The First S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Game In 15 Years Released Today - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

Update: I've played 4hrs30mins of the Day1 patch version of the game and the A-Life continues to have the same issues I brought up in the video. They don't spawn as close (like 10m behind) but they still spawn 50m behind which is pretty disappointing and I was able to observe they were spawning because they simply weren't in my FOV.

Basically: The game spawns AI right beside you to force encounters at the moment. I'd like for this to extend to much further ranges like 200-300m so that the zone feels more alive independent of the player, like the OG games.

I’ve been looking a lot of ai videos of random game footage and I was thinking what if you did that but with stalker??? In real time???
Imagine an ai changes random visual effects and perspectives when you interact with anomalies. Basically, when you get close to an anomaly, this AI-driven overlay kicks in and distorts reality around you in real-time. The screen flickers with surreal colors, time starts glitching, and the world around you warps—walls stretch, objects get closer or farther than they should be, and the textures go all blurry or stretched. The longer you stay near the anomaly, the more intense it gets, you die so it doesn’t get too complex. The audio would change too, with sounds becoming muffled, dissonant, or weird background noises like whispers or hums. It’d be like walking through a dream, where reality is slowly breaking apart. This would add a whole new layer of tension and terror to the anomalies, making them feel way more unpredictable and dangerous. Would be a cool way to enhance the already eerie atmosphere of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. without changing the core gameplay—just adding an extra layer of psychological horror. It would be hard to run, but that’s why these effects would be streamed into the game from a separate supercomputer running the AI, offloading the processing and letting the game stay smooth while the visual and audio effects are dynamically generated in real-time. Would make the game feel like it’s constantly reacting to you in ways that feel way more alive and immersive! Hell even the human enemies randomly yelling insults and expletives during combat could begenerated by an AI in real-time if the computer was strong enough. Instead of having complex dialogue that could alter too much of what’s happening, the AI would trigger short, random insults or curses that feel natural based on the situation. For example, if an enemy spots you or gets hit, they could shout something like "Get over here, bastard!" or "Die, you freak!" in Russian. These insults would be simple and could change depending on the context, like when you're near an anomaly or if they’re losing the fight. The key here is to keep it lightweight so the AI doesn’t cause lag or strain the system, making the dialogue feel immersive without adding unnecessary complexity. The goal is to make enemies feel more reactive and alive without overloading the main computer, creating a more tense and engaging atmosphere. It definitely won’t work yet and I know that, but maybe one day…

I thought both Duty and Freedom were in Rostok but they kept to separate sides where 100 rads was in neutral territory.

I have died 38 times since I jumped on and im loving every second of it

Looks like a decent base for a game, i’ll probably play in 2 years when it’s got a bunch of mods, and a bunch of bugs to get patched, then it’ll be perfect.

Apparently you need a nasa computer to run this... Tried it on my 5700x/4060ti/32gb-Ram pc and it had the worst input lag ive ever felt... And then the game would keep dropping to like 10 fps.. Even on low settings.. smh

i cant wait for sidrovich to rip me off

I'm not going to watch this video as i have been avoiding all spoilers(ive only watched the trailers) and i still have 1 month left before i get my new PC to enjoy this and Tarkov, i will leave a like though, Goodluck Stalker.

Bro there's malfunctions??

i cant wait for someone to somehow merge this with Stalker Anomaly and somehow create the most insane Stalker Mega Map sandbox

It looks like everything i wanted! I expected A Life to be a bit disappointing but that can be fixed. Knowing youve still put the hrs in is enough to know it'll still be a fun game

finished stalker 2, now i wait for GAMMA 2.0

I wish I could run it like this, it looks so amazing. I'm running on low graphics at the moment between 40 to 60 fps

YEAHHHHH

Inventory management is a nightmare
Max weight is way too low
flashlights feel useless beyond a few meters
Optimization is nonexistent

Classic eurojank but nonetheless it’s OG stalker with the same issues

your video bitrate is sooo low

OH god seeing barely 60fps on a freaking 1080ti in 1080p on low makes my wallet hurt. I barely have power to run tarkov on low to medium settings ;-------------;

In Germany we call the Diggerthing: Schaufelradbagger (Schaufel_Rad_Bagger)

Can't say I've encountered any bugs so far. Only played for 7h though. Really great sequel!

Good hunting stalkers.

no freaking way you call this unfinished buggy mess goty?

God damn the game looks good, unironically made my heart flutter with how good it is. Or I’m having heart palpitations and a heart attack.

WHAAAAATTTT

"..i don't want to eat the sausage, .i don't want to eat the sausage..." 😂😂😂😂

Sure wish I could attain any sense of immersion. The reliance on frame generation for any sort of okay performance leaves me kinda sad..

yawn, call of duty heart of chernobyl. Anomaly together (actual co-op multiplayer) dropped on the 11th, that is far more important than GSC butchering their own IP and engine.

Anyone else have a stick drift problem on Xbox/controller? It's really bad, and they didn't add a dead zone slider

bad dog

Was in Ukraine this summer. I would watch your Stalker videos on my train rides across the country, and even during air raids at night. Your videos were relaxing to watch for and felt like it fit the situation haha

Happy to see this game finally come out. I use to drink the Stalker themed Non-Stop energy drinks all the time while I was there.

We got S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 before
we got GTA 6!

while this could be because while the game says it has ultrawide support, but it doesnt actually, the gunplay somehow feels worse than stalker anomaly. but like i said, it could be because im on a ultrawide monitor, and as of now, it doesnt have ultrawide support. the ultrawide mode just cuts off the top and bottom of the screen and zooms in and stretches the sides, so the wonky resolution/aspect ratio makes it so the mouse acts weird, so that could be why the combat feels so bad. but only time will tell after they fix the ultrawide mode.

hey drewski! i'm a ps5 player, and this game isn't out for me, and no guaruntee it ever will be, but i still think this game looks awesome, so what other stalker game would you recommend i play first?

could sworn flesh hides where is SoC

"invaded"... sick of hearing that. more like "responded to".
nice looking REMAKE!! btw

Just wait till we get stalker GAMMA 2

I have it downloaded and ready to play but won't until there's an infinite daytime mod lmao Im a pussy

cant wait to see more stalker

The voice acting is kinda meh. I wish they used russians speaking english or ukrainian.

The ai life thing is what made the old games great. I hope that they fix it or modding can fix it

The only thing I hate is the English dub is done by Americans wish the English version was atleast done with a Ukrainian accent.

Hiden load screen through the house that leads to the waste from rostok

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like it'd be better if the English was Slavic-accented, rather than.. Bri'ish. It just absolutely demolishes any immersion when everyone speaks perfect clear English like they're BBC news presenters or something.

so nothing new compared to the pirated build that came up years ago, just tweaked graphics

I wish I could watch this drew but I gotta play it first, be back in like six months

I’ve played for 10 hours today, and I gotta say, it’s just a vibe. It’s a “we are back in the zone boys” vibe. God it feels good to be back