The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series has long been a cult favourite in the game world. It combines post-apocalyptic survival with a distinctively Ukrainian depiction of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. After a fifteen-year wait, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl emerges not just as a game but also as a testimony to human resilience—both in its story and its creation.

The road that Gsc Game World took to build this game reads like an epic survival story. Despite a global pandemic, a terrible office fire, constant hacking attempts, and, eventually, a full-fledged war in Ukraine, the engineers refused to let their vision die. What evolved was more than just a game; it was a phoenix rising from exceptional conditions.

Set in a painstakingly designed 60-square-kilometre open world, the game puts players in the shoes of Skif, a lone Stalker navigating the hazardous, mutant-infested landscape of an alternate Chornobyl.