The Decade’s Most Immersive Shooter Just Dropped On PlayStation 5
Visit the scenic Zone.
There are dozens of first-person shooters vying for your attention in 2025, from competitive live service titles to violent power fantasies that harken back to the genre’s earliest days, but few hit quite like GSC Game World’s flawed masterpiece, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It takes aspects common to modern open-world games, like exploration and tense firefights, then turns the intensity all the way up, creating the bleak but compelling feeling that you’re surviving by the skin of your teeth. Now that Stalker 2 finally hit the PlayStation 5, it’s the perfect time to jump in.
As the name suggests, Stalker 2 is a sequel to the 2007 cult classic Stalker: Shadow of Chornobyl. Loosely based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s science fiction novel Roadside Picnic (and the 1979 Andre Tarkovsky film adaptation, Stalker), these games are about surviving the harsh aftermath of a second, fictional Chornobyl crisis. You play as a Stalker, someone who explores the deadly Exclusion Zone in the hope of finding monetary gain.
What makes the Zone so terrifying isn’t just the competition of other lawless glory-seekers, but the many resilient, radioactive creatures that roam these forgotten lands, and the nuclear anomalies that seem to break the fabric of reality. Everything in the Exclusion Zone is trying to take your life, and it's up to you to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Players improve their odds by scavenging for weapons and ammunition to defend themselves, and food and water for sustenance. They must also keep their equipment in good shape and manage their injuries, and this loop of incremental self-improvement forms the backbone of the experience.
On the surface, Stalker 2 isn’t too different from franchises like Fallout and Far Cry, where you’re exploring a vast land and growing more capable as you stumble onto better equipment. But while those games revel in making the player feel powerful, Stalker 2 is all about making you feel the burden of survival. Getting shot three or four times is enough to end a run, and the best course of action, particularly at the start of the game, is to pick your battles carefully.
Stalker 2’s steady stream of updates has made it a far better experience than it was at launch.
As well as the game nails this, it's no secret that Stalker 2 launched in a troubled state. As much fun as it was a year ago, reviews, including ours, docked it for its many glitches and bugs. While the game’s issues are understandable, given that it was developed in a country currently being invaded, it was not a title for the impatient.
A year removed from this troubled launch, however, Stalker 2 plays much better than it did. The game has received thousands of bug fixes, including improvements to crucial features like the lauded A-Life AI tech that makes NPCs both friendly and hostile feel more real.
The game has also received significant additions. September’s Night of the Hunter update, for example, gave players night vision goggles, adding a new kind of combat dynamic. Scavenging at night gives players more natural cover, but also brings the risks of bumping into other Stalkers on the prowl.
And right in time for the PlayStation 5 release is the Expedition update, which adds a new, harder difficulty mode and improved stealth that accounts for hiding in shrubbery and vegetation. The new expedition toggle also allows players to limit saving to camps scattered around the world, making exploration all the more risky for the masochists among you.
In addition to a year’s worth of features and fixes, the PlayStation 5 version comes with a handful of exclusive additions. The game takes advantage of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers, letting you feel your weapons’ kickback, while the motion controls can be used to help with aiming. Most importantly, those with a PS5 Pro can play a more stable version of the game with extra visual improvements, like better reflections and fog.
Stalker 2 is one of the most unique shooters out there, and its steady string of updates suggests that the future of the game is bright. Players looking for an FPS that isn’t afraid to kick them in the butt should check it out.
