Stalker 2’s first major patch is focused on bug fixes, but some major issues will remain

A new patch for Stalker 2 is coming this week on PC and Xbox Series X|S

Stalker 2 / GSC Game World

Stalker 2 launched in a bit of a rough state, to say the least, with hundreds of bugs and issues present in the game’s launch version, despite a hefty day one patch. Developer GSC Game World has identified many of these issues, and a patch is due sometime this week to help address some of the issues. 

In a post on Steam, GSC Game World laid out a host of fixes coming “during the week to come” in the first post-launch patch for Stalker 2. There are far too many fixes to list here, but among the fixes are those to issues with memory allocation, game-breaking progression bugs, NPC behavior, visual fixes, and more. 

GSC Game World says that a few main quests, like Visions of Truth and A Minor Incident, have been slightly revised, too, “to ensure smooth transitions” after some players, in rare instances, found they were unable to progress. Other fixes include some changes to game balance, with fixes related to the value of weapons said to be included in the patch. 

Unfortunately, some more major issues won’t be addressed in this first patch, although the developer says it’s still working to address them in future patches. The main issue, for pretty much all players, is that there are some pretty substantial bugs in the A-Life system, which is what GSC Game World calls its enemy and NPC AI system. This won’t be fixed this week, but it is in the works. 

Another issue relates to the handling of analog stick inputs on both Xbox Series X|S and PC when using a controller. At the moment, there is no dead zone for analog inputs, meaning the slightest movement of the stick immediately starts moving the character. This might not seem like a bad thing at first, but consider that most controllers have some kind of stick drift – even if it’s a tiny amount – and these tiny movements can mess up a shot or prevent you from walking in a straight line. This, too, will be fixed in the future, but for now players on either platform are better using a mouse and keyboard — or just waiting for future fixes. 

The bugs present in the game at launch were part of the reason we gave Stalker 2 a 5/10 in our review, with Kirk saying that the game was “one for the sickos”: 

I really wanted a win for this development studio. The Ukrainian developer has weathered a pandemic, escaped a warzone, and developed this game while under unprecedented pressure. If I could score a game for heart, it’d be a ten out of ten. Maybe one day it will be, but it’s not there yet. One for the sickos.