S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on PS5 at last

Driftwood
Monday, November 17, 2025 | 3:00 PM
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GSY Video PS5 Xbox Series X PC

It took its time, but a year after its arrival on Xbox Series X|S and PC, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is coming to PlayStation 5 this week, and this time, we were lucky enough to receive a code for the game so we could give you a quick review. To accompany our impressions of this highly anticipated port, we've also prepared a gameplay video comparing the two graphics modes available in the game.

Verdict on the port

As cult as it may be for many PC gamers of the 2000s, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series has never been for everyone, and this sequel follows the same logic. Here, the experience is necessarily harsh and unforgiving, and even on the lowest difficulty setting, you won't last long against the dangers that await you in the zone. The overall atmosphere is still the game's strong suit, but the storyline often struggles to maintain the player's interest due to a severe lack of twists and turns, an impression that is undoubtedly emphasized by the game's longevity. What's more, as this sequel is based on a structure of missions that are fairly similar in terms of objectives, as well as numerous trips back and forth, this may discourage some players. Indeed, traveling on foot, which is always potentially dangerous, inevitably takes a certain amount of time, which tends to slow down the pace. The immersion remains excellent, but we sometimes regret the lack of consistency in the universe, which is highlighted by the abundance of loot (bread, sausages, first aid kits, vodka, and ammunition waiting patiently to be picked up everywhere, often simply placed on a table). Inventory management, limited by weight, becomes quite restrictive, as in other titles of the genre and it will be a problem to some. We also find the combat a bit clunky, which doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with the quick movements of mutated animals (even if they often seem to run around a bit incoherently). The AI of human enemies has clearly improved since the initial release, with opponents taking cover more easily, but they can also remain hidden and unresponsive even when you're standing right next to them. As for bugs, although the studio has fixed a good number of them over the past year, we still encountered some in this PS5 version, including right at the start of the adventure. For example, the bartender in the first “town” we visited ended up floating horizontally with his head stuck in the counter while we were talking to him to get a new mission... As you can see, even after a year of existence, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 still has room for improvement, but we can't blame the developers who, it should be reminded, had to work on their game while their country is still at war and the team is split in two, with the majority having to leave Kiev for Prague. Under these circumstances, the work they've accomplished is already remarkable, and while not everything is perfect, many people have still had memorable experiences in this post-apocalyptic universe. We can imagine that GSC Game World will continue to improve the game in the coming months, and we hope that this whole adventure will one day lead to an even higher quality sequel, developed this time in a more serene context.

Now we need to address the question of the quality of this PlayStation 5 port. Obviously, we won't be able to go into as much detail as our colleagues at Digital Foundry, but we can already mention the support for DualSense-specific features. The controller's speaker is obviously used to broadcast the various radio calls that the character receives, but the controller's gyroscopic function can also be activated when aiming at an opponent with L2. We find this option particularly useful for improving shooting accuracy, and once you get the hang of it, it's quite effective. Perhaps more of a gimmick, the touchpad allows you to play the guitar more “naturally” or access the map and journal more quickly. Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are also included, and it's clear that GSC Game World has spared no effort to reward the patience of PS5 players. We weren't able to make a direct comparison with the Xbox Series X and S versions, but the studio recently stated that the PS5 Pro version would benefit from better quality shadows and reflections, higher image resolution, and improvements to global illumination and volumetric effects (fog and clouds), without giving specific details about these few points. Of course, this new version includes the two graphics modes available on X, namely a Quality mode, with a framerate limited to 30 fps, and a Performance mode at 60 fps. This comes as no surprise, although we wouldn't have said no to an intermediate option allowing us to play at 40 frames per second. The most noticeable differences between the two modes are essentially twofold: the density of the vegetation, which is slightly reduced when prioritizing framerate, and the quality of the shadows cast on the scenery. In the latter case, it's easy to see that Quality mode displays a much more stable rendering, whereas Performance mode can't prevent the tree branches on buildings from flickering. On the other hand, given the feedback we received about the framerate issues of the Series X version, the engine now seems much more competent at 60 frames per second, at least on Pro. It is still possible to trigger slowdowns by looking at the sky and then quickly looking down at the outdoor scenery, as the dynamic resolution is then caught off guard, but overall, the result seems quite satisfactory. Since image quality does not suffer too much when switching between modes (on Pro they both target 4K while Performance mode on base PS5 is limited to 1440p), most players will probably opt for Performance mode, which is logically more enjoyable in terms of gameplay and responsiveness. However, there are also some concessions in terms of lighting quality and global illumination, but nothing that will jump out at you unless you compare the two renderings directly.