S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, released in 2007, became a phenomenon in the post-Soviet space. Its aesthetic resonated with many, helping to accept the supernatural themes the game explored. The prequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, and the sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, expanded the game's universe and lore, while the fans, who fell in love with the series, created a huge number of mods. The series became a cultural touchstone.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was planned to be released in 2012, but the plans were shortly canceled. Rumors of the project being revived appeared in 2018, with the game expected to be released in 2022. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted all plans and significantly impacted the game's framing.

At gamescom 2024, I played the first 45 minutes of the game, and it’s incredible.

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Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl is downright gorgeous, and feels like it's using modern tech to fully realise the atmosphere the first game strove for

How did the situation affect the content of the game? Because I know someone from the team mentioned some time ago that aspects of the situation in Ukraine would somehow be transferred into the game or its story.

Yeah, I wouldn't say it’s in a direct way, right? But let's say you see this poster with the Strider. We showed him last December. And somewhere, some attentive people might have noticed how similar his speech is to some people who were kind of blind to Russian propaganda. They were thinking everything was fine, the invasion didn't exist, nothing was going to happen—but suddenly, the voice of Monolith was gone, right? And they started to see the truth. Sometimes in the game, you will see reflections of our experience. It’s not going to be direct. But within the story, you could catch these motifs, these metaphors, which are the team's way of self-expression.

Can you describe the new AI system and how it has evolved from the original games?

I’d rather describe it through some situations. Let’s say I’m the player and I want to check out what’s happening with the Arch-Anomaly reefs. Remember that huge gravitational anomaly we showed before? You go into the basement underneath the reefs, find a stash, and as you’re leaving, you encounter a Poltergeist. You’re scared and try to run away because you don’t really want to fight it. As you exit, you see A-life spawning a couple of stalkers passing by. They are attracted by the events and see there might be something to loot as well. They enter the Arch-Anomaly. You continue to run away, and the Poltergeist starts chasing you. It notices the stalkers and now targets them. They start fighting each other, but they’re doing it in the dangerous center of the Arch-Anomaly.

At this point, anything may happen. If A-life decides, a bunch of pseudodogs could spawn, and the whole situation could evolve in different ways. You might join the stalkers, defeat the looters, share the loot with them, or simply step aside, observe how they get killed or die in the anomaly, and loot them afterward. In many cases, A-life tries to create a unique experience for you. In short, it shows that you are not the only one living in this Zone.

15 Години STALKER: Call of Pripyat!