STALKER developers decided to drop what was probably one of those buzzword tweets that sets the enthusiast community ablaze-doing just that. There’s one cryptic line about a falling star, hinting vaguely about some magic returning in the patch ahead. Nothing more, nothing less indeed vibes. Of course, the response section blew up into frenzy, with more demands, jokes, and the typical silly back-and-forth between hype and frustration.
So, what is it all about? Well, no one really knows. The official STALKER account tweeted something about stars falling down and players should “make a wish”. Included was an image (and honestly, it looks exactly like an eerie Zone phenomenon) just accelerated the speculation. Is it a new artifact? A weather event? Maybe a metaphor on how performance fixes are crashing from the skies? Your guess is as good as mine.
The true entertainment, however, unfolded in the replies. The people went wild. Some pleaded for the PS5 version-because yes, STALKER 2 is still exclusive to Xbox/PC and PlayStation players are not happy about it. Others would ask for fixes about janky carry weight limits, missing missions, or that damn Unreal Engine 5 stuttering that turns Rostok into a slideshow.
Then you have the very specific requests with one player simply wanting night vision goggles and another praying for weapon inspect animations. Yet another opinion says UE5 is “janky trash” (okay, that’s hurtful). And of course, there’s always that one guy who brings up mutant parts not being sellable—because apparently, that’s the hill they’re willing to die on.
Quite a few replies went a little darker with jokes about Putin launching missiles or the Zone dropping another Monolith onto people’s heads. Classic STALKER community humor: depressing and hilarious all at once.
Gigantic excitement is hidden in this literal chaos-fashion-the-STALKER-fans-are-freezing-for-fresh-content bit, and even the vaguest tease is enough to set their minds alight. Some want story DLC. Others long for the promised expansions that never materialized. And then there is the eternal curse of optimization-because no matter how beautiful that Zone is, nobody’s enjoying it at 40 FPS.
So, what can be expected for real from this patch? Well, anybody’s guess. Maybe this patch brings a little polish. Maybe a new mutant. Or maybe the developers are just messing with us. The only thing that can be counted on is the fact that the STALKER fanbase will be screaming until the developers respond.
Meanwhile, if you are still one of those players with missing missions praying for deadzone settings… well, maybe make a wish upon that falling star. Who knows?! The Zone has a way of answering.
