“With ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine, and war in Ukraine, it is hard for us,” technical producer Yevhenii Kulyk told me at this year’s Gamescom. “A lot of our colleagues are still working under the rocket strikes [and] sirens. Some are joining the military to protect their homes.”
Kulyk spoke of the studio’s gratitude for the outpouring of support they’ve received from the video game community and the wider world adding that now, the GSC Game World team was ready to prove that a Ukrainian studio could create a game ready to make a major impact on the world’s stage.
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Having been hands-on with the game for around 30 minutes myself, I’m already very confident that GSC Game World has done just that. It’s always been clear thatS.T.A.L.K.E.R 2is going to be a major improvement upon its predecessor given that the previous instalment launched in 2009 but even if you put the technical advancements aside,S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2is shaping up to be a triumphant return that’s been crafted with both new and returning players in mind.
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In the opening, you’ll face off against a couple of enemies - both human and non-human - whilst placing a scanner at three designated sites. I’m hesitant to reveal too much but your efforts suddenly come to a halt which is where my demo ended. The gameplay mechanics are nicely introduced to you in the normal tutorial manner. You’ll learn to jump, run, crouch, and so on.
Credit / GSC Game World
S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2doesn’t totally hold your hand though. I’m not ashamed to admit that I died upon encountering the first enemy in the game. It took me a second attempt to realise that, hey, perhaps my small pistol isn’t enough to outdo this particular creature. That rifle I looted earlier might instead be the thing to do the job. This sense of trial and error felt right. I didn’t want the game to spell the answer out for me, and given thatS.T.A.L.K.E.R 2has a built in auto-save, you’ll never revert too far back should you die an unexpected death.
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For those who are familiar with the franchise’s basic concepts though, Kulyk told me this enticing tidbit: “One key difference between the original, first of all, is that we have several really big locations.” Players will now be able to travel through several regions in a map that spans around 40 square miles. “There are almost no barriers,” Kulyk added. “You can explore 20 regions that are very different from one other.”
This isn’t a typical take on beauty. The Exclusion Zone is overgrown and decayed, but that offers its own kind of beauty: the idea of nature reclaiming what rightfully belongs to it. When you add in a sense of isolation too, suddenly the wind whistling through a swathe of tall grass or the groan of a collapsing metal structure is enough to send a powerful shudder down your spine.
It’s something Kulyk was excited to talk about. “This is my favourite question,” he told me when I asked about the process of crafting this sense of atmosphere. “[It] was one of the biggest challenges for us because one of our main missions is to preserve the atmosphere of the original game. But we’re learning all the time too.”
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Credit / GSC Game World
“It may seem that nothing happens during your travels, but then maybe something happens right next to you,” Kulyk explained. “You can’t always be prepared for danger. You might not always see the danger coming. There will be a lot of challenges like that. I think players will enjoy that aspect.”
“We really love and are thankful for our modding community,” Kulyk said. “We’re excited to see what’s going to happen withS.T.A.L.K.E.R 2[..] We are providing support for the community and will be using some different tools to provide them with the means to create everything they want to do.”
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Topics:Xbox,PC,Preview
