S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl vs S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an FPS horror game from GSC Game World (2024) while S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is an FPS horror game from GSC Game World (2007).
Quick answer: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has the higher Metacritic, 82 to 73.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
What each one is
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is filed under FPS and Horror. In contrast, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl under FPS and Horror.
Enter the Chornobyl Anomalous Zone — a vast open world where anomalies, mutants, and rivals stand in your way. Explore, scavenge, and try to survive in this brutal and dangerous land. Evolving with every update, now overhauled and crowned with UPDATE 2.0.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a first-person shooter video game developed by GSC Game World and published by THQ in 2007 following a long development. It is the first game in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, set in an alternate reality where a second disaster of mysterious origin occurred at the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which further contaminated the surrounding area with radiation, and caused strange otherworldly changes in local fauna, flora, and the laws of physics. The background and some of the terminology of the game are borrowed from the 1971 novella Roadside Picnic and its 1979 film adaptation Stalker.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Yevhen "Skif" Martynenko, a veteran of the Ukrainian Marine Corps , has returned from a 3-year deployment in an unspecified conflict. He awakens to find his apartment has been destroyed by an anomaly that has mysteriously appeared outside of the Zone, leaving an unknown artifact in its wake. Looking to earn money for a new home, he is smuggled into the Zone by a scientist, Professor Hermann, along with a piece of technology called the 'Scanner' that… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.1/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (80%, 138,669) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 73/100 | 82/100 |
| Price | $41.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | 160 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | Untested |
| Released | 2024 | 2007 |
| Developer | GSC Game World | GSC Game World |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl vs S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylFPS horror gameS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of ChernobylFPS horror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylOpen World, FPS, Post-apocalypticS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of ChernobylNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylMetacritic 73S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl ✓Metacritic 82Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl138,669 reviews · 3 add-ons · 160 GBS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl$41.99S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of ChernobylUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (Metacritic 82)
Where they differ
Open WorldFPSPost-apocalypticSurvivalAtmosphericSingleplayer
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB / Intel Arc A750 | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i7-7700K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | — |
| Minimum RAM | 16 GB | — |
| Install size | 160 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl · S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl and 0 for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl in scope?
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has drawn 138,669 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 160 GB. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl lists little scope data.
Is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl?
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has the higher Metacritic, 82 to 73. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.