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

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Windows

Release Date: September 5

Pre-order now: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl suffered a tortuous development cycle but the final 2007 game was electrifying, a thrillingly bleak, spooky sojourn through the fallout of the Soviet Union’s greatest nuclear disaster. Two follow-ups quickly materialized, as did critical praise, modding scenes, and even fan conventions. But where was a true sequel to this idiosyncratic trilogy? Development hell, again. And that was before Russia invaded Ukraine, the home of developer GSC Game World. It’s fair to say that threw a wrench in the works.

But now S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is finally nearing the finish line, and we’re all about to re-enter the Zone with another 15 years of video game technological progress behind us. What horrors await us in this next-gen irradiated wasteland? As a seasoned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. myself, I can’t wait to find out. — Alexandra Hall