Stalker 2 is the most highly anticipated PC game according to the recent PC Gaming Show, which isn’t all that surprising. We also got a look at the game’s brand-new trailer, revealing the return of Strider from Call of Pripyat. The FPS sequel has had fans chomping at the bit for new information and teasers since GSC Game World first announced it back in 2010. GSC’s dissolution canceled that initial iteration of Stalker 2, but the developer later reformed and then revealed Heart of Chornobyl in 2018.
It has been a good few years since that fateful reveal, making this new Stalker 2 trailer especially exciting. We see a familiar face from the FPS game series make a comeback, and enter the psyche of a Monolith soldier refusing to succumb to manipulation following the events seen in Stalker 1. We also get a new glance at Heart of Chornobyl’s stunning animations and the sheer quality of GSC’s game design thus far.
During our Stalker 2 Gamescom preview, we had the privilege to get a first-hand experience with the upcoming shooter’s difficulty and a feel of its overall gameplay. Its world proved beautifully dreary, with the grim Fallout-esque aesthetic we know and love from the original. We didn’t see as much of the lore play out though, which is what the latest trailer draws on. You see Strider shown there, although you may not recognize him right away.
There seems to be no remaining semblance of his Monolith past within him, and his appearance in the Heart of Chornobyl trailer gives us a good idea of how the new game fits into the Stalker timeline. It’s obviously a good while after the events in Call of Pripyat, canonizing the ending in which he survives, recruited into Duty or the anarchist group Freedom.
Ahead of the Stalker 2 release date, it would be cool to see Cardan and Nitro, or other beloved characters return alongside Strider. If you can recall, CoP’s better ending saw the ex-Monolith fighter survive and pull together a team of fellow veteran stalkers. It shows Cardan and Nitro reunited, running a workshop together. Anything is possible, as GSC reveals it’s the “biggest and most complex” Stalker experience yet.
While you wait to learn more about Heart of Chornobyl, check out a few of our favorite horror games if you enjoy Sralker’s chills and thrills. If you want to play through something with more of a futuristic feel, you can also browse through our roundup of the best apocalypse games out there.
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