After many years of delays,Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobylfinally takes players back to the Zone. This hotbed of chaos is filled with radiation, mutants, and outlaws after a nuclear disaster, making the entire area one of the most dangerous locations on Earth. However, with great risk comes great rewards as people start venturing to the Zone in search of wealth, freedom, and power.
Stalker 2 challenges the player’s abilities to survive hunger, thirst, and attacks from other humans. With realistic gunplay and limited supplies, this game keeps you on your toes as you make decisions that let you see another day. However, if you’ve finished Stalker 2 already and want games that will deliver similar thrills, here are a few to hop on to next.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a good entry point if you’ve been looking at the Stalker franchise for a while. However, if you want to experience where it all began, then Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl will give you plenty of additional lore and mysteries to discover as you take the role of “The Marked One.”
Your mission is to locate a target named Sterlok while exploring abandoned laboratories, fighting mutated creatures, and fending off the outlaws that seek refuge in this Ukrainian fallout zone. Piece together your history, and perhaps you will make it out of the Zone richer than ever before.
Stalker 2 is all about making choices and deciding how you want to tackle combat with your limited ammunition. If you want the same level of choice-making but love the idea of getting into more fights without worrying about supplies, Fallout New Vegas is a must-play.
Ammunition is scarce at first, but as you explore the Nevada wasteland, you will find enough ammunition to blow your enemies away, from powerful explosives to energy weapons. However, you may also use your silver tongue to avoid conflict altogether. Choose who you want to be and what skills you will specialize in.
Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light are excellent games to play if you love Stalker 2. However, Metro Exodus has more similarities to Stalker 2 since it focuses heavily on exploring the radioactive surface of the world rather than sticking close to the underground.
The game starts in the metro system but soon has you hijacking a train and riding it out through the wasteland. This game introduces plenty of new mutants for the Metro franchise as you travel beyond the heart of the motherland and learn how the world has changed since the bombs dropped.
If you love the enemy variety of Stalker 2 and the resource management that comes with picking your fights wisely, Desolate will have you up to your neck with survival choices such as managing hunger and thirst. This game also mixes inelements of the supernaturalthat might jumpscare you out of nowhere as you explore.
Like Stalker 2, this is not a post-apocalyptic game but simply takes place in a highly dangerous zone. This game also offers co-op, so you’re able to explore the island of Granichny with up to four other players.
Atomic Heart is another game in an alternate timeline where things are going terribly wrong.In this dystopian world, the machines are out of control as they have revolted against their human masters. Now, you must track down the source of this infection by fighting through the hoards of AI that were built to make life easier.
Despite being action-oriented, Atomic Heart forces you to think before engaging with enemies. You don’t always have enough bullets and fighting one set of machines can attract more that are nearby. So, like Stalker 2, sometimes stealth is the right answer.
State of Decay 2 offers similar survival mechanics, stealth, and looting opportunities that can pull in a Stalker fan. In thiszombie apocalypse simulator, you play as a survivor who must build a base and constantly enter hostile territory to secure food, building materials, and medicine.
While you can find weapons out in the world, you’ll have to decide if the bullets are worth saving or bringing back to the base. State of Decay 2 also offers mutant zombies that offer more of a challenge. This forces the player to assess the risk before engaging a hoard. Keep in mind that if a survivor is killed, they are gone for good.
Chernobylite and Stalker 2 are both inspired by the real-world Chornobyl disaster. However, while Stalker 2 offers a more realistic experience, Chernobylite offers a more supernatural one with a bit more horror sprinkled in. Sneak around enemies, track the levels of radiation, and try to remember your past.
This game also adds a gameplay mechanic where your character is not accustomed to killing other human beings. So, while it might be necessary to survive, it will also leave a lasting impact that pushes you more toward stealth gameplay.
Generation Zero takes you to Sweden in 1989. Once again,robots are on the loose, and they are hunting you down. This game offers plenty of the same gameplay elements found in Stalker 2, such as stealth and survival.
You don’t always want to tackle threats head-on, as enemies can easily overwhelm you if they spot you. Luckily, there are multiple ways to tackle the robotic menace other than just shooting them with your gun. This is also a great game to play alone or with friends, but the solo gameplay fits Stalker 2’s vibe more as you walk from town to town, hoping that whatever loot you find will make survival easier.
Stalker 2 has plenty of human enemies that randomly show up. They come in groups and must be tackled aggressively or with stealth. This is where Far Cry 6 shares many of the same elements in terms of combat, which feels realistic yet unpredictable.
As you attempt to free Yaran from an oppressive force that has taken over the country, you’ll be helping the rebellion fight back. Enemies are not bullet sponges, so a stealthy headshot could be all you need to stay covert. Just like Stalker 2, this encourages you to plan out how you want to attack, which enemies to go after first, and how to proceed if the fight gets loud.
Escape From Tarkov offers a different gameplay loop than Stalker 2 but has the perfect atmosphere to make you feel like you’re in the same world. In fact, you could even say that this game captures the premise of Stalker without the need for mutants.
You must fight against other player-controlled characters as well as NPC in order to loot some valuable gear and extract it. What makes this so interesting is that every raid comes with a real risk. If you die, you lose whatever items you brought with you. This gives Escape From Tarkova realistic sense of survival, with the player having to weigh their options and what they find to be worth risking.
