The Stalker 2 developer’s account, on its official channel, just shared a wild tale of the zone’s lore regarding the enormous cooling tower, which was never completed, in Chornobyl plant and it was exceptionally deep explaining how it was supposed to be 170 meters tall but after the disaster it was left and brought fire whirl anomaly in the Zone. The world was built super great to explain all these but the players did not approve of it. The responses are full of gamers’ frustrations venting their rage at devs requesting them to fix the game instead of posting lore. The whole thing is just a mess.
In case you’re not following, @stalker_thegame’s tweet was an in-depth discussion about the real-life reference for one of the spots in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the gigantic, partially built cooling tower that was turned into an in-game deadly anomaly. This atmosphere building is classic of Stalker. But the community had a very bad reaction and they swept the story of the new lore under the carpet, shifting the focus to the widespread technical issues that have plagued the game since its release.
Admittedly, the lore is magnificent. In the discourse, a monstrous hyperboloid concrete structure was mentioned that had only 90 meters height when playing with 170, which is much smaller than the originally planned height. The tower’s construction was intended to cool the water for reactors 5 and 6 that were never built. Besides, it was mentioned that the acoustics inside were crazy before the Paradise, and whispers would be heard all around you. This is terrifying! The ‘Fire Whirl’ that is an abominable anomaly incinerating everything alive now at this very location. The post ends with a warning saying it is not safe to approach the spot unless one wishes to be a campfire story. The classic Stalker mood is all scary and dark. One could almost smell the ozone and radiation.
But what happens next is you scroll down the page. The first response mirrors the mood: ‘@stalker_thegame Please fix the artifacts not appearing and spawning under the map or in rocks and shit. Great game but a major part of the experience being totally broken is just not it and frustrating af.’ This is from itzJuztThomas, and he’s not alone in that. It’s as if a dam has burst.
The users, one by one, come forward with their grievances. ‘Game runs like total dogshit, returned it within 30 minutes,’ says imperiallSKEL. Another user, Aim, calls it the ‘Most raped game I’ve ever had the displeasure of buying and playing.’ Harsh. But the situation prevails over bugs, bugs, and more bugs. krush93067 on PS5 is enraged: ‘It’s so annoying to wait for updates for the game to work properly. And when new patches come, they create new bugs… the artifacts disappear into the ground. Hurry up, damn it!’
The specific issue of artifacts seems to be the center point of discontent. Many players have raised the topic. MAPerez602 is just asking, ‘Fix artifacts in the ground on PS5 please.’ cestdevanian gives a reply to krush telling that they are there in the detention center, and trying everyday to no avail. It is a core gameplay loop – artifact hunting – and it appears that it is disrupted for a lot of people. How can someone enjoy the haunted tower lore when the shining glowing objects cannot even be picked up??
Now let’s look at the performance group. BSquuuaaad has a saga: they purchased the game after it was removed from Game Pass and have not been able to play it since the hotfix was applied two weeks ago. ‘You guys took it out of Gamepass so I bought the game, and since then I have been unable to play it, lmao nice.’ That is a rare kind of suffering, paying for something you cannot use. ORWELLIAN_PSYOP sarcastically states, ‘It is a pity that the CNNP is unfinished and is being sold to us as a DLC. Sounds legit.’ Oof.
Wait, what was I saying? Oh, yes, the unusual mix of responses. Amidst the rage, there are still lore seekers and jokesters. n050up4u1 writes, ‘When I first could access it I immediately went inside. 😌’ A true stalker disregarding the risk. Carlos posts a funny GIF of a man getting burned as a warning for those entering the tower. And corvin_leon asks in Ukrainian, hinting at a nearby hidden X-12 lab, to which Vincent gives a vague response, ‘There is content connected to tower.’ So, the enigma is still cooking for some.
However, presenting such intricate lore while many are saying that the game is in a rough state? That is a classic survival horror community dilemma, where atmospheric storytelling clashes with technical execution. The game’s issues on Xbox, especially after its Game Pass removal, have fueled significant player backlash.
