Quick Links
At first glance, the appeal ofStalker 2: Heart of Chornobylis adventuring in the Zone, a radioactive quarantine area surrounding the titular nuclear power plant. But there’s more going on there than altered physics and supernatural artifacts. There’s a sprawling plot that touches on things like humanity, survival, and philosophy.
The first Stalker has seen both a prequel and a sequel, fleshing out the lore and story in greater detail. But just how much of that detail is important to your time in Stalker 2? As it turns out, that largely depends on what you care about more in an open-world shooter RPG.
There might be mild spoilers for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl ahead. There will also be some slightly bigger spoilers for the past games, Shadow of Chornobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Prypriat.
Do You Care About The Narrative Most?
Stalker 2 featuresnew factionsto the Zone. Groups like theWard, Noon, and SIRCAA now play major roles in the narrativedevelopment of the game. Despite debuting in Heart of Chornoybl, they’re allstill very entwined with the powers from previous Stalker games. The Ward acts a a military branch specific to the Zone, while SIRCAA is a scientific branch involved with the events of Call of Prypriat. Noon is a faction made up of former Monolithians, even.
The most commonly called-back-to aspect of the past games isthe Monolith.In Stalker 2, little context is given to this group, but a great deal of weight is given to their existence. In short, they were a faction of Stalkers brainwashed into defending a large device of the same name.In previous games, the discovery, lore, and origins of the Monolith were the primary focus of the narrative. While you could piece enough of this together yourself from playing Stalker 2,there’s still a level of context missing from the gameotherwise. Even so, the Monolith plays a major role in Heart of Chornobyl.
If you want to better understand the full picture of the events in the Zone, then playing the previous games will make a big difference.
Do You Care About Gameplay Most?
As engaging as the plot, branching narratives, and faction power struggles are,most of your time in Stalker 2 will be spent exploring the Zone, shooting at enemies, andrunning from mutants. This is something that Heart of Chornobyl expands on wonderfully. The rules of the world are explained to you and you’re given plenty of space to grow familiar with it. While the mutants you can encounter are the same as in previous games,you don’t need to play those games to understand that a monster the size of a golf cart charging toward you is dangerous.
The narrative is isolated enough that you can understand what you’re doing without the context of the other games. The main quest provides enough justification for the gunfightsand anomaly huntsyou’re looking for.
The only things you’ll miss are the names of most mutants. Plenty of NPCs talk about creatures like bloodsuckers, burers, and chimera. But sincethe game itself almost never tells you what the names of the creatures you encounter are. Some are easy enough to guess; the invisible thing throwing objects at you is probably a poltergeist, and the really big one is probably a pseudogiant. But it’s hard to know what to expect when someone starts talking about bayuns and burers.
If you’re not concerned with the grander design and philosophy of the story, then Stalker 2 is a perfect entry point for the series, and you don’t need to play the other games.
