After several delays, the highly anticipated post-apocalyptic survival game, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, is finally releasing this Wednesday, November 20th. The game takes players into a refreshed Chornobyl Zone, aiming to deliver a more immersive and content-rich gameplay experience than its predecessor.

The Chornobyl Zone in Stalker 2 blends real and fictional locations, inspired by the Chornobyl disaster and its aftermath. Pripyat is a real city, originally built to house workers for the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It was abandoned after the 1986 disaster and is very realistically recreated in the game by the developers. Zaton is a fictional area—a swampy wasteland filled with rusting, radioactive ships. This place is the location for the main stalker base, “Sultansk,” which was once called “Skadovsk.” Duga is based on a real structure known as the Duga radar system. This Cold War-era early warning system was designed to detect missile strikes and is now a well-known abandoned relic in real life. The Red Fortress is not a real place, but it is inspired by the actual Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It is located near the unfinished 5th and 6th reactor blocks and serves as a stronghold for Monolith forces.

The world of Stalker 2 is a dangerous and deadly place, filled with various factions, mutants, bandits, and mercenaries. The Monolith cult is an aggressive group of fanatics located at the heart of the Zone, hostile to other stalkers. Duty, the largest faction, aims to take control of the Zone and destroy it, using force to eliminate mutants, opposing factions, and anyone exploiting the Zone. In contrast, the Freedom clan fights for free access to the Zone, believing no one should control it. Bandits will attack you to loot your gear and supplies, and you never know whose bullet might strike as you travel through the Zone. Mutants, like Psydogs and Irradiated Deer, can cause hallucinations and confusion, while Bloodsuckers, with their deadly attacks, leave you little chance to escape if you encounter them.

The arsenal in Stalker 2 ranges from pistols, shotguns, and machine guns to rifles, grenades, and rocket launchers, which can be found or bought. Maintaining your weapons is crucial, as they wear down over time and may malfunction when you need them most. You can monitor their condition through your inventory to know when repairs are necessary. Technicians not only handle repairs but can also upgrade your gear to match your combat style and enhance various weapon features. Surviving your expeditions in Chornobyl, filled with mutants and hostile factions, largely depends on the effectiveness of your weapons and ammunition. However, weapons and ammo add weight, slowing you down and making you an easier target if you’re overloaded. So, careful inventory management is essential to balance firepower and mobility for the best chance of survival.

Artifacts are highly valuable in the Stalker 2 world, drawing stalkers like you to the dangerous, radiation-filled Chornobyl region full of mutants. These rare relics form within anomalies, like gravitational fields, electromagnetic pulses, or zones of extreme heat. Each anomaly type spawns different artifacts with unique effects. Artifacts can boost abilities like health regeneration, endurance, or protection against hazards but often have downsides, such as increased radiation exposure or slower stamina recovery. For example, “Soul” and “Kolobok” artifacts help with health regeneration but emit radiation, so you’ll need anti-radiation drugs or other artifacts to counteract this. They are also valuable for trade, providing money to buy better armor, weapons, and upgrades to improve your survival chances.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is available on Steam, Xbox Game Pass, Epic Games, and GOG.