S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl

Continuation of the popular trilogy of shooters about the Chernobyl exclusion zone, filled with mutants, anomalies, and secret laboratories. More than 10 years later, players will revisit familiar and new locations to prevent the Zone from expanding further, in the name of saving humanity.

Plot

Very little is known about the plot at this time. The main character of the story will be a stalker nicknamed Skif, a unique veteran of the Zone. The events will take place more than five years after the end of the original trilogy, and the Zone will become a serious threat to the whole world.

The plot promises to be branching, with most player decisions influencing both the game's surrounding world and specific characters. The hero and his partners have found a way to change the Zone, and if they cannot destroy it, they will definitely be able to stop its growth.

The exact duration of the main storyline and all side missions is unknown, but the developers say it will be quite long. Players will get to know not only new legends of the Zone but also meet characters familiar from previous games.

Game trailer

Gameplay

As before, we can expect a shooter with elements of horror and exploration, weapon customization, and artifact collection. The conflict in the Zone will take place between factions. Within the factions, there will be ranks, and by joining one of them, the character will develop as they complete the leaders' missions.

The mechanics of artifact searching have been significantly improved, but it will remain recognizable to all who played Call of Pripyat. We take a detector and head into the field of anomalies. When approaching an artifact, corresponding sound signals will be received, after which it can be localized and raised. When equipped with an artifact, it will have both positive and negative properties, from faster health regeneration to increased vulnerability to radiation.

All known mutants from flesh to bloodsucker will receive updated appearances, as well as new mutants, such as "Bayun," a cat capable of imitating human speech, luring inexperienced stalkers into a trap.

The arsenal of available weapons will be impressive, and every encountered model can be customized externally. This will allow players to create the perfect gun for different conditions, from sniper battles to fighting Pseudogiants. Vehicles will not appear in the game, but some analogue of the fast travel system is expected.

Open World

The developers promise an open world of the exclusion zone, with an area of 64 square kilometers. The locations will have an authentic look, semi-destroyed, abandoned villages, overgrown Red Forest, and much more.

Players will visit both familiar and entirely new locations. The trailer already demonstrated the Noob Village on the Cordon, the Marsh church, and the Brain Scorcher. Among the new locations, underground laboratories, a military town near Chernobyl, and incomplete nuclear power plant blocks are expected.

According to the developers, exploring the world alone can take hundreds of hours. There will be no transport in the game, but some analogue of the fast travel system is expected.

The Zone has undergone many changes in recent years, with vegetation becoming denser, and recent emissions leading to the emergence of new, more dangerous and unpredictable anomalies. The atmosphere will be just as bleak as in the original game, and players will travel from safer locations to the heart of the Zone, where mutants and enemies will be much more serious.