For the first time, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has a real, tangible release date. The game comes out in 13 days, after a series of postponements that, at one point, made it look like the game was never coming out.

To celebrate this, the developers at GSC Game World have put out a major video that showcases some of the gunplay and mechanics you will need to become familiar with if you wish to survive in the Zone.

Based on the preview uploaded earlier today, the gun mechanics of STALKER 2 will feel delightfully familiar to those of the previous game.

Fans of the Anomaly standalone mod will be even more at home, as the new game goes the extra mile to incorporate reliability and maintenance mechanics.

The implementation in the new game seems to hinge on an overall reliability metric, which is refreshing from the more draconian Jack the Ripper approach in some mods.


Ammunition follows the multi-tiered approach from the old games, where most calibers have standard military rounds, hollow point rounds for hunting the Zone's friendly fauna, and expensive armor-piercing rounds for those lovely trips up north.

STALKER 2 will be the first game in the series with fully animated customization. Installing a new optic shows your character putting it into place.

Like in previous STALKER titles, technicians offer tuning services (normally at a steep price), and it looks like these will include the ability to add modular rail systems.

This will be useful when bringing an old trusty Kalashnikov up to modern standards.

The sound design feels good overall, though based on the AS VAL rifle shown in the video, suppressors do not seem to make a major difference.

It looks like GSC Game World has made some questionable choices regarding the calibers of certain weapons. The "M701 Super" sniper rifle (Remington Model 700 in real life) uses the Russian vintage 7.62x54R cartridge, instead of .308 NATO.

The video also shows Skif adding an under-barrel shotgun to it. This is a technically feasible but bizarre choice. Then again, being able to send a sneaky pseudodog to an early grave beats convenience or looks.

STALKER 2 will be a day-one Xbox Game Pass release and will launch for both Xbox and PC.



Posted: Nov 12, 2024 11:20 am
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/stalker-2-gunplay-combat-preview-video/