While the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series first emerged over a decade ago, developer GSC Game World is bringing the franchise’s choice-based storytelling into the modern era with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. In a recent preview, the game’s non-linear narrative and reactive systems were on full display.
Players drop onto the dark fields of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, peering through detectors in search of radioactive anomalies and the powerful artifacts they hide. In this opening moment, one chance encounter pulls the player into a web of side missions as small choices compound into expanded storylines. Of course, saving a stranded survivor will also involve checking on his friend, too, with some even hidden behind such quests that a player might miss if they make one decision over another.
Free to finally explore an open world, the player is surrounded by a variety of factions and creatures, ranging from mutants to other human enemies, making combat quite unpredictable. Even the poppy fields have deadly properties that serve as constant reminders to players that survival in such a world is all about caution. Interactions have weight in this living and breathing world, and storylines pull in new directions.
During a main quest to locate the character Squint, players receive a forked path - face him violently or cooperate and unlock a changed experience. Recalling classics like Fallout, this left an impression of role-playing where no choice feels inconsequential. Loading an old save, a peaceful resolution uncovered a story that may have stayed hidden.
While only a taste of what’s to come, this preview indicated that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will excel at weaving complex and reactive mechanics into its survival horror setting. From the minutiae of choices down to seemingly chance encounters, every player’s journey through the Exclusion Zone promises to unfold uniquely.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl launches on November 20, 2024, for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and will be available on Game Pass from launch day.
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