Stalker 2is one of those game I never thought would actually release . Originally announced 14 years ago , the task was shelved after developer GSC Game World closed its doors , only to be reignited in 2018 . Then , as the originally announced 2022 release of the game near , Ukraine , where the developer was based , was invaded by Russia .
There are plenty of plot that suffer in development hell , but they pale in comparison to the strugglesStalker 2has gone through . The fact that the secret plan is even here is nothing short of a miracle . Like other title stick around in development hell , though , Stalker 2is far from perfect , particularly when it hail to microcomputer performance .
Between the role of Unreal Engine 5 , an AI system we rarely see in innovative games , and plenteousness of loss - twenty-four hour period bugs , Stalker 2is far from a smooth experience on PC . It ’s playable — and gratifying for this fan of older - school personal computer endurance shooters — but you should carry some bumps in the road if you design on play at outlet .
Stalker 2 system requirements
you could miss some of import details inStalker 2′s system requirements if you do n’t pay close tending . That mainly comes down to the CPU selection . In universal , developers place 1080p at 60 frames per indorsement for the recommend specification , and after that point , the recommend CPU does n’t go up higher — at least for a plot withoutray tracing . Here , the CPU recommend jumps considerably between the mellow and larger-than-life graphics presets .
As I ’ll dig into more in the next incision , Stalker 2is very sensitive to older CPU architectures . It only needs eight cores , but Old central processor generations — and onetime DDR4 platform as a upshot — will struggle to take to the woods the secret plan cleanly above 1080p . There ’s no doubt thatStalker 2is a demand plot , but unlike atitle likeBlack Myth : Wukong , that demand is n’t alone on your computer graphic lineup .
Make no mistake , you ’ll still need abeefy graphics circuit board . In that regard , the organisation requirements are n’t expectant , in particular at the Low and Medium presets . AnRTX 4060is significantly faster than an RX 5700 XT , for instance , and theIntel Arc A750shouldn’t even be compared to the RX 580 and GTX 1060 . I would err on the side of the Nvidia testimonial across the board , substituting alternatives from AMD or Intel as postulate .
One significant bank bill that is n’t covered in the organization demand is upscaling and underframe multiplication . From my examination , it looks like the recommendation are based around having upscaling sour on , at least , with anatomy generation being optional . Even with anRTX 4090and Ryzen 7 7800X3D , I was n’t able-bodied to get a consistent 60 fps at native 4 K , with casual dip into the high 40 .
The CPU problem
Stalker 2is really take on your processor , and I distrust a lot of players stepping into the plot today will run into performance issue due to their processor . For context , even with a newRyzen 9 9950Xwith 16 pith and some of the highest performance money can buy , the game peaked at 88 % utilization and average out 59 % employment over a 15 - minute carrying into action mental testing .
That ’s high for a gaming running at 4 kilobyte with maxed - out artwork . With how diagrammatically demandingStalker 2is , you ’d anticipate CPU utilization to be somewhere closer to 20 % to 30 % when hunt at 4 K , especially on a 16 - sum , 32 - screw thread potato chip like the Ryzen 9 9950X. If you brush aside your central processing unit when playingStalker 2,you may run into some serious egress .
For instance , in my 15 - minute of arc run of gameplay , I time an mediocre build pace of 86 fps with the Epic preset . I used an RTX 3080 , 32 GB of computer memory , and the Ryzen 9 9950X , and I had DLSS sic to Balanced modality . During that run , I saw stuttering , but that only account for 1 % of the total time I play .
Meanwhile , ourStalker 2reviewer sometimes saw dip into the 20s , stutters , and very inconsistent performance . They were bleed at 4 kelvin with the Medium preset and DLSS arrange to Performance mode , and also with an RTX 3080 and 32 GB of retentivity . The remainder ? Our reviewer was using a Core i9 - 10900K.
The solution here is n’t to just go out a steal a young central processor — though that would belike assist yourStalker 2performance . It ’s merely to understand how significant your CPU is in the biz , and how setting can impact your overall performance . If you involve a primer on why this is important in the first place , make certain to take our scout onCPU bottlenecks .
In short , push your graphics mount down inStalker 2with a weaker processor can make a bad situation worse . specially when ladder at higher resolution withs a sinewy graphics poster , you ’ll need to act a touchy balancing number between graphics options and upscaling . bear on thing down too low if you have a weaker CPU , and you may start out to run into processor bottlenecks quickly .
Stuttering and UE5 woes
Although I did n’t run into abominable stuttering issues inStalker 2like we saw inSilent Hill 2earlier this year , there are still stutters — and they ’re extremely aggressive at time . This plot apply Unreal Engine 5 , which is carrying forward the infamous mantel of stammer issuance that Unreal Engine 4 work into the calcium light .
There is n’t shader compiling stammer — more on that soon — but you will encounter traversal stutter , and not at all in a consistent agency . Sometimes I ’d flick the camera around and sprint in a different direction with a braggart stammer in the center of the movement ; other times the game was bland . Sometimes I ’d pursue a conversation with an NPC only to see the secret plan slow to a crawl . Other time , it stayed consistent .
I suspect some mixture of the large open world — the map is 60 square km large — and the A - Life system that simulates fundamental interaction outside of the participant ’s view play a big part in these everyday stutters . plainly , similar to old Stalker game , A - Life is run at all multiplication across the whole map , which explains the high processor requirements .
Like virtually all UE5 game , Stalker 2has a shader compiling footstep when you first load the game . Just to be sure , it actually has this stepeverytime you laden the biz , regardless of if anything has changed . Worse , it takes a farsighted prison term . When you first compile shaders , or the first sentence you launch the game after an update , it can take upward of 15 minute for this procedure to complete , even on a 16 - core CPU .
It ’s not the fact that you have to go through this mental process once that ’s frustrating . It ’s that you have to every unmarried time you spread out the plot . Even relaunching the game right away after closing it , you ’ll have to hold back a square five moment at the shader compiling screen before you’re able to jump into the game .
Frame generation to the rescue
The Stalker serial has always been known for being lumbering on your CPU , andStalker 2certainly gestate that tradition forward . We have young technical school to combat that issue today in the form of frame propagation , though , which the plot takes full advantage of . You get both DLSS Frame Generation and FSR 3.1 Frame Generation , both of which operate fabulously in the plot .
You get a treasure treasure trove of upscaling option , too — DLSS , FSR , XeSS , TSR , and even a resolution Pseudemys scripta for regular TAA . However , chassis generation is going to do a caboodle more for your performance inStalker 2than upscaling alone . Upscaling is still welcome , but seek not to push it too far , especially if you ’re running a monitor lizard below 4K.
Understandable struggle
I ’ve focused principally on the carrying into action ofStalker 2here , but the pre - release frame I tested had some bugs , as well . There were some minor issues I encountered , such as sound effect escape for various different items , but some were more severe . unusual object tonic - in and UI element either getting cleave or completely lost on screen were thing I saw in just the first few hours of the secret plan .
Since I first got access , I ’ve seen two fresh builds of the game . These seem to address some of the low - hang fruit of bugs , but in the few days I had to test the game , I was n’t capable to do a full playthrough multiple times . I have n’t run into any game - discontinue matter regardless . You should expect some bugs , though that ’s a fair assumption for just about any open - world game .
It ’s crucial to take the issues withStalker 2into account with the wide context surrounding the plot . Developer GSC Game World was ground in Ukraine when Russia invaded the country , and although the studio relocated to Prague shortly after the intrusion , those wounds do n’t heal rapidly . One former developer was even killed fight the encroachment .
It ’s fantastic that the developers are safe and that they ’re ultimately able to eject a plot that ’s been in development for the better part of a decade . But there ’s a realness that the exploitation of this game was far from normal , and the fact that it has performance upshot on PC is completely understandable give the circumstances . Even right - funded AAA studio not in a warfare zone struggle to do that sometimes .
If you project on clean upStalker 2right aside , I ’d boost you to exercise some blessing with the development team when it derive to performance issues and bug . Hopefully over time , the game will remain to see patches that improve performance .
