We've Got Our First Looks At The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Sequel, 13 Years After The Original's Release

Gametime

We’ve Got Our First Looks At The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Sequel, 13 Years After The Original’s Release

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is officially a thing, and I did not know about it. They announced this quite a while back it seems, and I guess I’ve been living under a rock for the longest time. Guess I’ve been out of touch with the STALKER franchise, a game that released in 2007, so maybe I’m excused.

But anyway, the reason we’re talking about this now is because the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Twitter tweeted out a first glimpse of the game. It wasn’t much, but it’s at the very least an update to the production of the game. Considering the fact that the game actually was announced in 2010, but was shutdown in 2012, it’s warranted. They restarted the game’s production back in 2018, with a scheduled release date in 2021.

Dear Stalkers,

Here is your first glimpse at S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: pic.twitter.com/HGOixm11M7

— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) March 23, 2020

They showed off this look in-game, which admittedly, doesn’t show much, but like I said, better than nothing. The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl released in 2007, and is set in a world after the world’s worst nuclear disaster, Chernobyl melted down.

The game’s universe is created in a world where the nuclear fallout resulted in mutations, radiation, anomalies and deadly creatures. There’s also a group of people, known as STALKERS, who are essentially mercs, all with their own agendas and goals. Meaning, they could be your best friend, or your worst enemy.

One of the highly acclaimed features to the game were the AI-controlled factions, which was revolutionary for the time. That being said, let’s wait and see if they’re bringing it back and expanding upon it in their sequel.

The game is similar to other post-apocalyptic games like the Metro or Fallout franchises. Metro has delivered with their latest game, Metro Exodus, but Fallout’s latest iteration, Fallout 76 was sorely lacking. Hopefully, we can quench the thirst for a post-apocalyptic nuclear fallout setting with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. Truth is, I missed the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, most probably because I was 11 in 2007.

So I’m looking forward to hearing more about the game because I’m looking to jump aboard the hype train. Hopefully, it’s a refined game with relevance in 2021, considering the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game released in essentially another era. It has to be a modern, updated game mechanically, without losing the essence of what the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise is about. Let’s see if they’re able to strike that balance to create something truly unique.