That of alternative realities is a far more layered form of storytelling
than is commonly thought today: the comic book industry and many contemporary video games
have often flattened the value of such a device, turning
the possibility of exploring new paths into a mere attempt to put back on
track characters who have died, perhaps even gloriously, and crucial events.
When S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was released in 2007, it was clear from the outset that it was a well-crafted alternate-history title, in which events that actually happened historically take a different direction from that moment onward, reshuffling the deck and showing us what would happen if.
What would happen if the Chernobyl disaster that occurred in
distant 1986 were to happen again in a similar way in a hypothetical future
alternate timeline?
With these powerful and extremely interesting premises, S.T.A.L.K.E.R
2: Heart of Chornobyl is preparing to land on the screens of Xbox owners with all the fanfare of expectations that follows the upcoming release of a title of this kind. At the moment it seems that the release has been scheduled for September 2024, barring further delays that we sincerely do not hope for.
Preceded
by three seminal and interwoven chapters defining a single
story lived by as many different protagonists, this sequel has been
long awaited by all those who appreciated the idea of setting the
tragedy, perhaps the most sadly famous in the second half of the last century, in
a context that, through the video game medium,
showed it in all its gravity.
What would have happened if
the accident at Reactor 4 had not only not been contained (albeit with
culpable delay and failures that will not be discussed here
logically), but had become the epicenter of a microcosm with its own
laws, ferocious and ruthless? A “Zone” where it is possible to try to access and
enter, but from which escaping, whole or not, is almost impossible?
Personally, I turn my gaze full of interest toward the horror drift that has been promised to long-time players like me who, I won’t hide it, had really appreciated the heart-pounding sections of the early titles, alternating intense shooter phases with moments in which exploration in the darkest and most unsettling recesses of the Zone literally made your heart race.
Pur emphasizing the first-person shooter aspect, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, just like the chapters that preceded it, will mix typical role-playing game elements such as unlockable side quests that will veer away from the main story and a focused resource management system, dictated by the common sense of the Stalker we will play as when entering the extremely dangerous Zone.
The mind immediately turns
to another monumental title that, with its post-nuclear settings, and the
areas populated by mutated beasts and deadly creatures, has always been right at home:
I’m obviously talking about Fallout, a saga that
ideally takes the Ukrainian development studio’s work by the hand. Yes,
because at the helm of this project are still them, the guys from the
Ukrainian software house GSC Game World.
Insomma, there is really a lot of meat on the fire with S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart
of Chornobyl, and we hope that the expectations, raised
to the sky in recent months, can be confirmed, giving us a new,
grand chapter of the saga.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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