The Ram-2 is easily one of the most powerful shotguns in the game and even ranks among the best overall guns in the game due to its well-balanced stats. The Ram-2 has a unique pump-action firing mechanism and two barrels, enabling players to fire off two shots at a time.

Heart of Chornobyl, armor will often be your saving grace in The Zone. You'll not only need physical protection from the hazardous elements in the world, but heat, radiation, electrical, and even chemical protection.

Ahead of its release, Digital Trends received a PC copy of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl that was plagued with more technical issues than we typically see in a review build this close to launch. I personally hopped into the Xbox build once our critic started raising red flags and was instantly met with bugs within my first 20 minutes.

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Not that a lot of post-apocalyptic first-person shooters are, but STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is especially not for the faint of heart. It’s built to generate the kind of friction that goes a long way in creating a challenging and punishing game that’s also captivating.

Heart of Chornobyl, one of the most haunting survival horror games I have ever played and unlike anything else in the genre. The game’s chilling sound design, incredible storytelling, and demanding combat come together to deliver on that central premise.

There are plenty of great weapons to get your hands on in the early game of Stalker 2. Here’s our guide to the best.

You don't need to have played past Stalker games to dive into Heart of Chornobyl, but newcomers to The Zone – an irradiated land of impossibilities in Ukraine – will find themselves tested by its brutality. That goes double for protagonist Skif, whose first foray into The Zone results in him being ambushed and left for dead.

Players who prefer to utilize sniper rifles in STALKER 2 should know how each of them stacks up against the rest.

Heart Of Chornobyl, you'll probably be fighting enemy factions and mutants. Combat in the game is a pretty simple affair: shoot, don't get got as much, heal if you do get shot. The basics are the basics for a reason.

Assault rifles are versatile and common in STALKER 2, with unique variants and stats. Choose weapons based on their accuracy, range, and damage capabilities in-game. Different assault rifles have varying reliabilities,