STALKER 2 Devs Happy With Steam Reviews, But Aim for Even Greater Perfection

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has impressed gamers with its captivating story and undeniable quality, despite some technical issues. In an interview with IGN (thanks PCGamesN) at the BAFTA Awards, Ievgen Grygorovych, CEO of GSC Game World, expressed his satisfaction with how players have received the game. “It’s not as perfect as we wanted, but it’s a game with a soul,” he said.

Positive Reception Despite Technical Issues

Currently, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has garnered over 65,000 reviews on Steam, with 84% of them being positive. This is an impressive feat, especially given that PC gamers are often quick to criticize bugs and technical flaws. Despite these issues, the game’s rich narrative and stunning visuals have clearly resonated with many players, who have chosen to overlook the imperfections and still praise the experience.

Grygorovych initially expected less support from the public, but the response has exceeded his expectations. Now, he has set his sights even higher: “For a creative person, we want to get an achievement, like we did a game that 90% of people loved, not 85%, not 83%, not 86%. We want 90%. ‘But 89% is also good’—no! 89% starts from eight and you want to start from nine. I spent six years [on it].”

Acknowledging the Challenges

Despite his ambitious goals, Grygorovych is realistic about the state of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. He acknowledges that the game was far from perfect but stresses that it was simply impossible to deliver more, given the challenging development conditions. Between the ongoing war with Russia and the global impact of COVID-19, GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio, faced significant hurdles during the game’s production.

Additionally, Grygorovych revealed that many of the bugs that exist in the game have not yet been discovered by players. “We as a developer, we see more problems in the game than the players usually face,” he explained. “So many players didn’t face 99% of the bugs inside our game.”