Summary
Updates and new reveals are currently flooding out of Gamescom 2024, and an exclusiveSTALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyldemo from the event has just confirmed the game will run at 60 FPS. Developer GSC Game World’s playable demo for the atmospheric first-person shooter has received positive feedback, which is music to the ears of theSTALKER 2community that’s itching to dive in.
It’s no secret that theCall of Pripyatsuccessor has trudged a long development road. Nevertheless, a November 20 release date has been locked in over a decade from its intended 2012 release. After four major delays, there are a few reasons whySTALKER 2’s Q4 2024 launch date is risky, one being the debut of other heavyweight titles within the same window, includingDragon Age: The VeilguardandAssassin’s Creed Shadows.
Digital Foundry’s John Linneman posted a summary of his experience on social media after playing theSTALKER 2demo at Gamescom. Highlighting the shooter’s “great image quality” and other technical feats, followers of the host were keen to know more about the game’s frame rate. One Twitter user asked whether the game currently has a 60 FPS mode, to which Linneman responded, “That’s the only mode it has,” confirmingSTALKER 2will be locked in at 60 FPS. Additionally, it was noted that the developer has both PC and Xbox Series X demos running at the event.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s 60 FPS Is the Only Performance Option
Despite the demo’s praise, fans were still baffled bySTALKER 2’s long journey to launchand seemed concerned by the developer’s never-ending drive to “polish” the game. Given the extra development time, other members of theSTALKERcommunity wanted to know if the gameplay’s fluidity had improved from last year’s “muted” demo. Contrasting Linneman’s feedback, another Gamescom attendee reported “frequent loading stutters” and “weird bugs” on the Xbox version, which rendered it a disappointing experience.
OtherSTALKERfans were excited to welcome back the unique tone and atmosphere of Ukraine’s alternate Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where players will follow the mysterious stalker, Skif, two decades after the radioactive disaster. Even thoughSTALKER 2will miss October’s spooky season, several horror games are in the pipeline to whet the community’s appetite for its November release, such as theSilent Hill 2andUntil Dawnremakes.
With only three months left until release day, GSC Game World is dialing up the game’s marketing, and the team recently showcasedSTALKER 2’s extensive developer deep-dive video. There were several key elements to take away from the feature, including the return of the franchise’s AI system A-Life, The Zone’s eye-widening open world, and a variety of enemy types on offer, all of which have gripped a community that’s waited 15 years for the arrival ofSTALKER’s fourth entry.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Chornobyl Exclusion Zone has changed dramatically after the second massive explosion in year 2006. Violent mutants, deadly anomalies, warring factions have made the Zone a very tough place to survive. Nevertheless, artifacts of unbelievable value attracted many people called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, who entered the Zone for their own risk striving to make a fortune out of it or even to find the Truth concealed in the Heart of Chornobyl.EPIC NONLINEAR STORY IN SEAMLESS OPEN WORLDTake over a role of the lone stalker and explore photorealistic seamless open world in a 64-km² radioactive zone with a variety of environments that reveal post-apocalyptic atmosphere from different angles. Make your way through the Zone to define your destiny as you choose your paths within highly branching epic story.VARIETY OF ENEMIES AND HUNDREDS OF WEAPON COMBINATIONSMeet members of different factions deciding who of them worth your friendship and who deserve a bullet. Engage intense gunfights with a variety of enemies that follow different tactics trying to outsmart you. Choose your preferable firearms from 30+ types of weapons with numerous modifications that allow creating hundreds of distinctive lethal combinations.
