Definitely will be purchasing this in a year or so. Looks great, but I’m a patient gamer these days. Thanks for the review! (And just to add a bit of context for some who were wondering about this stance: I wait on games about that length of time to let them fix bugs, make balance changes, add content, and finally get all of that at a lower price. Not meaning to disparage or say I don't trust the devs.)
Bought it, 20fps with a 4080 in towns, and some kinda leak that makes my game stutter and forces a reload, nah ah. With framegen its ovr 100fps, but the latency...another nah ah, this is a wait.
Same here though I'm checking out the og trilogy for right now. Just got done with a SOC play through with SWR + OGSR + ZRP. Highly recommend them for first time play through.
Honestly the more you go into this game the more half life vibes I was getting. No spoilers, but there’s definitely a section in the main quest line where I was like okay this is straight up inspired by Half-Life 1
Don't play the new one. The first mission is impossible to finish for a lot of people. An item doesn't spawn and the game is unplayable because you have to have whatever that item is to progress.
As someone who was there in the elden times for the release of the first one, it was exactly like this. Broken beyond belief and took two years to kinda sorta but not really stabilize, before the mods did the rest. Now, if you ask me what are the odds we see the issues fixed quickly this time around, allow me to quote a certain book: “There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was a flamethrower” - Mort by Terry Prattchett
I got this game through game pass, was surprised how fast devs responded to all the feedback and how officiant they were able to address and fix major bugs. Will be getting a copy later through Steam as well! Love this game so far!
I think ur reviews are super real. You 100% them and keep complete honest transparency. Im shocked i havent heard of this channel. Subbed and looking forward to more. Im gonna pick this up because even though its buggy by this review, im sure it will improve over time! Anyway, like i said keep it up. Looking forward to it
Agreed. I put over 40 hours into it - but ultimately didn't finish it due to the bugs, balancing, and other issues. A-Life's absence is pretty severe, as an og trilogy player. I decided to just drop it for now, wait for patches and mods, and reapproach it in a few months.
A-Life being completely absent is the source of all my issues with the game. It is responsible for most of the emerging gameplay and the gameplay it cooks up is mostly frustrating, and sometimes, rage-inducing. basically, the current "bugged" version of artificial life basically just spawns random enemies on top of you at random intervals. So no amount of preparation, scouting etc matters at all. You can just run around, mostly safe at all times and wait for enemies to spawn. Which is the exact opposite of how it is used to be. You used to be see most enemies on the horizon, and could prepare. The only people you see on map are people in scripted cities or events. There otherwise 0 life in the Zone because the game doesn't spawn anything until you get within like 20m of it. At best, this is extremely annoying, and at worst - immersion-breaking and frustrating. I was in the Swamps area doing story missions there, and that area is supposed to be completely empty of any humans. But the game kept spawning soldiers, bandits etc all over my ass every 2 minutes, making it incredibly frustrating and immersion-breaking. Not to mention because the spawn room was limited, the game would spawn them on roofs, or around corners, or directly behind you etc its absolute garbage. Nothing worse than clearing an area, climbing the stairs, and then have random soldiers who shouldn't be there at all spawn on the roof behind you out of thin air! And of course, because factions are just concepts - the reputation isn't tracked anywhere and it matters very little if at all.
exactly this. Without A-life there is really no good reason to play the game right now. Hopefully in a year they will add it back. If they don't, the game wont live for 15 years like the previous titles.
For the swamp, the human spawns, are you sure it wasn't the psy-beacon effect? I went through the Swamp just yesterday and didn't get a single human there. I did, however, get constantly swarmed by packs of dogs and boars, so that point still stands.
@@CPLShephard i think it was supposed to be only like illusions, and yeah I thought that the psy-beacons would prevent any human spawns. But the second you turn them off, it seems that its free-for-all - i had bandits and Ward soldiers spawn basically on top of my head within minutes of each other, in addition to zombies and also packs of dogs/rats. Needless to say yeah its scuffed completely but it made me so frustrated that i rage ALT-F4d out of that for few hours. Couldn't catch a breather to look around and loot etc.
@@Soveey Exactly. The base game is extremely solid its just the A-Life is the beating heart of the Zone. Without it, its just a very pretty empty space with the only dangers coming from anomalies. There is no faction warfare of any kind, there are no raiding parties and stalkers don't have "lives" or purpose - they don't collect loot, upgrade their gear etc etc.
And it is still not balanced. In the Arena, you fight a certain Mutant. On Veteran, it is not possible (atleast I was not able to) to kill it, because the amount of ammo you get is not enough. And this was after the patch. :D The only moment, where I had to lower the difficulty
That's because your aim sucks. On a veteran run, it should be a given that you're aiming properly and not wasting ammo. This ties in with how players want the game to be a typical rpg where every enemy should be dropping rewards like exp and gold coins, rather than a net loss on resources. Mutants ain't piñatas, lol.
@@PäiviYevheniy Every bullet was on point. I shot the mutant from a Container. It was 2 Meters away from me. So shut up if you not know what you are talking about
I'm on xbox and it seems excellent since the first update. I played til 3am last night, and I'm a grown man who knows better. I completely lost track of time. I was doing the monolith section in SIRCAA and there wete quite a lot of cut scenes and I found myself genuinely worried the game was nearing the end. If I feel like that I must be enjoying it!
Great review! Im currently playing Stalker Call of Priyat on the PS5 & enjoying the very first stalker game on my Oled switch. . Really been enjoying both games and cant wait to dive in Stalker 2 eventually.. 🔥
There are some mods out already that kinda fix it (like Shay's A-life or A-life Extended), but it's not perfect. There are some limitations on the Unreal Engine that make it hard to properly implement a complicated A-life system (since the engine itself takes up so much of the CPU's computing power by default), but I hope that it will be properly fixed in some time - especially since that was one of the main aspects of the OG trilogy that kept me coming back over and over again.
Ya! I'll look through the area very carefully and some mutant potato monster comes from nowhere and I'm thinking I literally just checked that area and there was nothing like that anywhere.
My first couple of mods to make it more S.T.A.L.K.E.R for me, was longer Daytime, Mutants drop Parts that one can sell, less weapon and Armor degrade and less cost for repair those.
Mutants drop sellable parts should just be added as a mechanic base game. Right now on the vanilla version running away is almost always the best option
The bugs and issues haven't really diminished my enjoyment of the game at all and I have full confidence the devs will ironing out the quirks over the coming months. I've been waiting nearly a decade for this game, and I am loving it so far. It's everything I could have wanted from STALKER 2. They totally nailed it and delivered THE game STALKER fans have been praying for.
I haven't played the original in a long time, but I recall mutants being very similar there - a danger and a drain on resources, not something you seek out to kill, because the rewards were minimal. Balance issues aside, I think that's how it should be, I wouldn't want Stalker to become a monster hunting game.
I’ve played a decent amount of it, and it’s also my first Stalker game. I had no idea “a-life” was even a thing nor that it was broken, so I decided to wait until that’s resolved to play more in order to get the “real stalker experience.”
Yes vs damn psy dogs you must be as aggressive as possible preferably using rapid fire gun, the moment you hesitate or run you put yourself at mad disadvantage
I'm playing on Series X with Game Pass and having a great time overall, especially once I switched to quality mode versus perf mode. This is one of the rare games where quality mode actually looks AND plays way better than perf mode. The difference in picture quality is insane and it stays at a locked 30 fps instead of hovering between 40 and 50 fps on perf. As for the game, it's about a 4/5 for me. A bit rough around the edges but a great time. Makes me want to try out the original games after I finish this.
I would never have bought the game Day One... But it's Stalker. One of my favorite game of all time. I've played hundred of hours, with the incredibles community and mods (GAMMA especially). Furthermore, the conditions in which the game was done are extraordinary :it's a miracle this game was released at all. What I see, now is that when the mods tools are going to be release, the modders are goind to make miracles with this base. I'm going to play Stalker 2 for years to come.
Hey Mort! Currently about 12 hours in STALKER 2 on my Series S and loving the game. Your schedule is probably already packed, but If you're itching for more time in the Exclusion zone, I would love to hear your thoughts on the 2021 game "Chernobylite". Its much different from the Stalker series, but is a great choice and consequence RPG shooter! Love all your hard work, hope you and your family have a lovely holidays.
I've had the issue where guns just appear in my inventory and equipped. It's super annoying when you don't realize it and get into a conflict to find out your gun is now a busted shotgun with 1 shell. Loving the game and looking forward to patches.
In addition to all of the fixes you mentioned, I'd like them to adjust how accurate NPCs are. Right now they're crazy accurate, even if you're well concealed.
In the OG trilogy you were supposed to avoid combat - specially against mutants - unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise you're just draining yourself and wasting resources... killing doesn't grant xp and quality gear is mostly found on select stashes and quest relevant places/npcs But my biggest gripe with this game is the complete lost of the old atmosphere with the change or engine (there's not even dynamic lighting), the absence of a-life and how dumbed down the enemy IA is: we went from NPCs that were a real threat and acted almost human to the average squad of meat bags for you to steamroll
That's bed, interesting thing, but in FEAR on high difficulty, enemy AI was just great and that game is 2005 year, why in now days with 18 core processors studios can't make realistic AI😢
@@1213-i7z as much as i love fear, i would argue that og stalker ia was even more impressive. enemies were relentless when needed but also had a real sense of self-preservation: they will often hide in order to jump on you, reallocate using vegetation to cover their movements, inside buildings camp behind doors or corners, approach from behind while crouched (noise in the og trilogy was in combat a major factor) or do coordinated flanking moves... none of that is remotely present in stalker 2
Paid the full $60 for this and don't regret it at all. The game is incredible. I haven't had this much fun with a game in a long time. I can't wait for when serious mods come out for this. (Anomaly/GAMMA for Stalker 2 would be amazing if we got something on that scale).
There's a mod on the nexus called No Shader Warmup that lets you skip that. You don't need to install any mod loader or anything, just drop it into the game files. 11/10, would've refunded without it
This game is in a really nice state now after a few patches. The A-Life still needs work, but the balance is in a really good spot. Mutants are there to be an obstacle and drain resources, they are supposed to make you decide if it's worth fighting or running; and the economy is really well balanced as long as you are actually hunting and selling artefacts, and not just trying to make a living selling broken AKs. Overall I am really happy with it, and that's without even getting started on modding. This game doesn't *need* mods, which, as much as I loved them, is something I could really never say about the original trilogy.
This was actually a perfect review of the game man well done. Personally for me even with all the issues I’ve had it hasn’t ruined my enjoyment of it and tbh, I feel like this is the best game in the genre and it really isn’t even close. I realized the other day while playing it that this was the same feeling I had the first time I played fallout 3 when it released. Just the world, atmosphere and how it really makes you feel like your living the life of a stalker is just incredible. I wish I would’ve gotten the ultimate lol but to do what these devs did under the circumstances they had to be in is quite literally amazing. It’s a game I’m going to be playing for hundreds if not thousands of hours. Love it!
Great review. You give all sides and thus I am going to wait another nine months unless the game goes on sale at least 35% off. I purchased the stalker series when they first came out. Was sad when they quit making them. Some of their Devs moved on to developing Metro 2033 and that series was one of the best stories ever told in FPS gaming. I have longed for more of that. Thanks for your time.
Stalker SoC was my favourite childhood game, really excited for this one, but as I anticipated, wouldnt hurt to let it cook in the oven a couple more months (and get it on sale!). Thanks for the review :)
I found this channel pretty recently and I have to say I’ve been binge watching a lot of videos. You just so happen to cover a lot of the games that I really like that I don’t feel like there’s a whole lot of coverage of. Or at least quality coverage, keep up the great work!
I’m 46 hours deep and have had one crash, and one bugged quest so far that I was able to complete anyway. The fps drops a bit in some locations and I’ve noticed some minor animation glitches, but the fun outweighs all of that by an overwhelming amount. This game is badass.
Despite the bugs and jank, an open-world game hasn't made my jaw drop this much since Elden Ring. I went in very cautiously, wondering if this team could pull this off, but they have exceeded my expectations and delivered a butt-clenchingly tense and beautiful world to roam around. Bravo team.
Day one purchase for me (I also forked out for the Ultimate edition) and I've spent a few hours exploring so far. As you say, the world building really is incredible and personally I don't find the bugs and balance issues to be completely game breaking - but just knowing what this game *will* be when all of that is fixed? I think that's enough to make me just hold off a little bit longer. As someone who's been playing since 2007 I'm just glad I finally got the chance to give them my money and I have every faith in them that they're putting it to good use and that, like the originals, this will one day go down as one of the greatest games of all time.
I'm at 48 hours and 12 minutes. The game needs work but it's far from "unplayable" or whatever they say. The foundation is already incredible. With A-Life 2.0 in full effect, QOL and balancing patches this will be a must have game. The story and the cutscenes exceed my expectations by far. Although the characters are a bit overwhelming. I have a hard time to follow all the characters and their motives when there are new being introduced with every mission. Sometimes multiple in one cutscene. Then there are the names. Krushnikow, Kurishov, Kitchiko, Kachenko,... You get the idea. They all sound similar. I don't know if this was necessary for the story to work. But it's too much for me and I often can't follow.
There's a POI the crashes my game every time I go to it, for me the game is "unplayable" at times. After the last patch, in many areas of the map my game stutters every time you ADS to the point of making combat difficult of course the dummies that shout "this game is trash" are to be ignored, but there is plenty of valid complaints out there.
When I was going into Rostok, I had been using an MP 5 as my primary. I think I came across the "zombies" for the first time and when I switched to my mp5, I was suddenly aiming down a scope of one of the sniper rifles that use .308 ammo
Thanks for the video. A good core world is no joke. From such things are great mods and greater games made. Onward to 400k. All glory to the algorithm.
Great video! I'm bummed that this game released in its current state. I think I'll wait a while before I dedicate anymore time to it. Bugs and balance issues aside, the developers did a great job with lighting, art, sound, etc... the game definitely feels like a successor to the classics in terms of immersion.
I’m 68 hours in, I only have two gripes with the game: 1. “my” Skif should become stronger and more agile throughout the game (stamina and weight capacity & 2. More realism = arm stamina, scope cleansing, air filters for masks etc.
Great review full of the truth about it. Iplayed and completed the storyline just wish I done it on Stalker mode ( I done the novice mode ). I came across a few bugs & glitches and one save file problem but I hard save every hour and quick save every 15mins or more during a mission so I didn’t have much of a slog when things went wrong. Overall my experience of being a Stalker in this isolated anxiety inducing wonderous Zone for the first time was awesome and I’ve started it again on Stalker mode ( I’ll do another run on Veteran after finishing my new playthrough )
I bought the Ultimate Edition to help support the devs. The game definitely has rough edges, but considering what they have been through to build this game I can cut it a lot of slack. It's a great game even with all the issues, that's a testament to how good the foundation is. Once they get it patched up it will be something special.
Regarding difficulty: I played on veteran, and even added a mod that reduced the amount of loot overall - still ended up with hundreds of medkits, bandages, anti-rads and food items in my stash. In the end, I just started selling those in batch, which really dampened the survival/scavenger aspect of the game. Like... when I find a stash or loot a box, I should be happy for finding some medkits (just like how it was the case in Misery or Anomaly), but here I ended up just LEAVING them there, which really shouldn't happen in a Stalker game. (Other than that and some minor issues, I absolutely LOVED the game, but I wish there was a bit more emphasis on proper scavenging.)
In past Stalker games mutants have dropped items to sell. It feels like they will be added in a future patch. That said I am waiting until the game breaking bugs are patched out and they get the A-Life system working before buying this game. Too many horror stories out there where people have lost 20-40 hour playthroughs from corrupted saves.
I 100% agree, It needs like another year or more of bugfixes, quality of life fixes, modders, and then some DLC to make this game fulfill its ultimate promise. I've left it half unfinished because I got sick of the janky AI, quest-blocking bugs, and lack of A-Life.
Incredible review absolutely #1 so far I've watched a ton and this was the only truly honest review so far. Thank you. The bugs would bother me as this will be my intro Into STALKER and I won't have it ruined by ANYTHING. ❤
Місяць тому+10
I do understand from a gameplay perspective why it's unfortunate that fighting mutants is not worth it as they do not loot much... but it's the most logical thing there is. Avoiding the usual "dang, this wolf is carrying tons of gold around for no logical reason" is in my opinion good for the immersion... but you're right that it might be interesting to be able to still get loot from them that could be sold even if not usable directly.
I like it from a gameplay perspective as well. Having something that taxes your resources and gives you nothing back is essential for a survival/horror experience, but I can also see why it can be unsatisfying especially for someone who's usual jam is crpgs.
Thing is, STALKER never went for the "Wolf carrying gold" thing. In earlier games it was "didn't the bartender mention that someone was looking for parts from these mutants?"
I don't consider this game done yet. It's more like an early access release without the label. Until things like A-Life, NVG, and other major features are added I am not going to play it. It also just needs lots of balancing yet. I think players right now are their play testing environment.
thank you for the in-depth review. Definitely buying it but not now. It's like Cyberpunk on release. It's unpolished but it has potential. I'll revisit the game in 1-2 years 👍
I am in the half way. I just play it to finish it. What a letdown. I don't understand people praising it. They made the same game, in a better way 15 years ago. When modded, even better than Stalker 2
@@Yetersiz_Bakiye_Kulubuhonestly that’s how it feels after playing stalker gamma, shadow of Chernobyl mod and other mods… the AI in this game just randomly spawns in… world feels empty compared to predecessor. I can walk from lesser area to Pripyat without encountering any problems maybe some rats, a few dogs or a bloodsucker. In previous game I would be attacked by countless dogs, chimeras and even encounter a pseudogiant, controllers etc… then randomly run into heavily geared monolith squad or a heavily guarded fortress with mercenaries or duty that randomly roamed the zone and weren’t just “spawning in” when I walked through a checkpoint
@@Clan_Mech nah, crashes were all abroad. As was it on my 4070S, which is 'just' above the recommended 4070. I did look up this video with every settings benchmarks and its just better to lower some settings from Epic to High, which then gives better graphics and runs it better strangely enough... oddly enough these crashes started for me after like 3-4 days of playtime, not before, which begs the question of the optimzation of those higher settings.
@@Clan_Mech my bad my man, i thought you talked about the anomalies in stalker 2 😅 yeah i thought i was one of the lucky ones too not crashikg for the first few days but then it started crashing so i lowered some Epic settings to High following this 'famous' benchmark guy for stalker then it also stopped crashing for me. Might be a memory leak ingame since it didnt crash on all Epic settings the first few days. Anyhow, my bad for going nuts on ya while misunderstanding you 😅
Brings me back to when STALKER SOC came out. I remember when enemies in Clear sky would throw grenades in your head behind cover with pin point accuracy. clipping soft and hard locks. good times
I've played a lot of Stalker G.A.M.M.A and unfortunately I cannot stop comparing the two. The feeling of everything being a major risk when venturing into the zone and especially further north, makes progression feel extremely important. Together with the rarity of resources and epic AI, I just can't help feel that that playstyle for stalker 2 would have been the true experience, even though G.A.M.M.A is a modpack. As always a great video, keep it up🎉
I know, but that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying making the game more scarce and dangerous like the G.A.M.M.A modpack would in my opinion have added a lot more immersion and realism to the danger of the zone
Finished the game myself, definitely an excellent game under a pile of technical issues. Most notably: low fps, high input lag when using dlss 3 frame generation, weapon fov glitch leads to high zoom scope unusable, stutter, lag and fps drop in major mission area or major outpost, but besides that feeling like a true stalker in an environment of this universe is truly one of a kind unique atmosphere feeling. With the theory of noosphere biosphere and such. Not the best game of the year but definitely on the top 5-10
Exactly my thoughts! Not since Skyrim had I experience this feeling of wonder, when I was exited to explore everything, loot it all and experience everything the game has to offer. The team made an incrediblely immersive and fun game
Buhehe Game of the Year...idiota, its fest of bugs, glitch, blocked people too finish game, fck hard and draining resources and in high zone area fck easy droop-looter..one good action and you got 20 guns that is no point take and sell it....beacuse its weist of time, GAME NEED FIX, FIX, FIX, BALANCE + BALANCE + SPAWN RE DESIGN...BEST IS WHEN YOU GOT ON HEAD, 7 DOGS, 3 BOAR, MUTANT CAT, AND 12 PEOPLE ENEMY + 2 BLOODDRAIN...HUEHEHE IN ONE FCK FIGHT HEHEHEHE...SORRY KIDO BUT THIS IS NOT "GAME OF THE YEAR"....ITS FCK ANNOYING GAMEPLAY.... GROW UP
the game is very large, a huge number of details and objects. Each type of grass corresponds to the growing zone, each tree. All objects are photographs of real objects and plants. Thousands of dialogues. all these anomalies and the interaction of the environment with them. Our modern video cards are not able to process all this, so the developers had to not only reduce the quality of the textures, but also turn off A life. In addition, a lot of content had to be removed.
Hi mate I have been watching your stuff for a few years now and I really like your videos, I think there is one thing that maybe you could consider doing differently and that is when talking about story or individual side quests, as for story perhaps instead of giving details like you wake up.and your house is on fire you could just tell us the premise is it a revenge story or something like that without telling specific details which I would call spoilers, I personally just fast forward the story section when I remember but as for side quests it's the same thing because the reason I'm writing this is the apple shooting side quest, that is the kind of thing that would 100% be great to experience first hand while playing but because you explained in detail what happens or what doesn't happen it will ruin any sense of surprise when I play it eventually, the kind of surprise that you got out of that experience I and many other will not get that now, perhaps in future you could simply say that side quests can have surprising outcomes or unexpected outcomes without giving is the extreme detail which to me is a big spoiler. Again the story stuff I can skip but the side quests detail is something I think you could maybe work on and try to give info without specific details. Sorry for such a long comment I just don't want to come off as rude or ungrateful because I really do like your stuff and especially your chilled out personality. Thanks for your hard work mate👍🙂
I'm still paying ridiculous prices to fix my gear. My Seva suit was at like 75 percent and it cost me $21,000 to repair. After I drag back all my guns in a grueling process it all goes to repair bills.
I wanna share this because I just discovered it in my playthrough and it’s odd to me that stalker 2 is one of the only stalker games to not let you loot mutants: In the Rostock market there is an area where there’s a bunch of stuffed mutants that’s set up in a booth very similar to the weapons and armor dealer. I have a feeling looting mutants was cut very late into development and that there was a vendor in Rostock for specifically selling animal parts too. Maybe this will come in a future update but only time will tell.
I've played for 14 hours so far and the only bug I've experienced is my HUD disappearing entirely or sometimes dimming so that I can barely see it but the problem always goes away on it's own. Aside from that the only annoying thing so far is bloodsuckers having like way too much health for an invisible and very mobile enemy.
A buddy and i who plays Stalker Gamma alot both agree that this game NEEEDS a skinning feature like in Anomaly/Gamme (The standalone free mod for the original game for anyone who doesnt know) Itll fix the entire mutants not being worth it, not lowering health values or making mutants less dangerous, Just let us skin and then cook/sell those biproducts
I really like that it isn't worth sometimes to fight mutants, it makes it more realistic to me. Regardless of how much of a hero your character is :)) sometimes it's just better to avoid a fight and I think this is missing in many games.
Definitely going to pick this up in two years or so once everything is fixed! One issue I have is the file size. I’m no game dev but this game doesn’t look like 130 GB. If that makes sense
As someone who got into STALKER many years ago, I can say that... unreal engine and DLC aside, this launch actually seems pretty par for the course. Every STALKER game from the original trilogy released with some pretty serious bugs, Clear Sky especially - and this was back when patches could be released, but you were more than likely still going to have a retail disc copy and wouldn't necessarily be expected to download them. Considering the pace (and environment) that this game was released in, I'm more disappointed about the whole thing around Unreal than I am about the game itself - other than it seems like this is primarily just another Stalker game and I'm not sure how to feel about the changes I have seen in footage versus the original. All that being said, one of the really nice things about this time period in gaming is the fact that developers can actively patch issues in their games. I'm looking forward to picking up this game and giving it a go even if it seems to be mostly the same formula as the originals.
Wild that this game has the exact SAME issues as the original. Every issue you mentioned was present in stalker 1... So they learned nothing in all these years?
The only reason I've held off buying for now is so that optimization can give my little old laptop (i7 8750H + gtx 1060 6gb) a chance of playing. Based on some early modding efforts, re-enabling aspects of A-life makes the framerate take big hit; with NPCs already being particularly demanding on CPU resources, this is somewhat intimidating. As an aside, I just found out that the original trilogy is available on Switch. Which is madness. I'm not sure how I'd go returning to vanilla after all these years, not to mention the demands of conserving ammunition whilst using joy-con controls (even with the addition of gyro aiming), however the mere fact that you can play stalker on the go is incredible.
Sounds like a very promising game once the bugs are worked out. I'll take your advice and wait for those bugs to be fixed before playing. Thanks for the awesome review.
Haven't played S2, but something I've noticed. Around 19:00, the Controller seems to do no damage to you? And the bloodsucker in the following clip just claws at you, and doesn't try to suck your blood like in the older games?
I was really into this game at first but the more I played the more I realized there is no way the developers played the game before releasing it. I'll pick it up later after an major update. I played over 40 hours.
The risk vs reward in some of the quests are problematic as well. In one side quest, I was tasked with finding a weapon, and the weapon was descent. When it was returned to the quest giver, I was given 1000 coupons. The weapon was worth more in coupons if sold or just straight up keeping it to use. IMO, quests like this should provide more of a reward if you are not keeping the item you are asked to return. The problem is, if you keep the weapon, you fail the quest.
I feel like you are just expected to fail a few quests that have way better lootable items than the pitiful quest rewards. I think everyone failed that quest where you give the stalker vodka at his stash sites which have ridiculous loot that you aren't supposed to touch.
You dont have to find all the PDA's, you have to find 8 notes that give you hints at the code for a door in Prypiat. You can find guides for it already.
Between modders and the devs themselves, this game will be the best of its particular genre imo. That could be biased based on my love of the series but I truly believe for a sandbox immersive Sim, choice driven shooter, it just doesn't get better than this and what this game will be in a couple years is very exciting.
I cannot understand the lack of comparison to Stalker 1. Stalker 2 did not arrive in a void; and for a Stalker 1 player the sequel feels like a remake in UE 5 with more bugs and less balance. The world they designed now is not new; it is almost identical to the one from the classical series - surely that would warrant mention? I'm really surprised reviewers ignore the context in which this game was expected and focus just on the newcomer experience.
The game is just not hard enough imo. I have to set rules for myself just to feel like certain mechanics are have a purpose. I sell like 80%, of ammo, i dont upgrade or repair anything, when it breaks its gone. Med kits are op so i only bring some if im doing a main story mission where i will be in a certain area for an extended amount of time. Otherwise i leave with 2 guns, limited ammo and zero trinkets. 2 bandages and 1 medkit. The problem with balance is they wont be able to without introducing a completely different difficulty catered to people who share my perspective.. or introduce a whole bunch of sliders to configure things like loot, damage done/ damage taken and healing effects. Overall im in love with the world, i personally would like to struggle a bit more to get by in game as its an apocolyptic scavenging survival.
How are you 100%ing the game I've been locked out of main quest twice in to different saves. Great game but I'll give metro a go and come back to this.
Game would be great if there random mutants lurking in random broken down places. I feel like there are no scares when I turn a corner and I'm always expecting it.
Definitely will be purchasing this in a year or so. Looks great, but I’m a patient gamer these days. Thanks for the review! (And just to add a bit of context for some who were wondering about this stance: I wait on games about that length of time to let them fix bugs, make balance changes, add content, and finally get all of that at a lower price. Not meaning to disparage or say I don't trust the devs.)
Came here to say this!
Bought it, 20fps with a 4080 in towns, and some kinda leak that makes my game stutter and forces a reload, nah ah.
With framegen its ovr 100fps, but the latency...another nah ah, this is a wait.
My cyberpunk 2.0 rule, give it 2 and a half years it'll be baked as good as it will get
Same here though I'm checking out the og trilogy for right now. Just got done with a SOC play through with SWR + OGSR + ZRP. Highly recommend them for first time play through.
@@Eldenbruh Same issue with my 4070. Ended up playing it on my series X. It runs better on the console! Hope they fix soon. Rather play on PC.
I got into crpgs because of this channel. I beat half life yesterday. Now onto the stalker series.
Enjoy! Make shure you dont miss Portal 2
Are you accessing this channel from 20 years in the past? Lol
Honestly the more you go into this game the more half life vibes I was getting. No spoilers, but there’s definitely a section in the main quest line where I was like okay this is straight up inspired by Half-Life 1
Don't play the new one. The first mission is impossible to finish for a lot of people. An item doesn't spawn and the game is unplayable because you have to have whatever that item is to progress.
Even tho stalker is dated and modding community is really active, I do stress to try to play as original as possible.
As someone who was there in the elden times for the release of the first one, it was exactly like this. Broken beyond belief and took two years to kinda sorta but not really stabilize, before the mods did the rest. Now, if you ask me what are the odds we see the issues fixed quickly this time around, allow me to quote a certain book:
“There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was a flamethrower” - Mort by Terry Prattchett
Was not expecting a Pratchet Quote here. You made my day.
I got this game through game pass, was surprised how fast devs responded to all the feedback and how officiant they were able to address and fix major bugs.
Will be getting a copy later through Steam as well!
Love this game so far!
100% worth the time on GP, I will also likely pick it up on Steam at some point.
Stalker game best played on PC, the modders are gonna going crazy
I think ur reviews are super real. You 100% them and keep complete honest transparency. Im shocked i havent heard of this channel. Subbed and looking forward to more. Im gonna pick this up because even though its buggy by this review, im sure it will improve over time! Anyway, like i said keep it up. Looking forward to it
Agreed. I put over 40 hours into it - but ultimately didn't finish it due to the bugs, balancing, and other issues. A-Life's absence is pretty severe, as an og trilogy player. I decided to just drop it for now, wait for patches and mods, and reapproach it in a few months.
A-Life being completely absent is the source of all my issues with the game. It is responsible for most of the emerging gameplay and the gameplay it cooks up is mostly frustrating, and sometimes, rage-inducing. basically, the current "bugged" version of artificial life basically just spawns random enemies on top of you at random intervals. So no amount of preparation, scouting etc matters at all. You can just run around, mostly safe at all times and wait for enemies to spawn. Which is the exact opposite of how it is used to be. You used to be see most enemies on the horizon, and could prepare. The only people you see on map are people in scripted cities or events. There otherwise 0 life in the Zone because the game doesn't spawn anything until you get within like 20m of it.
At best, this is extremely annoying, and at worst - immersion-breaking and frustrating. I was in the Swamps area doing story missions there, and that area is supposed to be completely empty of any humans. But the game kept spawning soldiers, bandits etc all over my ass every 2 minutes, making it incredibly frustrating and immersion-breaking. Not to mention because the spawn room was limited, the game would spawn them on roofs, or around corners, or directly behind you etc its absolute garbage. Nothing worse than clearing an area, climbing the stairs, and then have random soldiers who shouldn't be there at all spawn on the roof behind you out of thin air!
And of course, because factions are just concepts - the reputation isn't tracked anywhere and it matters very little if at all.
This
exactly this. Without A-life there is really no good reason to play the game right now. Hopefully in a year they will add it back. If they don't, the game wont live for 15 years like the previous titles.
For the swamp, the human spawns, are you sure it wasn't the psy-beacon effect? I went through the Swamp just yesterday and didn't get a single human there. I did, however, get constantly swarmed by packs of dogs and boars, so that point still stands.
@@CPLShephard i think it was supposed to be only like illusions, and yeah I thought that the psy-beacons would prevent any human spawns. But the second you turn them off, it seems that its free-for-all - i had bandits and Ward soldiers spawn basically on top of my head within minutes of each other, in addition to zombies and also packs of dogs/rats. Needless to say yeah its scuffed completely but it made me so frustrated that i rage ALT-F4d out of that for few hours. Couldn't catch a breather to look around and loot etc.
@@Soveey Exactly. The base game is extremely solid its just the A-Life is the beating heart of the Zone. Without it, its just a very pretty empty space with the only dangers coming from anomalies. There is no faction warfare of any kind, there are no raiding parties and stalkers don't have "lives" or purpose - they don't collect loot, upgrade their gear etc etc.
Mutants have had their health nerfed by 30% recently!
And it is still not balanced. In the Arena, you fight a certain Mutant. On Veteran, it is not possible (atleast I was not able to) to kill it, because the amount of ammo you get is not enough. And this was after the patch. :D The only moment, where I had to lower the difficulty
That's because your aim sucks. On a veteran run, it should be a given that you're aiming properly and not wasting ammo.
This ties in with how players want the game to be a typical rpg where every enemy should be dropping rewards like exp and gold coins, rather than a net loss on resources. Mutants ain't piñatas, lol.
@@PäiviYevheniy Every bullet was on point. I shot the mutant from a Container. It was 2 Meters away from me. So shut up if you not know what you are talking about
I'm on xbox and it seems excellent since the first update. I played til 3am last night, and I'm a grown man who knows better. I completely lost track of time.
I was doing the monolith section in SIRCAA and there wete quite a lot of cut scenes and I found myself genuinely worried the game was nearing the end. If I feel like that I must be enjoying it!
dont worry there are 30+ story missions, you're about 60% of the way if you are where I think you are.
@@Three60Mafia awesome thanks!
Did they patch the dead zone sticks for control responses?? Have they optimized?
@charliehotelromeo284 yes they fixed stick drift and everything is running a lot smoother
what game are you playing? my xbox series x runs poorly with this game
Great review! Im currently playing Stalker Call of Priyat on the PS5 & enjoying the very first stalker game on my Oled switch. . Really been enjoying both games and cant wait to dive in Stalker 2 eventually.. 🔥
They really need to fix the enemy spawning system. It's quite immersion breaking right now.
There are some mods out already that kinda fix it (like Shay's A-life or A-life Extended), but it's not perfect. There are some limitations on the Unreal Engine that make it hard to properly implement a complicated A-life system (since the engine itself takes up so much of the CPU's computing power by default), but I hope that it will be properly fixed in some time - especially since that was one of the main aspects of the OG trilogy that kept me coming back over and over again.
Ya! I'll look through the area very carefully and some mutant potato monster comes from nowhere and I'm thinking I literally just checked that area and there was nothing like that anywhere.
Frosty morning, coffee, a mort review. Good morning all
My first couple of mods to make it more S.T.A.L.K.E.R for me, was longer Daytime, Mutants drop Parts that one can sell, less weapon and Armor degrade and less cost for repair those.
Oh, that's exactly what the game needs
And dismemberments
Mutants drop sellable parts should just be added as a mechanic base game. Right now on the vanilla version running away is almost always the best option
The bugs and issues haven't really diminished my enjoyment of the game at all and I have full confidence the devs will ironing out the quirks over the coming months. I've been waiting nearly a decade for this game, and I am loving it so far. It's everything I could have wanted from STALKER 2. They totally nailed it and delivered THE game STALKER fans have been praying for.
I genuinely second this.
Same. I've had a blast with this on xCloud
I'm having so much fun.
Facts 💯
Yep!
I haven't played the original in a long time, but I recall mutants being very similar there - a danger and a drain on resources, not something you seek out to kill, because the rewards were minimal. Balance issues aside, I think that's how it should be, I wouldn't want Stalker to become a monster hunting game.
Mutants dropped parts that can be sold, and when sold to scientists are super profitable.
@@sashamakeev7547 that was only introduced in user mods. out of the box all three original games did not let you loot mutants
@@sashamakeev7547 I forgot about that! Well I guess that would help if someone feels they're a waste.
@@sashamakeev7547 that's only in shadow of chernobyl, the other 2 games got no mutant parts at all
SoC had the parts and many of the popular mods add that in for the other 2. Certainty’s something I’d like to see implemented in the future
I’ve played a decent amount of it, and it’s also my first Stalker game. I had no idea “a-life” was even a thing nor that it was broken, so I decided to wait until that’s resolved to play more in order to get the “real stalker experience.”
You can counter Psydogs by finding the one that's bleeding or looks hurt, the more you shoot it the easier it is to tell which is the real one
Or looking for the one who is not as aggressive. The real one mostly keeps a distance
Thanks mate. Literally the only mutant I had no clue how to deal with.
Yes vs damn psy dogs you must be as aggressive as possible preferably using rapid fire gun, the moment you hesitate or run you put yourself at mad disadvantage
Changes nothing when you catch him replicate AND also switching places with the others. So your "tip" aids noone.
@@Sn33t Skill Issue
I'm playing on Series X with Game Pass and having a great time overall, especially once I switched to quality mode versus perf mode. This is one of the rare games where quality mode actually looks AND plays way better than perf mode. The difference in picture quality is insane and it stays at a locked 30 fps instead of hovering between 40 and 50 fps on perf. As for the game, it's about a 4/5 for me. A bit rough around the edges but a great time. Makes me want to try out the original games after I finish this.
How pleasing it is to watch your favorite reviewer discussing the game developed in my country
доброго дня
Доброго дня!
That’s a special feeling Lloyd
slava ukraini
@@sir_vix героям слава, my friend.
I would never have bought the game Day One... But it's Stalker. One of my favorite game of all time. I've played hundred of hours, with the incredibles community and mods (GAMMA especially).
Furthermore, the conditions in which the game was done are extraordinary :it's a miracle this game was released at all.
What I see, now is that when the mods tools are going to be release, the modders are goind to make miracles with this base. I'm going to play Stalker 2 for years to come.
how is it? I'm also a hardcore stalker mod player
the company is located in the czech republic. Not Ukraine. Lol.
@@tylerwhite4557 it got moved. you people keep trying to diminish what they went through through half truths.
@@tylerwhite4557the company was definitely in Kiev when the war started. The dev team is Ukrainian. Stop spreading misinformation
@@tylerwhite4557average maga brain
possibly the earliest i've ever been to a video. Love your content, Mort
Same bro
Same
Its bloody hard because all the enemies just throw grenades immediately and are super accurate
They also have x-ray vision at 900 yards
The old stalker games where very hard to play really needed a trainer.
Ah, the good ol grenade spam. We've never been so back, Stalkers
Hey Mort! Currently about 12 hours in STALKER 2 on my Series S and loving the game. Your schedule is probably already packed, but If you're itching for more time in the Exclusion zone, I would love to hear your thoughts on the 2021 game "Chernobylite". Its much different from the Stalker series, but is a great choice and consequence RPG shooter!
Love all your hard work, hope you and your family have a lovely holidays.
I don't really play any of the games you post about but I still watch all your videos. Very informative and entertaining!
after completing the zhorik side quest line in the beginning of the game, seeing you kill him in cold blood at 23:00 made me LOL
One of your best reviews. Very in-depth with mentioning of the caveats.
I've had the issue where guns just appear in my inventory and equipped. It's super annoying when you don't realize it and get into a conflict to find out your gun is now a busted shotgun with 1 shell. Loving the game and looking forward to patches.
I had this happen once, and I was so confused. Luckily it was a later game weapon that showed up early and I was outside of combat
I got saiga shotgun pretty early because of this bug, thing just appeared into my hand. I still haven't found that gun anywhere else
Me to. So far that is the only bug I've had
Super annoying, with the exception of the 1 time 3 rpks spawned in my inventory with full magazines.
the pew pew at 18:18 was fun lol, nice review
In addition to all of the fixes you mentioned, I'd like them to adjust how accurate NPCs are. Right now they're crazy accurate, even if you're well concealed.
In the OG trilogy you were supposed to avoid combat - specially against mutants - unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise you're just draining yourself and wasting resources... killing doesn't grant xp and quality gear is mostly found on select stashes and quest relevant places/npcs
But my biggest gripe with this game is the complete lost of the old atmosphere with the change or engine (there's not even dynamic lighting), the absence of a-life and how dumbed down the enemy IA is: we went from NPCs that were a real threat and acted almost human to the average squad of meat bags for you to steamroll
That's bed, interesting thing, but in FEAR on high difficulty, enemy AI was just great and that game is 2005 year, why in now days with 18 core processors studios can't make realistic AI😢
@@1213-i7z as much as i love fear, i would argue that og stalker ia was even more impressive. enemies were relentless when needed but also had a real sense of self-preservation: they will often hide in order to jump on you, reallocate using vegetation to cover their movements, inside buildings camp behind doors or corners, approach from behind while crouched (noise in the og trilogy was in combat a major factor) or do coordinated flanking moves... none of that is remotely present in stalker 2
Paid the full $60 for this and don't regret it at all. The game is incredible. I haven't had this much fun with a game in a long time. I can't wait for when serious mods come out for this. (Anomaly/GAMMA for Stalker 2 would be amazing if we got something on that scale).
I absolutely love this channel, I only wish the intro song was longer!😊
i'm waiting for stalker 2 shaders to compile and this video just dropped. great timing fr
There's a mod on the nexus called No Shader Warmup that lets you skip that. You don't need to install any mod loader or anything, just drop it into the game files. 11/10, would've refunded without it
@Zoroasterisk I'll try it out. Thanks
This game is in a really nice state now after a few patches. The A-Life still needs work, but the balance is in a really good spot. Mutants are there to be an obstacle and drain resources, they are supposed to make you decide if it's worth fighting or running; and the economy is really well balanced as long as you are actually hunting and selling artefacts, and not just trying to make a living selling broken AKs.
Overall I am really happy with it, and that's without even getting started on modding. This game doesn't *need* mods, which, as much as I loved them, is something I could really never say about the original trilogy.
This was actually a perfect review of the game man well done. Personally for me even with all the issues I’ve had it hasn’t ruined my enjoyment of it and tbh, I feel like this is the best game in the genre and it really isn’t even close. I realized the other day while playing it that this was the same feeling I had the first time I played fallout 3 when it released. Just the world, atmosphere and how it really makes you feel like your living the life of a stalker is just incredible. I wish I would’ve gotten the ultimate lol but to do what these devs did under the circumstances they had to be in is quite literally amazing. It’s a game I’m going to be playing for hundreds if not thousands of hours. Love it!
I would consider Metro Exodus to have similar atmosphere and immersion, but also a much more polished game.
Great review. You give all sides and thus I am going to wait another nine months unless the game goes on sale at least 35% off. I purchased the stalker series when they first came out. Was sad when they quit making them. Some of their Devs moved on to developing Metro 2033 and that series was one of the best stories ever told in FPS gaming. I have longed for more of that. Thanks for your time.
Stalker SoC was my favourite childhood game, really excited for this one, but as I anticipated, wouldnt hurt to let it cook in the oven a couple more months (and get it on sale!). Thanks for the review :)
I really want to play this, but... I will be waiting until issues are fixed and for it to go on sale.
I found this channel pretty recently and I have to say I’ve been binge watching a lot of videos. You just so happen to cover a lot of the games that I really like that I don’t feel like there’s a whole lot of coverage of. Or at least quality coverage, keep up the great work!
I’m 46 hours deep and have had one crash, and one bugged quest so far that I was able to complete anyway. The fps drops a bit in some locations and I’ve noticed some minor animation glitches, but the fun outweighs all of that by an overwhelming amount. This game is badass.
Right, just finished watching Stalker 2 First Impressions, refresh UA-cam -> Stalker 2 : Review After 100%. Mortim with the time-space magic yet again
First experience with stalker and I’m in love with it. Only about 20 hours in and I haven’t had this much fun in a video game in a long time.
Then you have the older ones to play too. 👍
Despite the bugs and jank, an open-world game hasn't made my jaw drop this much since Elden Ring. I went in very cautiously, wondering if this team could pull this off, but they have exceeded my expectations and delivered a butt-clenchingly tense and beautiful world to roam around. Bravo team.
Day one purchase for me (I also forked out for the Ultimate edition) and I've spent a few hours exploring so far. As you say, the world building really is incredible and personally I don't find the bugs and balance issues to be completely game breaking - but just knowing what this game *will* be when all of that is fixed? I think that's enough to make me just hold off a little bit longer. As someone who's been playing since 2007 I'm just glad I finally got the chance to give them my money and I have every faith in them that they're putting it to good use and that, like the originals, this will one day go down as one of the greatest games of all time.
Will get it in a year, until then, STALKER Anomaly GAMMA just released a brand new update!
Nice review and channel! Subscribed ❤️
New subscriber here, awesome that you 100% the games and don’t spoil anything
Looking forward to playing it! Not wasting my money on a broken game. As soon as they’re done ACTUALLY making it I’ll be happy to play it.
I'm at 48 hours and 12 minutes. The game needs work but it's far from "unplayable" or whatever they say. The foundation is already incredible. With A-Life 2.0 in full effect, QOL and balancing patches this will be a must have game. The story and the cutscenes exceed my expectations by far. Although the characters are a bit overwhelming. I have a hard time to follow all the characters and their motives when there are new being introduced with every mission. Sometimes multiple in one cutscene. Then there are the names. Krushnikow, Kurishov, Kitchiko, Kachenko,... You get the idea. They all sound similar. I don't know if this was necessary for the story to work. But it's too much for me and I often can't follow.
There is no A-life in S2, why do people keep saying it lol
I don't know why "people" keep saying it. I didn't.
There's a POI the crashes my game every time I go to it, for me the game is "unplayable" at times. After the last patch, in many areas of the map my game stutters every time you ADS to the point of making combat difficult
of course the dummies that shout "this game is trash" are to be ignored, but there is plenty of valid complaints out there.
When I was going into Rostok, I had been using an MP 5 as my primary. I think I came across the "zombies" for the first time and when I switched to my mp5, I was suddenly aiming down a scope of one of the sniper rifles that use .308 ammo
Thanks for the video. A good core world is no joke. From such things are great mods and greater games made. Onward to 400k. All glory to the algorithm.
I have it but I'm waiting until they fix A-Life. At this point I view this game as an incomplete early access.
Great video! I'm bummed that this game released in its current state. I think I'll wait a while before I dedicate anymore time to it. Bugs and balance issues aside, the developers did a great job with lighting, art, sound, etc... the game definitely feels like a successor to the classics in terms of immersion.
on point review, surely one of the best reviewers out there, thanks Mr. Morti
I’m 68 hours in, I only have two gripes with the game: 1. “my” Skif should become stronger and more agile throughout the game (stamina and weight capacity & 2. More realism = arm stamina, scope cleansing, air filters for masks etc.
Great review full of the truth about it. Iplayed and completed the storyline just wish I done it on Stalker mode ( I done the novice mode ). I came across a few bugs & glitches and one save file problem but I hard save every hour and quick save every 15mins or more during a mission so I didn’t have much of a slog when things went wrong.
Overall my experience of being a Stalker in this isolated anxiety inducing wonderous Zone for the first time was awesome and I’ve started it again on Stalker mode ( I’ll do another run on Veteran after finishing my new playthrough )
I bought the Ultimate Edition to help support the devs. The game definitely has rough edges, but considering what they have been through to build this game I can cut it a lot of slack. It's a great game even with all the issues, that's a testament to how good the foundation is. Once they get it patched up it will be something special.
Regarding difficulty: I played on veteran, and even added a mod that reduced the amount of loot overall - still ended up with hundreds of medkits, bandages, anti-rads and food items in my stash. In the end, I just started selling those in batch, which really dampened the survival/scavenger aspect of the game. Like... when I find a stash or loot a box, I should be happy for finding some medkits (just like how it was the case in Misery or Anomaly), but here I ended up just LEAVING them there, which really shouldn't happen in a Stalker game.
(Other than that and some minor issues, I absolutely LOVED the game, but I wish there was a bit more emphasis on proper scavenging.)
In past Stalker games mutants have dropped items to sell. It feels like they will be added in a future patch. That said I am waiting until the game breaking bugs are patched out and they get the A-Life system working before buying this game. Too many horror stories out there where people have lost 20-40 hour playthroughs from corrupted saves.
I 100% agree, It needs like another year or more of bugfixes, quality of life fixes, modders, and then some DLC to make this game fulfill its ultimate promise. I've left it half unfinished because I got sick of the janky AI, quest-blocking bugs, and lack of A-Life.
Incredible review absolutely #1 so far I've watched a ton and this was the only truly honest review so far. Thank you. The bugs would bother me as this will be my intro Into STALKER and I won't have it ruined by ANYTHING. ❤
I do understand from a gameplay perspective why it's unfortunate that fighting mutants is not worth it as they do not loot much... but it's the most logical thing there is.
Avoiding the usual "dang, this wolf is carrying tons of gold around for no logical reason" is in my opinion good for the immersion... but you're right that it might be interesting to be able to still get loot from them that could be sold even if not usable directly.
This is yet another thing which wasn't an issue in SoC and the expansions, but is now for STALKER 2.
I like it from a gameplay perspective as well. Having something that taxes your resources and gives you nothing back is essential for a survival/horror experience, but I can also see why it can be unsatisfying especially for someone who's usual jam is crpgs.
Thing is, STALKER never went for the "Wolf carrying gold" thing. In earlier games it was "didn't the bartender mention that someone was looking for parts from these mutants?"
I don't consider this game done yet. It's more like an early access release without the label.
Until things like A-Life, NVG, and other major features are added I am not going to play it. It also just needs lots of balancing yet. I think players right now are their play testing environment.
Haven't been this hooked on a game in a long time and thankfully seems like there is much more to get through before I'm done.
thank you for the in-depth review. Definitely buying it but not now. It's like Cyberpunk on release. It's unpolished but it has potential. I'll revisit the game in 1-2 years 👍
I am not touching it until they properly implement the A-Life system.
I am in the half way. I just play it to finish it. What a letdown. I don't understand people praising it. They made the same game, in a better way 15 years ago. When modded, even better than Stalker 2
Gonna be a loooong wait.
@@Yetersiz_Bakiye_Kulubuhonestly that’s how it feels after playing stalker gamma, shadow of Chernobyl mod and other mods… the AI in this game just randomly spawns in… world feels empty compared to predecessor. I can walk from lesser area to Pripyat without encountering any problems maybe some rats, a few dogs or a bloodsucker. In previous game I would be attacked by countless dogs, chimeras and even encounter a pseudogiant, controllers etc… then randomly run into heavily geared monolith squad or a heavily guarded fortress with mercenaries or duty that randomly roamed the zone and weren’t just “spawning in” when I walked through a checkpoint
@@Clan_Mech nah, crashes were all abroad. As was it on my 4070S, which is 'just' above the recommended 4070. I did look up this video with every settings benchmarks and its just better to lower some settings from Epic to High, which then gives better graphics and runs it better strangely enough... oddly enough these crashes started for me after like 3-4 days of playtime, not before, which begs the question of the optimzation of those higher settings.
@@Clan_Mech my bad my man, i thought you talked about the anomalies in stalker 2 😅 yeah i thought i was one of the lucky ones too not crashikg for the first few days but then it started crashing so i lowered some Epic settings to High following this 'famous' benchmark guy for stalker then it also stopped crashing for me. Might be a memory leak ingame since it didnt crash on all Epic settings the first few days. Anyhow, my bad for going nuts on ya while misunderstanding you 😅
Brings me back to when STALKER SOC came out. I remember when enemies in Clear sky would throw grenades in your head behind cover with pin point accuracy. clipping soft and hard locks. good times
I've played a lot of Stalker G.A.M.M.A and unfortunately I cannot stop comparing the two. The feeling of everything being a major risk when venturing into the zone and especially further north, makes progression feel extremely important. Together with the rarity of resources and epic AI, I just can't help feel that that playstyle for stalker 2 would have been the true experience, even though G.A.M.M.A is a modpack.
As always a great video, keep it up🎉
as far as i can tell the gameplay loop of stalker 2 is very close to the original trilogy
I know, but that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying making the game more scarce and dangerous like the G.A.M.M.A modpack would in my opinion have added a lot more immersion and realism to the danger of the zone
Love the game but I love the original Stalker games when they released. Just got weird water artifact that is a must.
Finished the game myself, definitely an excellent game under a pile of technical issues. Most notably: low fps, high input lag when using dlss 3 frame generation, weapon fov glitch leads to high zoom scope unusable, stutter, lag and fps drop in major mission area or major outpost, but besides that feeling like a true stalker in an environment of this universe is truly one of a kind unique atmosphere feeling. With the theory of noosphere biosphere and such. Not the best game of the year but definitely on the top 5-10
This is my game of the year been awhile since i felt immerse since skyrim i hope it gets nominated next year when its fixed!
Exactly my thoughts! Not since Skyrim had I experience this feeling of wonder, when I was exited to explore everything, loot it all and experience everything the game has to offer. The team made an incrediblely immersive and fun game
Buhehe Game of the Year...idiota, its fest of bugs, glitch, blocked people too finish game, fck hard and draining resources and in high zone area fck easy droop-looter..one good action and you got 20 guns that is no point take and sell it....beacuse its weist of time, GAME NEED FIX, FIX, FIX, BALANCE + BALANCE + SPAWN RE DESIGN...BEST IS WHEN YOU GOT ON HEAD, 7 DOGS, 3 BOAR, MUTANT CAT, AND 12 PEOPLE ENEMY + 2 BLOODDRAIN...HUEHEHE IN ONE FCK FIGHT HEHEHEHE...SORRY KIDO BUT THIS IS NOT "GAME OF THE YEAR"....ITS FCK ANNOYING GAMEPLAY....
GROW UP
the game is very large, a huge number of details and objects. Each type of grass corresponds to the growing zone, each tree. All objects are photographs of real objects and plants. Thousands of dialogues. all these anomalies and the interaction of the environment with them. Our modern video cards are not able to process all this, so the developers had to not only reduce the quality of the textures, but also turn off A life. In addition, a lot of content had to be removed.
Hi mate I have been watching your stuff for a few years now and I really like your videos, I think there is one thing that maybe you could consider doing differently and that is when talking about story or individual side quests, as for story perhaps instead of giving details like you wake up.and your house is on fire you could just tell us the premise is it a revenge story or something like that without telling specific details which I would call spoilers, I personally just fast forward the story section when I remember but as for side quests it's the same thing because the reason I'm writing this is the apple shooting side quest, that is the kind of thing that would 100% be great to experience first hand while playing but because you explained in detail what happens or what doesn't happen it will ruin any sense of surprise when I play it eventually, the kind of surprise that you got out of that experience I and many other will not get that now, perhaps in future you could simply say that side quests can have surprising outcomes or unexpected outcomes without giving is the extreme detail which to me is a big spoiler. Again the story stuff I can skip but the side quests detail is something I think you could maybe work on and try to give info without specific details. Sorry for such a long comment I just don't want to come off as rude or ungrateful because I really do like your stuff and especially your chilled out personality. Thanks for your hard work mate👍🙂
I'm still paying ridiculous prices to fix my gear. My Seva suit was at like 75 percent and it cost me $21,000 to repair. After I drag back all my guns in a grueling process it all goes to repair bills.
Overall very fair review, did you play the originals?
Very little, but technically yes
I wanna share this because I just discovered it in my playthrough and it’s odd to me that stalker 2 is one of the only stalker games to not let you loot mutants:
In the Rostock market there is an area where there’s a bunch of stuffed mutants that’s set up in a booth very similar to the weapons and armor dealer. I have a feeling looting mutants was cut very late into development and that there was a vendor in Rostock for specifically selling animal parts too. Maybe this will come in a future update but only time will tell.
I've played for 14 hours so far and the only bug I've experienced is my HUD disappearing entirely or sometimes dimming so that I can barely see it but the problem always goes away on it's own. Aside from that the only annoying thing so far is bloodsuckers having like way too much health for an invisible and very mobile enemy.
A buddy and i who plays Stalker Gamma alot both agree that this game NEEEDS a skinning feature like in Anomaly/Gamme (The standalone free mod for the original game for anyone who doesnt know) Itll fix the entire mutants not being worth it, not lowering health values or making mutants less dangerous, Just let us skin and then cook/sell those biproducts
I really like that it isn't worth sometimes to fight mutants, it makes it more realistic to me. Regardless of how much of a hero your character is :)) sometimes it's just better to avoid a fight and I think this is missing in many games.
Definitely going to pick this up in two years or so once everything is fixed! One issue I have is the file size. I’m no game dev but this game doesn’t look like 130 GB. If that makes sense
how? the map is massive and the amount of detail in the environment from unreal engine makes sense to be 130 gb
As someone who got into STALKER many years ago, I can say that... unreal engine and DLC aside, this launch actually seems pretty par for the course.
Every STALKER game from the original trilogy released with some pretty serious bugs, Clear Sky especially - and this was back when patches could be released, but you were more than likely still going to have a retail disc copy and wouldn't necessarily be expected to download them. Considering the pace (and environment) that this game was released in, I'm more disappointed about the whole thing around Unreal than I am about the game itself - other than it seems like this is primarily just another Stalker game and I'm not sure how to feel about the changes I have seen in footage versus the original.
All that being said, one of the really nice things about this time period in gaming is the fact that developers can actively patch issues in their games. I'm looking forward to picking up this game and giving it a go even if it seems to be mostly the same formula as the originals.
I will wait a few months for this, i really hope it can become its full potential as the previous stalker games never got that far
Wild that this game has the exact SAME issues as the original. Every issue you mentioned was present in stalker 1... So they learned nothing in all these years?
The only reason I've held off buying for now is so that optimization can give my little old laptop (i7 8750H + gtx 1060 6gb) a chance of playing. Based on some early modding efforts, re-enabling aspects of A-life makes the framerate take big hit; with NPCs already being particularly demanding on CPU resources, this is somewhat intimidating.
As an aside, I just found out that the original trilogy is available on Switch. Which is madness. I'm not sure how I'd go returning to vanilla after all these years, not to mention the demands of conserving ammunition whilst using joy-con controls (even with the addition of gyro aiming), however the mere fact that you can play stalker on the go is incredible.
Sounds like a very promising game once the bugs are worked out. I'll take your advice and wait for those bugs to be fixed before playing. Thanks for the awesome review.
Haven't played S2, but something I've noticed. Around 19:00, the Controller seems to do no damage to you? And the bloodsucker in the following clip just claws at you, and doesn't try to suck your blood like in the older games?
I was really into this game at first but the more I played the more I realized there is no way the developers played the game before releasing it. I'll pick it up later after an major update. I played over 40 hours.
Thanks for the detailed review.
The risk vs reward in some of the quests are problematic as well. In one side quest, I was tasked with finding a weapon, and the weapon was descent. When it was returned to the quest giver, I was given 1000 coupons. The weapon was worth more in coupons if sold or just straight up keeping it to use. IMO, quests like this should provide more of a reward if you are not keeping the item you are asked to return. The problem is, if you keep the weapon, you fail the quest.
I feel like you are just expected to fail a few quests that have way better lootable items than the pitiful quest rewards. I think everyone failed that quest where you give the stalker vodka at his stash sites which have ridiculous loot that you aren't supposed to touch.
The opening music you used reminded me of a hack and slash console game from over a decade ago, and I can't remember what it was.
What about the ‘Between the Lines’ achievement, did you actually collect all the PDAs across the map? 😅
You don't have to. You have to just open the code lock that you can find by googling it.
You dont have to find all the PDA's, you have to find 8 notes that give you hints at the code for a door in Prypiat. You can find guides for it already.
Between modders and the devs themselves, this game will be the best of its particular genre imo. That could be biased based on my love of the series but I truly believe for a sandbox immersive Sim, choice driven shooter, it just doesn't get better than this and what this game will be in a couple years is very exciting.
I cannot understand the lack of comparison to Stalker 1. Stalker 2 did not arrive in a void; and for a Stalker 1 player the sequel feels like a remake in UE 5 with more bugs and less balance. The world they designed now is not new; it is almost identical to the one from the classical series - surely that would warrant mention? I'm really surprised reviewers ignore the context in which this game was expected and focus just on the newcomer experience.
Because this is Stalker 1.5 Remake 😂 It's now in trend.
Your dedication to 100% reviews is impressive and appreciated. It keeps me coming back to hear what you have to say over others 🙏
Great review 😊
I thought the same about when you reload a game and the enemies can disappear or new enemies appear. It keeps you on your toes.
The game is just not hard enough imo. I have to set rules for myself just to feel like certain mechanics are have a purpose. I sell like 80%, of ammo, i dont upgrade or repair anything, when it breaks its gone. Med kits are op so i only bring some if im doing a main story mission where i will be in a certain area for an extended amount of time. Otherwise i leave with 2 guns, limited ammo and zero trinkets. 2 bandages and 1 medkit. The problem with balance is they wont be able to without introducing a completely different difficulty catered to people who share my perspective.. or introduce a whole bunch of sliders to configure things like loot, damage done/ damage taken and healing effects. Overall im in love with the world, i personally would like to struggle a bit more to get by in game as its an apocolyptic scavenging survival.
How are you 100%ing the game I've been locked out of main quest twice in to different saves. Great game but I'll give metro a go and come back to this.
Game would be great if there random mutants lurking in random broken down places. I feel like there are no scares when I turn a corner and I'm always expecting it.
This game is a blast despite all the bugs and it's good to see the Dev's releasing proper patches so quickly. Also, the graphics are top notch.