Cheeki Breeki! S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 announced, what can we expect?

With the power of a thousand nuclear power plants, the announcement of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 caught everyone by surprise. The cult series is finally getting a true sequel. Again.

Yes, again. In case you didn’t know, there was a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 in development, but it was canceled in 2012 after several issues and this led to the closure of developer GSC Game World. The Ukranian studio returned in 2014 and is now back to its biggest love: The Zone. There is very little that we know about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, and the only real bit of into that we officially have is the release date: 2021. Obviously, GSC should once again handle development duties, and everything is pointing to Unreal Engine 4 as being the chosen engine for this game. How come, you ask? See here.

Sergey Galyonkin is the creator of Steam Spy and works for Epic Games. He confirmed that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is indeed real and he is clearly hinting (“guess the engine, lol”) at the fact that Unreal Engine 4 is being used in the game.

The official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 website is currently empty, so now it’s up to us to come up with some conjectures about what the game is all about. After all, we have a few years to kill, so why not?

Chernobyl again?

First and foremost, the current GSC Game World team is something of a mystery. When the studio was dissolved in 2012, part of it went on to develop Survarium, while other part of the staff is creating the successful Metro series. It is said that a few of them went on to Battlestate Games, currently developing Escape from Tarkov. It’s no coincidence that these three games (the third Metro game, Exodus is in fact coming early 2019) show some palpable similarities to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Just how talented is the current GSC team is anyone’s guess, and just how much they know and respect the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is also up in the air.

The chosen setting is, in my opinion, what every S.T.AL.K.E.R. fan is wondering about right now. Would it make sense to take the game to a completely different location, far from the iconic landmarks seen in Pripyat and Chernobyl? On the other hand, a drastic change in the environment could feel necessary and refreshing to some, adding a much-needed element of surprise to the regions. After all, unless S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is some sort of reboot, the series needs to move on and offer new thrills. Is the Chernobyl zone still capable of holding enough surprises to warrant a full game?

It’s not that I wouldn’t go on another familiar radioactive trip; but the thing is, with all the high-quality fan mods (Misery, Lost Alpha…) that have been released for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. over the years, some of them pushing the graphical fidelity to today’s standards… maybe, just maybe, the series needs to find a new home. Give us something new, equally exciting, but different. Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry are good examples of franchises that manage to maintain its essence intact for every opus while changing locations with – mostly – positive results.

So, you want one example? Fine. How about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 being set in Siberia, in the wake of the (Tunguska event)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event]? There would be plenty of excuses for anomalies and mutations, surely.

No multiplayer Battle Royale crap, thank you

My biggest fear involving S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is directly tied to one of the current gaming trends: multiplayer, and in particular Battle Royale. There will be hell to pay if GSC Game World’s suits decided, for some reason, to make the focus of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 some sort of ludicrous online mode. There’s Survarium for that already, and it’s not doing that great either – a clear sign that this isn’t what S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans want. In fact, no multiplayer modes would be a blessing in disguise – just focus on a terrific single player experience, as these are far from dead and in fact have quite an impressive following. At worst, do something like Escape from Tarkov, with its hybrid MMO mechanics, but only if you must.

So, what do S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans such as myself really want from this sequel? Essentially, to keep the mechanics that made the first game so special, but with an added layer of polish as to make it past the cult following and into mainstream hit territory. This basically means that some sort of open world is mandatory – although I understand if they must keep the different areas separated by short loading screens –, and a convincing display of AI, both for human characters and animals. Fauna and flora should also play a relevant part in the environment, and in this regard, I request… I mean, I demand that GSC – and other studios, for that matter – to kindly study Far Cry 2 and its still revolutionary nature physics. There’s nothing quite like it after all these years.

2021 is a long way off and it’s odd that GSC decided to announce S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 so early. The announcement was greeted with joy only to leave a somewhat sour taste in our mouths, as the wait promises to be painful. Three years, and I’m not even counting a highly likely delay or two, something that isn’t unusual for this series. Won’t Unreal Engine 5 be available by then?

Anyway, these are just some wild guesses on what S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 could be or needs to avoid as to not disappoint millions of fans worldwide. The developers surely have quite some time to make things work, so let’s hope that this is the real thing. What do you think S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 could feature and just how hyped are you for this game?

I’ll leave you with a reaction video from my great friend Taryn aka WTFSexyHeadphones, one of the biggest S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans around.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 links:
Official website: https://www.stalker2.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gscgameworld/posts/1553747478066902

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