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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a glorious and beautiful pain in the ass

Get in the Zone.

It’s wise to toss the bolt in front of you regularly to test for anomalies: some cause the air itself to warp and bend; others make tiny shards of skin-shredding glass to hover in the atmosphere. 2 works as intended, it’s an emergent sandbox capable of producing simultaneously bleak and hilarious moments, all while giving the illusion of a world functioning independently of the player’s inputs. That core feeling of raw survival in an uncaring environment — lightning cracking in the distance, rain lashing down, and the disquieting noise of far-off gunfire — never wanes.

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