STALKER 2’s solid gunplay picks up a lot of the slack in its combat’s faults. Whipping around a decked-out assault rifle with a nice red dot sight to make headshots easy, or pumping shells into a mutant from a fully modded shotgun and slowing its charge with their impact had me looking forward to those high-stakes, kill-or-be-killed situations.

In the harsh and unforgiving world of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl (stylised as S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2), it might seem like the sensible option to pick up absolutely everything you come across. In one of the more interesting nuances of the game’s systems, you’re actually better off leaving broken weapons behind.

Heart Of Chornobyl takes you back to the unforgiving Zone, where you play as Skif, a lone Stalker navigating the radioactive wasteland to make his mark. Between deadly mutants, hostile factions, and the harsh world,