Stalker 2 hands-on: Xbox Game Pass might finally give this buggy-but-ambitious series the breakout success it deserves

I’d already died twice, trying to clear out a small warehouse around 30 minutes into my session with Stalker 2. This time, I’d do it better. Rushing in wasn’t an option. I snuck around the side, waiting until two enemy stalkers turned their back, and then bam! With them dead, a cat and mouse game ensued between myself and their allies. Hurt but victorious, my reward was ammo and supplies, broken guns that weren’t worth my time, and a gloomy bloke who chewed me out. Yep, this is certainly Stalker.

That might paint a frustrating, perhaps even unpleasant, picture of GSC Game World’s upcoming first-person shooter. The truth is, this game will push some of you away, quickly, with its dedication to getting the tone of Stalker right. Those able to push through will find an especially rewarding game here, one that quickly blankets you in a dire world where the morally correct choice isn’t always the right one, and survival trumps all else.

Can you forgive an element of opaqueness for the sake of immersion, and an overall more rewarding survival experience? If the answer is no, I think you’ll struggle with Stalker 2, as this thread was taught across the preview build I played, offering much friction to everything it touched.

The action is a perfect example. Ammo is limited and guns hurt. They hurt a lot. You’ll die quickly if you get caught out against even a few enemies, so you’ve got to slow it down. Sometimes a fight might not be worth taking, and the game isn’t shy about rubbing your nose in it. You are confronted with the brutish nature of Stalker within the first 15 minutes, and it doesn’t let up.

I liked this a lot. Having to really think about what I should do, coming across side quests and having to seriously think about whether or not I should even bother – it’s immersive, it’s desperate, and it’s great. There’s one mission where a Stalker asks you to grab his brother’s corpse from a patch of land swarming with anomalies that can kill you in a snap. I was low on healing items and it seemed like a pain, so I walked away. Elsewhere, I gave a precious family relic to an NPC instead of the quest-giver I was probably supposed to return to, and got a sick gun that I couldn’t even afford to repair. Stalker 2 is wonderfully adept at acclimating you into its world, whether you like it or not.

Bringing the player back to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, GSC Game World paints a picture of an alternate-universe Ukraine that’s ruined and pillaged. Desolate roads link together ramshackle settlements and acrid smoke rising off burning trees conjures a rancid landscape filled with danger. It’s an oppressive game. It’s not “fun” to look around Stalker 2, but you find yourself exploring out of a morbid sense of curiosity and necessity. You can’t sit in town all day, and sooner or later you need to push yourself into a world that clearly doesn’t want you there. GSC World has meets the bar set by older, beloved entries in the series – and even surpasses it, in some aspects.

I was initially worried going into this preview because I had played Stalker 2 before, during Summer Game Fest. I really didn’t like it then, and as I trekked through the tutorial again I still think it’s a bit naff. Thankfully, though, Stalker 2 really comes into its own when the world opens up and you’re free to explore, but as far as on-boarding and first impressions go, it could be a bit better. Power through the 30-minute barrier, though, and there’s some real gold waiting for you. I guess no-one ever feels good when they’re first deployed, ey?

Stalker 2 is not without its problems. The preview build is buggy, with glitches ranging from Bethesda-level quirkiness to more serious momentum killers. I had a quest giver get stuck in combat mode, even after I killed the lads shooting at him. I managed to make the game crash by selling spare guns too fast. I was told the devs are working on this. Considering half the team is working remote from Ukraine right now, whilst a war is going on around them, I have sympathy and I can forgive these glitches – but it might be worth keeping in mind as the full release approaches.

Stalker fans will know what they’re getting into here, but for laypeople not familiar with the series, I struggle to explain what you’re getting into here. I guess you could explain it like this: Fallout 3 or Fallout 4 is a ‘quirky’ bomber jacket covered in patches and enamel pins, and Stalker 2 more a weathered leather jacket, sewn up where it’s ripped, sporting miscellaneous stains, and hiding a well-used hip flask.

Stalker 2 has got some scars on it, it’s not the prettiest thing in the world, and sometimes you think it’s barely managing to stay patched together, but, goddamnm, it’s damn cool.

Gun-toting, survival-driven, hardcore gamers, this is one to keep an eye out for, without a doubt.

The preview was written based on a Stalker 2 preview build at GSC World Offices. Travel and accomodation was paid for by the publisher.