“People are still seeing health consequences” Stalker 2’s devs open up on the politics of the game

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl devs open up to us about the inspirations and politics of the game.

Stalker 2 / GSC Game World

Stalker 2 is a sci-fi game, there’s no doubt about that. You’ll regularly encounter phenomena and “anomalies” that are more at home on a distant planet in Mass Effect than anything we recognize here on Earth – but not only is it set here, on our little blue space sphere, the setting feels distinctly more contemporary for the Ukrainian developers.

Art always reflects the period it was made in, and the mindset of those who make it, and Stalker 2 has become the archetype of the age. Its 2010 announcement, subsequent 2012 cancellation, and revival over the last six years reflect the tumultuous tides of game development. Still, more pertinently, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 changed several things for both Stalker 2 and the people who work at developer GSC Game World.

Detailed in GSC Game World’s documentary War Game: The Making of Stalker 2, the war has impacted development directly, upturning the lives of many of the developers at GSC Game World. Some moved with the studio to Prague, others stayed in Kyiv, and a few joined Ukraine’s armed forces and took the frontlines. The game was indefinitely delayed then but was restarted with the team members still available to work in June 2022.

Stalker 2 showcases some truly impressive visuals. / GSC Game World

Set in a more extreme, alternate version of the very real Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, the Stalker series is intrinsically linked with the aftermath of the Soviet Union. It doesn’t just inform the setting, it informs the upbringing of everyone raised in Ukraine. This infamous, man-made disaster is something that happened in a far-off place for most people, but for many of the developers at GSC Game World, it informed how they grew up, as well as the political sentiments of those around them.

“I was in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone myself – it doesn’t feel like an amusement zone,” PR manager Zakhar Bocharov tells me. “I think for all the people who were born and raised after the collapse of the Soviet Union, things that you see in the game are a part of your scenery... That’s what we have seen outside our windows [all our lives]. That was a hard part of the story for all the countries of the former Soviet Union. That was part of the story for Ukraine. It’s a part of your DNA.”

Anomalies in Stalker 2 feel more paranormal than scientific. / GSC Game World

The Stalker series hits close to home for those in the former Soviet Union. While Americans probably get some part of states represented in a game several times a year, this corner of the world is rarely touched upon, and that touch needs to be a sensitive one.

“Chornobyl is extremely sensitive and it’s close to almost every Ukrainian because the tragedy was not so long ago and some people are still seeing health consequences,” Bocharov explains. “It’s still a painful topic, and that’s why it’s a good place to reflect – because that’s where you feel strong feelings. You reflect on that, and then you can create something.”

Stalker 2 has a variety of NPCs to interact with. / GSC Game World

That’s why, on March 14, 2022, Stalker 2’s subtitle was changed very slightly, to ‘Heart of Chornobyl’. This Ukrainian romanization is less common than the Russian one most Westerners are used to with ‘Chernobyl’, but this seemingly small act of defiance in an ongoing conflict is what makes Stalker 2 that much more powerful as a piece of art. Stalker 2 exists in defiance of the gaming industry, just as its developers and Ukraine exist in defiance of an ongoing Russian invasion. 

The development of Stalker 2 feels like history in the making. Historians will look back on it in generations to come to dissect the attitudes, politics, and humanity of the people of the former Soviet Union, and the independence of Ukraine.