Despite the so-so reception, Stalker 2 is killing it on Steam, setting new series records
Stalker fans clearly showed up for Stalker 2 on day one, despite all the bugs, progression-blocking issues and the tepid critical reception.
After what felt like over a decade of waiting - probably because it really has been - Stalker 2 has officially been released. The game’s developer, GSC Game World, triumphed over a global pandemic, and the need to move out of a their home country of Ukraine following the (still ongoing) invasion by neighbouring Russia.
The fact that we have a - mostly - functioning game at all is a miracle, which seems to be the sentiment most Steam players share.
Following its release yesterday, Stalker 2 quickly climbed to Steam’s chart of most played games. The game peaked at 113,587 concurrent players (via SteamDB), making it one of Steam’s biggest launches in 2024. It’s even likely those numbers will get another bump over the weekend.
Without question, these figures are orders of magnitude higher than any of the earlier Stalker games, though considering how old they are, it would be quite disappointing if Heart of Chornobyl landed anywhere close to that.
In our review, Connor Makar awarded Stalker 2 four stars, calling it “an excellent work of struggle and loneliness, even if it is plagued by bugs.” That sentiment was also reflected in every other review, many of which were a little more critical of the game, causing it to land a 77 average on OpenCritic.
While plenty of the user reviews on Steam acknowledge the various critical and technical issues, the overall rating landed on Very Positive, as over 81% of user reviews are, well, positive. Generally speaking, everyone appears to be enjoying their time, while they wait on the inevitable list of mods to add features, and fix some of the more glaring issues with the launch build.
Whether you’re happy to venture into the Zone right now, or you're waiting on a few patches and mods before committing some time to the experience, our Stalker 2 guides will make for a faithful companion. You should definitely learn how to increase your carry capacity early, what artificats are and where to find them, and how to deal with anomalies. You should probably also learn how to repair your weapons (because they constantly jam) and how to upgrade them.