Best PCs to Play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Are you brave enough to explore Chornobyl? Do you have what it takes to take down hordes of deadly radioactive mutants and uncover the truth? If the answer is yes – then keep on reading!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the latest installment in the epic post-apocalyptic FPS promising plenty of fast-paced action, adventure, and enemies. To ensure you’ve got everything you need to survive in Chornobyl, we’ve rounded up all the key details that you need to know from gameplay, and the official PC specs, to our top PCs to play.

The Gameplay

The exclusion zone has drastically changed after the second explosion that wrecked the world. Violent mutants, unknown anomalies, and deadly warring factions have transformed Chornobyl into a wasteland. However, even a wasteland can be useful…

Play as a lone S.T.A.L.K.E.R., tasked with entering the exclusion zone (at your own risk) to make your fortune from selling valuable artefacts and treasures previously lost to the world. Journey across this deadly landscape as you find precious artefacts and dig up secrets at the Heart of Chornobyl. Be prepared to come face to face with deadly mutated creatures that will stop at nothing to kill you. There are multiple different mutant subtypes to contend with, each with its own behaviour model, making them so much more unpredictable.

While the most valuable artefacts are buried deep in dark and deadly places, you’ll need to decide whether the warring factions are your friend or foe. Battle it out for survival in intense gunfights as you desperately try to strategically plan your next move. There is a whole arsenal of nearly thirty firearms for you to utilise, each one boasting several modifications which you can make to further aid you in the heat of battle.

Does S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Include Multiplayer?

Multiplayer won’t be included upon release in November 2024. However, developers have confirmed that it will be coming in a free update soon after.

Is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl a PC Exclusive?

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is available to play on both PC and XBOX Series X/S.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Review

We were lucky enough to get our hands on a review copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Our Partnerships & Relationships Manager, Jacob McNally, happily took the reins.

Let’s start with a confession – I haven’t played any of the previous iterations of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (of which I learned there are three, despite this release carrying the name of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2). As someone entirely new to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe, I was excited at the prospect of jumping into a new world, particularly one factiously built on an alternative outcome from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe is renowned for being gritty and harsh, where each decision matters and every action has a reaction – S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is no exception to that rule.

OcUK Partnerships & Relationships Manager Jacob McNally reviewed S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on his Ryzen-based PC

Component	Specification
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core
Graphics	ZOTAC RTX 3070
Memory	32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 RAM

Previous Review:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl asks you to step into the shoes of Skif and head into ‘The Zone’, the site of the nuclear accident which is now home to anomalies, artefacts, and factions which all must be navigated with one goal: survival. In true RPG fashion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has a rich story that sends you on various quests across The Zone, each building on the last as you uncover rich plots, schemes, faction wars, and more. You must manage the health of your gear, as well as your own. Every decision must be precise, because you die quick and shooting too early or making the wrong choice can see things hit the fan extremely fast.

The main story takes roughly 40 hours to beat, but you will need over 100 hours to explore all the secrets laid out in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. What strikes me most is that in the few hours I played, I spent so much time worrying about survival, managing my food and radiation levels, that over 100 hours seems daunting, if not outright terrifying!

The environment in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is exactly what I expected at first, and yet everything in-game feels raw, abrasive, and downright creepy. It is flat-out eerie. The only rules are that The Zone takes no prisoners and is as punishing as any of the foes found within. But there is beauty around, from the stunning visuals, dynamic weather patterns, gorgeous yet hellish radioactive storms, and nights that are truly dark. Unlike most RPGs, there are no fast travel methods, so you get to enjoy the scenic route wherever you go. There is the option to pay NPCs to travel, but most of your time is spent trekking on foot, stumbling upon faction wars and navigating anomalies.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl game still from Steam

Final Thoughts

I’ve seen discourse online that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has various bugs and issues that seem to have plagued plenty of AAA games over the past few years. I’ve also enjoyed the somewhat wholesome love from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans who call this par for the course and part of the charm. The rough-around-the-edges nature of these games is what brings fans back, and with over 1 million sales already, it seems S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has hit the ground running. The developers, GSC Game World, have also been pushing hard to get the game fully polished, including a sizeable Day 1 patch which addressed a lot of early bugs.

In truth, I’m excited to delve deeper into the game and explore more of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, with all its punishing mechanics and the horrifying reality of survival in the post-nuclear disaster which is The Zone.

Official PC System Specification

	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 10	Windows 10-11
Processor	Intel Core i5 7600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X	Intel Core i7 9700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Memory	8GB RAM	16GB RAM
Graphics	AMD Radeon RX 580 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060	AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super
Storage	150GB available space	150GB available space
Additional	SSD required	SSD required

Alternatively, if you’re unsure whether your PC can run S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Briony has covered everything you need to know in our dedicated video. Check it out!

Best PCs to Play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl doesn’t require too much hefty hardware to run. However, that doesn’t have to stop you from upgrading your PC or gaming laptop to ensure you can enjoy exploring Chornobyl in incredible lifelike quality.

If you’re in the market for an upgrade or two, we’ve rounded up a selection of our favourite PCs and laptops which come packed with plenty of the latest hardware. However, if our top picks don’t quite suit your in-game demands or aesthetic, you can also explore our full range by clicking the relevant buttons below!

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