STALKER 2: The Heart of Chornobyl - review and comparison of graphic settings

The game was developed on the engine Unreal Engine 5.1, which the developers say was heavily modified to create the game.

For most graphic settings, there are 4 parameters: Epic, High, Medium and Low. Those settings that were not included in the review did not have a visible effect on the image quality or the difference is only visible in dynamics, which is quite difficult to track. Also, for some graphic parameters, a comparison was made only for Epic and Low settings, since at least some visible difference is visible only at the extreme values.

Let's start with Texture qualities. The changes are visible for all settings, which is manifested in a decrease in the clarity and relief of textures. The transition from Epic to High and Medium is quite weakly noticeable, the transition from Medium to Low is most visible, which makes textures with allm blurry and "plastic".

Next comes Hair quality. As you can see from the screenshot, if there is a difference, it is rather weakly noticeable and is caused, rather, by the difference in the lighting of the scene.

Object detailing - the game description states that the setting is responsible for the quality of objects in the world. However, judging by the screenshots, the difference between the Epic and Low presets is quite insignificant: with low quality, the picture becomes a little more "flat" and simplified.

Quality of materials. As you can see from the screenshots, it is quite difficult to notice any more or less clear difference between Epic and Low settings with the naked eye.

Go to Smoothing. As you can see from all the screenshots, anti-aliasing in the game is implemented pretty terribly at all levels. If there is practically no noticeable difference between the Epic, High and Medium presets, then switching to Low immediately makes the picture look unsightly, adding artifacts. Let's move on to upscales, without which there is basically no anti-aliasing in the game. The comparison will be carried out in the native mode with an image sharpness of 26%, higher values ​​already give oversharpening. TAA traditionally gives a standard and slightly blurry picture, but TSR copes a little better. FSR, oddly enough, in this game gives the sharpest image even in comparison with DLSS DLAA, and XeSS, as in most games, gives a good result, but, again, blurs the image. As a result, despite the fact that DLSS DLAA is traditionally the best upscaler in the vast majority of games, in STALKER 2, according to subjective feelings, FSR did a better job with anti-aliasing than all the others, since it produces the least blurry picture of all the upscalers.

Light pillarsThere are only 2 parameters: On and Off, when turned on, the light beams in the room give a softer light and shadows, otherwise the effect is minimal.

Next comes Shading quality. The comparison was made outdoors and indoors, as there may be errors in the comparison due to dynamic weather and clouds outdoors. Again, as with most graphics settings in STALKER 2, a noticeable difference is only visible when switching from Epic to Low presets. The transition manifests itself in a decrease in the quality and quantity of soft shadows, and on Low the picture looks quite flat.

Global Illumination. Here, a comparison was also made indoors and outdoors. The conclusions are similar to the previous ones: many soft shadows are missing on Low, and the lighting looks less voluminous and natural.

Reflections. Overall, without hardware ray tracing and without normal activation of Lumen, the reflections in the game are made rather mediocre and are not its strong point. But since the game takes place in a huge open world, then full activation of Lumen through editing the game config significantly worsens the already limping optimization. And again, the differences are visible only between the Epic and Low levels.

shadow. Standard reduction in shadow clarity and saturation when lowering settings, as in most games. At maximum settings, shadows get additional anti-aliasing at long distances.

Vegetation quality. One of the few settings where you can actually see changes at each quality level: there is a decrease in the quantity and quality of vegetation.

Render distance. When you lower the settings, you see a simplification of the scene in the background and the image becomes a little flatter, losing depth. Basically, the draw distance has an effect in dynamics, not in statics.

So, let's sum it up. The graphics in the game have really moved to the next level and look impressive. However, not as impressive as we would like with this level of optimization. STALKER 2: The Heart of Chornobyl is definitely a step forward compared to previous games in the series, both visually and technologically. Using Unreal Engine 5.1 with its new features — including support for dynamic lighting, global occlusion, and complex materials — creates a more modern and voluminous picture. However, it is difficult to call the game “next-gen” in the full sense of the word. Yes, the world has become richer, the shadows are softer, and the lighting is more realistic, but the feeling of a real graphical breakthrough, as, for example, in Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition or Cyberpunk 2077, until it arises.

Optimization remains a significant problem. The game does not always scale adequately for hardware, and system requirements often do not match what you see on the screen. Even on powerful configurations, the stability and smoothness of the picture can raise questions. Some textures and objects look unexpectedly simplified, especially when the quality is reduced - which, against the background of other graphic effects, creates a feeling of uneven priority in development.

As for the graphic settings, their breadth is pleasing. However, a detailed analysis shows that the real difference in image quality appears almost exclusively when moving from epic to low values. Most intermediate presets provide only a minor visual change, which does not always justify the increase in performance.

The anti-aliasing system stands apart. Built-in methods (TAA, TSR, XeSS) do not cope with the task in the best way, and DLSS, although it traditionally gives a stable picture, is unexpectedly inferior in clarity to FSR 3.1 - which is rare in modern projects. It is FSR that gives the most readable and least blurry image with a comparable level of performance.

In the end, STALKER 2 is a game that is visually confident, but not outstanding. With all the technological base and potential of the engine, in practice it feels more like a compromise between ambitions and reality than a demonstration of the capabilities of the new generation. In places, the game really captivates with its atmosphere and elaboration, but it also often gives reason to think - where is that "breakthrough"? Perhaps it is still ahead, after improvements and patches, but at the moment - this is, first of all, a game where the visuals depend not only on the engine, but also on fine-tuning by hand. By editing the game configs, you can achieve much greater efficiency, including manually activating or deactivating functions like Lumen or Nanite, but in this case, the responsibility for optimization and stability of the game falls solely on the shoulders of the player. Otherwise, all that remains is to wait for the next patches and hope that the developers will follow the path of CD Project Red and that over time STALKER 2 will fully reveal its potential, both visually and technically.