Mutants and anomalies: Stalker 2 shows new trailer and it has it all

At the Xbox Showcase, the hotly anticipated first-person shooter also does the honors. Almost three minutes of new scenes from the zone whet the appetite for more

A lot of games were shown at the Xbox Showcase, including a new trailer forStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. We not only have the video for you, but also a detailed analysis of what was shown, in case you’re on the go and can’t watch the two and a half minute movie right away

But would you rather watch it?That’s what we thought, here you go:

A beautiful game world full of deadly dangers

The subheading sums up quite well what we get to see in the trailer. Although this is not news, it is underlined once again:Stalker 2 will inherit the great strength of its predecessorand offer a fascinating, beautifully staged game world in which every step could be your last

This becomes clear right at the beginning of the trailer, as the stalker looks down the barrel of another zone dweller’s gun. We don’t know what he says – because the entire video is in Ukrainian. But it doesn’t matter, because ten seconds later comes an Aha! moment: we step out into the contaminated expanses of the zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Impressive: the density of vegetation.Grass sways gently, leaves fly through the air, the anomaly moves gently back and forth … Wait, the anomaly? Oh yes, the strange and above all deadly phenomena are also a must in Stalker 2.

Some of the most exciting moments from the trailer are also available as screenshots:

1 of 4

What else do we see in the new trailer?

• The PDA:For a fraction of a second we see the map of the game world, which we can call up again via PDA. The look of the device is very reminiscent of its counterpart in the first Stalker.
• Steel and concrete:On a dilapidated factory site, the Stalker gets ready for a proper gunfight against bandits. Here, too, the atmosphere of the predecessor has been well brought into the modern age despite the much more modern graphics.
• Mutants…dogs?With a shotgun, the stalker puts an end to some mutated creatures.
• Screw loose: We can throw screws again to detect anomalies instead of stepping into them. To be honest, many of the anomalies are hard to miss, as the trailer also proves several times.
• My knife? Your knife?At the end of the video there is a duel for life and death. Which chest will the knife end up in? In our eyes, this looks a lot like an in-game cutscene.
• Dangerous environment: Fresh air is healthy, my ass! The gigantic hurricane that is approaching the Stalker and will probably blow up any fine dust scale proves the opposite! Storms like this are said to be a regular occurrence in the game world of Stalker 2.
• Shelter: For the first time we see one of the hubs in Stalker 2. In these shelters we find clients, traders and other characters. The richness of detail in the game world is particularly impressive. Just look at how detailed the merchants’ displays are.

The release of Stalker 2 is still scheduled for September 5, 2024by the way. A good sign? That is questionable, because when we were able to play the first-person shooter at gamescom last year, we were particularly struck by the immature performance. So let’s hope that the short development time of just under a year has turned things around