The review embargo for Stalker 2 has officially lifted! Yes, the game is out today on Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and cloud, and we had planned to bring you a review here at Pure Xbox... but we're going to need a bit more time with it.
So far, we've played about 30 hours of Stalker 2 on Xbox Series X, and it's been a rocky experience. Bugs have been a problem during the review period, causing us to occasionally lose progress and quite regularly run into irritating issues.
We haven't finished our review yet for a couple of reasons. The first is that GSC Game World has pushed out two massive updates over the past few days, and we simply haven't had enough time to test them properly yet. The other is that we don't feel like we're anywhere near completing the campaign after 30 hours, so in the interest of providing you with a definitive and clear verdict, we're holding back just a little longer.
You'll still find plenty of other Stalker 2 coverage here at Pure Xbox until it's live though. We've got a review roundup on the way, a comparison of how the game performs across Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, a bunch of guides for things like the best controller settings, and obviously all the most relevant news that we think you'll be interested in.
Thanks for remaining patient with us - we'll bring you our Stalker 2 as soon as we possibly can!
Comments 62
Could you possibly share a few sentences on how it fares on the Series S? Mine is currently cowering in the corner like it's been a bad dog or something in anticipation of running the game.
Fair enough. Although worryingly sounds like another Xbox big game flop could be on the cards. Really need some consistently positive news on Xbox soon we really do! 🙏
Surely you know if the patches have helped the problems as the patches were available yesterday.............just give us it raw is this another crappa lol?
Yikes. I mean, I know you guys have been playing it prior to the patches so that plays a factor, but I hope this game reviews well. This is a game that I feel deserves a win after everything the developer has gone through over the course of several years.
@bowzoid We'll have a performance video soon showing what it's like on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S
@LonR Obviously we've played it a bit since the patches, but nowhere near enough to analyse them properly. Bear with us...
@bowzoid Yeah buddy mine is avoiding eye contact something awful aswell hope it runs well for us on the series s
Going to wait to play this one. Several outlets are all saying it's in a pretty rough state right now. The devs have said it will be fixed in a Day 1 patch, but considering the amount of bugs being reported that seems too much to expect. Want to have the best experience.
Yeah, starting to see the reviews coming online now, all quite positive to be honest, but all commenting on bugs and glitches... 🤔
@MjJmediablogger It's currently a 77 on Opencritic from 28 reviews, which all seem to mention performance and bugs. So I think it's safer to wait on this one, but it doesn't seem like a flop.
SkillUp said right now he cannot recommend it RIGHT NOW as it's simply unfinished, but he hopes he can recommend it later saying:
Eh, I´ll bite the bullet and try it tonight on my series S anyway. Hopefully the worst of it is patched...
@MeanBeanEgg Thats the PC score the XBOX score from 7 reviews is 82 and from what I have read they will score differently due to PC requirements.
All the PC reviews on YT are saying the same ie bugs and glitches etc. General gist is that the game has potential to be a great survival RPG, and whilst it is playable, it's better to wait for a while.
It does seem like the game itself is great, but technical issues are what is holding it back. So, at least the package itself should deliver, once the kinks are ironed out properly. I’m excited to test the game myself.
Developers - please release games when they are ready. This generation is a bit ridiculous at this point. I'm amazed anyone pre orders or buys a game day one unless it's a Sony exclusive and I'm sure even they have to rush out patches early on.
This needs to be good. I can deal with a few bugs here and there, so long as we’re not talking Bethesda ‘can’t play 10mins straight without encountering a game breaking bug’ levels of glitchtitude.
Damn it, so sick of this. At least GSC has an actual excuse I guess.
Was so excited for this, guess I'll just wait again
@mac_da_man Look forward to hearing how you get on!
@themightyant These devs really do need to stop pushing out games when they are not ready. It’s getting ridiculous and is just an insult to gamers. You don’t make people drive a car that has no brakes!
Devs are getting complacent and very lazy and just thinking - let’s push this out and then fix it later.
It’s become a disease in gaming and must stop.
So the release got pushed back till 2025? Okay I guess
Looking good apart from the bugs ign gave it 8.2/10 gamesradar 6/10 but said it's the best game they've played this year just also the most broken game says once the bugs are sorted it will be great so maybe better off waiting but it's gunna be a good one ppl 🙂
Is this going to be a repeat of Cyberpunk?
@MjJmediablogger I just don't understand why they didn't delay it considering the number of really bad bugs. Looking at some of the videos online they are pretty awful and immersion breaking. Even if they think many may be fixed in the day 1 patch the reviews are going to be low as reviewers don't get that patch in time. There's a reason I play many games after a year or two, but I wish I didn't have to just to have a good experience!
@MjJmediablogger I know games are becoming more complex but what happened to QA testing? It's like it doesn't exist anymore or devs don't want to pay for it.
Really hoping this is great but sounds like it is another game coming in hot. Ironic also that Avowed got bumped to February but Microsoft insist that it is finished and ready to go.
I’m sure everyone could have coped with another small delay, just to help the devs get a win.
All this seems perfectly on brand for Stalker game. Every game in the series has been released broken and compromised, but had core to become great following the excessive patching. I would have been surprised if this one was any different.
@themightyant absolutely, I’ll get back to you tonight if I manage an hour or two otherwise in a day or two 🙂
Glad I didn’t pre load it.
But damn this is a bummer. Shame for the devs with everything they have gone through. Perhaps a little delay would have helped.
2 rough releases in 2 days isn’t great
At what point should we mention Phil was touting this as GoTY contender.
Seem par for the course for a Stalker game if you know its history & kind of expected. Given what these devs have gone through its a small miracle its even releasing.
Not going to stop me from playing the heck out of it.
So why not write an honest review now, weighing in the state is was initially delivered in (your review copy)? Waiting till it gets better and writing a review about THAT version only fuels developers to not take launch versions seriously.
Got friends who are loving this on Xbox despite performance issues. If it has cross play then I might get it on PC.
Take your time fellas, give us some good info when you're ready.
According to Jesse at Xbox Era, the game is in much better condition now and if reviewers had gotten the latest version to review, the scores would probably have been different. Still, I'm just going in expecting significant issues that will need further patching.
I'm not surprised by any of this considering the circumstances and the simple fact that it's a S.T.A.L.K.E.R game!
@16BitHero to be fair, they are currently working and living in a war zone. 🤷
@themightyant as I say, it just seems to be laziness. If it’s nit ready then don’t release it!
@Markatron84 I did consider that and I'm mostly upset with Microsoft as they can surely help out in the QA department. I've bought the game to support them anyway and going by the reviews, a few patches down the line and it'll be one of the better games this year.
Games Radar said it was the “best but most broken game all year” and even tho they touted great graphics and atmosphere there biggest con was that it was absolutely riddled with bugs that range from immersion busting to straight game breaking so I have a feeling I’ll be waiting a few patches for this one
Should be sorted just in time for the PS5 release... 🤣
@themightyant
First 20 minutes impression stalker 2 running like a dream not a single thing wrong.
120hz VRR Dolby vision and atmos all working and confirmed by tv.
Performance mode, low motion blurr.
Panning very smooth and clear.
@Fiendish-Beaver Well, that’s no matter because the PS5 is an Xbox.
I’m genuinely curious about this game. Reading that it’s the best but most broken game of the year is like a hook yanking my ear, making me need to see.
I've read a couple of reviews so far and it sounds to be a great game once the bugs are fixed.
I was really looking forward to it so I'll wait a bit till the game breaking bugs are fixed but sounds like the type of game Xbox needed.
Hopefully these patches have helped
@Darude84 these patches released before launch .so if they released a review of what they have been playing ...that won't be a true representation of what we got at launch ACTUALLY
@Dalamar73
My TV gives me full details live as I’m playing.
When I push the right button
Sony A95L tv.
The dam game so far is amazing and smooth as hell.
Not one issue so far and Dolby Atmos gives amazing sound out the rear speakers.
@somnambulance
First 40 minutes impression stalker 2 running like a dream not a single thing wrong.
120hz VRR Dolby vision and atmos all working and confirmed by tv.
Performance mode, low motion blurr.
Panning very smooth and clear.
And you know I never stick up for bad games and Xbox.
@Fiendish-Beaver
First 40 minutes impression stalker 2 running like a dream not a single thing wrong.
120hz VRR Dolby vision and atmos all working and confirmed by tv.
Performance mode, low motion blurr.
Panning very smooth and clear.
And you know I never stick up for bad games and Xbox.
I’m can’t stop playing the game.
I’m at the point of a conspiracy here, what the hell is wrong with these reviewers.
@StylesT
First 40 minutes impression stalker 2 running like a dream not a single thing wrong.
120hz VRR Dolby vision and atmos all working and confirmed by tv.
Performance mode, low motion blurr.
Panning very smooth and clear.
And you know I never stick up for bad games and Xbox.
I’m can’t stop playing the game.
I’m at the point of a conspiracy here, what the hell is wrong with these reviewers.
@Dalamar73
Yep series x and running like a god of game.
@FraserG
First 40 minutes impression stalker 2 running like a dream not a single thing wrong.
120hz VRR Dolby vision and atmos all working and confirmed by tv.
Performance mode, low motion blurr.
Panning very smooth and clear.
And you know I never stick up for bad games and Xbox.
I’m can’t stop playing the game.
I’m at the point of a conspiracy here, what the hell is wrong with these reviewers
@Dalamar73
Well that’s stupid then
Review when all the day one patches are released.
I’m in the open world now.
Not a single performance issue.
Be it graphics or sound.
@themightyant
So, I’ve finished the prologue and performance on the Series S is a little choppy but no bugs yet, but I imagine there’ll be a few in a game like this which is ok as long as its not game breaking. The son plays on his Series X and performance seems fine, he went with quality mode though as performance mode wasnt really smooth apparently.
I’ll keep playing for a bit longer and if theres no bugs I’ll keep going otherwise I’ll just drop it and wait for patches!
@StylesT Then they should have delivered a better review product. The version you send to the reviewers should normally be the version the reviews are based on.
@Dalamar73
If you know me I never stick up for a bad game ever.
So far not a single performance issue on my series x.
@Dalamar73 I checked stalker sub on Reddit, unfortunately there’s a lot of bugs. Whether these are game breaking or tolerable vary by the user.
But it’s definitely not polished. But the day 1 patches have helped.
Even the dev has put out a statement acknowledging there are issues.
Definitely going to uninstall and wait it out. I wasn't completely sold on it anyway, I was only going to try since I have gamepass.
I can deal with the glitches, visual performance issues, bugs, etc. But based on what I've read and seen online, I'm more concerned about the actual gameplay itself. Very low weight limit, scarce resources, no fast travel, unforgiving combat, enemies seeing/hearing you when you're not in sight, silly npc interactions, among some other stuff. Doesn't sound like I'd have too much fun with it unfortunately so I'm out. Hopefully people have a good time with it who are interested.
@Dalamar73
Well the gamers and reviews are invited to mine to eat their words and have a fabulous gaming session on Stalker 2 😊
@16BitHero yea rebirth runs great!
This is typical of big new releases these days, always some problems and need for patching.
Why is this game getting special treatment?
It's SO BUGGY you're not even going to give it a review? Re-read that statement. What other games have ever been given this leniency ever?
@mac_da_man @OldGamer999 I gave it a go this morning and found the framerate to be very choppy on XSX even with VRR, audio was also not always synced with the visuals, I found several items just floating in the air and the lighting was not always working as intended. Quite a few bugs really. Hopefully that will all be fixed.
But I also had other issues were more to do with UI and gameplay. E.g. the onboarding for new players was pretty awful, while I don't necessarily want it to hold my hand, not everyone has played a Stalker game before and dying to an invisible enemy in the first 15 minutes without a hints how to fight them seems a bit mean spirited. (or perhaps they were meant to be visible and it's a bug, who knows)
Additionally the inventory UI also isn't very user friendly on console e.g. the quick use items which only shows which d-pad button to use for medpacks not for the other three leading to using the wrong item (I was trying to use a bandage and used anti-rads instead, wasting limited resources). Usually on console designers make this a plus shape so it's very which d-pad button to use. And the inventory also feels made for mouse not optimised for controller.
All in all I liked the vibe of what I played but it felt unpolished and i'm happy to wait for it to be in a better state.
@themightyant
All very valid points. Some of those issues I dont think will ever be fixed but hopefully some bugs and framerate issues can be sorted out.
Im still enjoying the game but not as much as I would if it was in a better state so you are def doing the smart thing by waiting, meanwhile Im doing some betatesting for you all
@StylesT Reviews exist to help inform potential buyers wether they should part with their hard earned money, or not. Its on companies to make sure that review copies reflect the launch version and are available in plenty of time for reviewers to give a fair critique of the whole game.
If a game has an embargo 2 hours before launch on a game that required multiple massive launch patches to fix because the review copies where buggy then studios need to work to better timeframes and not just expect reviews to come in 2 weeks after they are required.
This is not a critique against Stalker, GSM or any platform but should be the standard we push for from all games /studios.
@OldGamer999 I just wish I could get the game to finish downloading its massive updates. I deleted everything on my hard drive outside Flight Sim 24 and Black Ops Multiplayer and Warzone and I’m at 95% hard drive space used now. It took 2.5 hours to download a patch and now another 2.5 hours for a second patch. 5 hours, really? I preinstalled the game. I’d have downloaded the patches earlier but Black Ops is so far, I had delete half that game to fit Stalker on my console and CoD has an update to get through as well. Xbox really needs to figure out this file size and download speed thing. I’ve got good internet and don’t have this download issue non other platforms. The file sizes are getting to the point of being comedic with a Series S as well. I know I’m just complaining for first world problems, but my time is limited, especially time when the wife and kids aren’t home and I am!
Well, I suppose I’ll grab out the Switch for some Dragon Quest while I see if I can get this game to download today before I miss my opportunity to play it.
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...