Players who like to pack a trusty SMG at their side in STALKER 2 should know what each one brings to the table.

Heart of Chornobyl didn’t get off on the best foot with many. A whole host of bugs have marred what should otherwise be one of the biggest game launches of the year. And that experience was already much-improved versus what reviewers were presented with pre-launch.

Not that a lot of post-apocalyptic first-person shooters are, but STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is especially not for the faint of heart. It’s built to generate the kind of friction that goes a long way in creating a challenging and punishing game that’s also captivating.

Ahead of its release, Digital Trends received a PC copy of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl that was plagued with more technical issues than we typically see in a review build this close to launch. I personally hopped into the Xbox build once our critic started raising red flags and was instantly met with bugs within my first 20 minutes.

Forged in adversity, this Ukrainian-developed shooter delivers a beautiful open-world survival-shooter like no other.

Heart of Chornobyl is a dark game. Here's how to use your flashlight for both controller and mouse and keyboard.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has a story with lots of twists and turns. Players will progress through the story in order to get Dead Frequency, a mission that sees them trying to recover their scanner. This takes them to the location known as Camp Icarus — a complex under the control of one of the STALKER 2’s many factions, The Ward.

Stalker 2 features a ton of factions, both new and old, who call the Zone home. Here’s everything you need to know about them.