GSC Game World announced today that they are restarting development on S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, with a 2021 release. The news comes from an official Facebook post from GSC owner, Sergiy Grygorovych, and an updated date on the official website. The Survival Horror FPS is a follow up to 2009's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat and is the fourth entry in the series. The game was originally announced in 2010 but was cancelled later in 2012.

It was only yesterday that Gamers Classified wrote "the Stalker series is not only the best post-apocalypse survival series you’ve never played, the best shooter series you’ve never played, and the best horror series you’ve never played, but also the best series you’ve never played."

Source: ModDB

All aboard the hype train

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While the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series is a hidden gem, exclusive to PC, the reveal of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 is huge news. Most of the problems with the first three games are as a result of the late 00s technology it was developed in. However, despite community mods improving the game and bringing it up to date, these issues make what the developers get right shine through. The best way to describe the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series is the Fallout games with the tone of the Metro games. However that is more of an aesthetic description, with the gameplay having a scope and depth unlike anything else.

Source: Gamespot

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R series takes place in an alternate future, in which a second Chernobyl explosion has caused the surrounding area, known as The Zone, to mutate and become hostile. A nuclear fallout apocalyptic world is very similar to both Fallout and Metro series, but the horrific nature of this apocalypse is more akin to a zombie apocalypse game. While the stories of Shadow of Chernobyl, the first in the series, and Call of Pripyat, the third in the series, are well written, it is the stories the player will write themselves in the sandbox world that make the game so special. Exploring the depressingly desolate Zone, with various factions, monsters and mysteries, gives the players a sense of immersion. This immersion is unrivalled by other games.

Source: Neutral X2

With the announcement of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, this innovative series can be brought into the current generation. The sheer creativity of the rich S.T.A.L.K.E.R world is enough to warrant gamers' hype. However, the technical standard of modern video games that needs to be met will ensure that S.T.A.L.K.E.R, assuming it follows the precedent set by the series, means that all the issues holding the series back from its deserved notoriety will be ironed out. All aboard the hype train for S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2.