S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 looks to be another ray tracing showcase in its new E3 2021 trailer
It's arriving on PC on April 28th 2022
Microsoft showed off a lovely big chunk of Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl gameplay during their Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase this evening, showing us the game's 4K ray tracing chops in action as well as confirming its release date. The gameplay trailer saw protagonist Skif recounting his adventures to his comrades around a fire, and there were gun battles aplenty, plus a lovely little balletic interlude, too. We'll have to wait a while before we can play it for ourselves, though, as it won't be arriving on PC until April 28th 2022.
It sure looks shiny, though, helped in no small part by the rather lovely looking ray tracing effects. Gun flashes reflected in the water puddles in dark, spooky hangers, and lashes of electricity lit up the nearby metal walls. It looks to be every bit the technical showcase that 4A Games' Metro Exodus was before it. Who knew the nuclear post-apocalypse made for such a stunningly pretty setting, eh?
The focus was definitely on the action we'll be seeing in Stalker 2, rather than its immersive sim elements, so we'll have to see how the rest of the game plays once we get a bit closer to launch. Still, there look to be plenty of horrors lurking in the dark, as we also got a glimpse of some of the mutants we'll be facing as well.
As mentioned up top, it will be a while before we'll be able to get our hands on it, as Stalker 2: Heart Of Chernobyl isn't due to launch until April 28th next year. It will get a simultaneous PC and Xbox release, though, and it's also coming to the console version of Xbox Game Pass on Day One, too.
E3 2021 may be over but our memories live on - see everything on our E3 hub. Many more big game showcases and streams are still to come this summer, leading up to Gamescom, so see our summer games stream schedule to stay up to date.