The official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl account gave the players the invitation recently? The game is to be nominated to the Steam Awards by the players under the category of “Labor of Love.” That is indeed a suspicious timing. The developers are claiming that the Zone has through new guns, quests, night vision, mutant loot, battle ground, the regular updates, and game optimization, leads the same and the entire year has been a “development and evolution” that has come about. They are assuring the improvement of the game as they are thankful to the players for their support. This sounds good in theory, right?
However, if you take a look at the replies, you end up right in the middle of a battlefield. The reaction has been without a doubt mixed. It is almost a case of “either you love it or hate it.” A couple of players like Peter are completely backing the game. He said, “Already did yesterday! The performance overhaul alone is jaw-dropping.” Another player also said that he bought it on GamePass and later on Steam because he loved it so much that he would not mind paying to have permanent access. So that one’s positive.
Meanwhile, there is the opposite reaction. And they are absolutely NOT being gentle. Many gamers are complaining about things like artifacts appearing under the ground, NPCs shooting from behind walls, and PSI mutants throwing their stuff through walls… all these are basic problems that should have been fixed ages ago. One player on Xbox Series X said that after the latest hotfix the game is unplayable for him due to crashes that result from every gunfight and that no mods are installed. Ouch!
Then there is this group of players who are just… mad about the game’s state. One says, “You don’t deserve any award. The game is broken, there is no content, and no AI life. I should have never bought this game,” while another says, “These awards are for finished games only not betas. Try next year.” There is even this back-and-forth where one player says that only mods are keeping the game alive which is never a good sign of the base state of a game.
What was I saying? Oh, right, the mixed response. It’s as if the game is supported by a loyal fanbase that is ready to overlook the flaws as long as they can experience the world and the potential, whereas the other group feels they have been tricked into buying a half-finished product and so will not accept it. One player voiced it very plainly: “The updates this year weren’t really anything new… You just finished a game that you released in an incomplete state.”
There are also some international elements in the comments – Russian-speaking users offering their support (one says “Normal people don’t even need to be asked, done yesterday” in Russian) while another Russian-speaking user jokes about being afraid that Putin will arrest him because of the game’s nomination. The political context of this game’s development is certainly complicated to say the least.
How to sum it up? It seems that the developers are not only putting a lot of effort into the game but also want their efforts to be recognized. On the contrary, however, players seem to be divided between those who appreciate the post-launch support and those who would have preferred it if the game were more complete by the time it was released. It is a most peculiar situation where the Labor of Love category might indeed fit – as fixing a broken game is no doubt very labor-intensive – but the question remains whether that deserves an award? That is the point where the differences in opinions become quite clear.
Moreover, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was one of the most difficult and problematic development cycles in the recent years – studio moves, wars, and numerous delays were the main factors. Thus, it isn’t hard to believe that some players are more forgiving toward the developers because of that. But there are still some who think “finish your game first” when it comes to awards. It is a very thin line between acknowledging the developers’ issues and expecting a functioning product for the whole price you are paying.
At any rate, the Steam Awards voting has already started, and the question of whether S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 deserves the Labor of Love nomination or not will ultimately be answered by the players. Nonetheless, judging by the responses? It’s going to be a close one. Some people definitely see the constant support as a reason to talk about awards, while others believe that it is simply not right to nominate an incomplete game for any award. The Zone seems to be as divided as ever. PlayStation and Valorant gamers have also shared their thoughts on similar matters.
