of scavengers, raiders, and farmers that you would expect for humanity trying to survive on the brink. But you also get a mutant that quotes Shakespeare, an android detective, and a chinese submarine captain. It’s an impressive range that never seems to get boring.
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Difficulty – Fallout 4
A game’s difficulty can be a tough thing to gauge, with people of different skill levels and familiarity with a genre doing better than others. It’s best then to look at the range of difficulty options available to a player.
Fallout 4 definitely takes the cake in this category. Stalker 2 is rather difficult, even at its lowest difficulty setting, which means new players in the series or genre can be put off by the learning curve. However, Fallout 4 establishes itself as fairly approachable, especially with different playstyles.
Fallout 4 has a hardcore mode too, which means it’s still a valid challenge for survival and RPG diehards.
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Winner – Fallout 4
Both games are heavy-hitters in their genre, but Fallout 4 comes out on top, albeit just barely. When it comes to being able to bring in new and old players alike with its varied difficulty options, wild characters, and sturdy plot, Fallout 4 inches across the finish line just a bit faster than Stalker 2.
Each game will be a fun experience for fans of the genre, but Stalker 2 just doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles, or the range that Fallout 4 comes equipped with.
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.
- Platform(s)
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Xbox Series X and Series S
, Microsoft Windows - Released
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2024-00-00
- Developer(s)
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GSC Game World
- Publisher(s)
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GSC Game World
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- ESRB
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m