A highly anticipated day-one Xbox Game Pass game shares some stunning new screenshots showcasing its recently redesigned HUD.
Highlights
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl shared some stunning new screenshots showcasing a number of its environments.
The newly emerged images also reveal the game's recently revamped HUD, which is slightly more stylized and a lot more colorful.
While STALKER 2 remains without a release date, its developer recently assured fans that the game is still targeting a Q1 2024 release on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl shared some stunning new screenshots showcasing a number of its environments, as well as its recently revised heads-up display (HUD). This latest look at the game surfaced online without much fanfare shortly after GSC Game World assured its fandom that STALKER 2 is still targeting an early 2024 release.
The original STALKER trilogy achieved cult status for its unique blend of survival, horror, open-world exploration, and role-playing elements. While GSC canceled the original follow-up to the trilogy, the project restarted development circa 2018. Some two years later, STALKER 2 was confirmed as a day-one Xbox Game Pass title.
And while the game is still without an official release date, GSC just updated its Epic Games Store page with four new screenshots. The images, first spotted by Twitter user Stalker2News, showcase some stunning new environments, including a post-apocalyptic farm with a windmill and what appears to be some kind of a desolate boathouse. One of the screenshots features a firefight with members of the Zone, while another depicts a clash of some mutated and rather unfriendly-looking fauna.
New STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Screenshots
While a few screenshots from the recently surfaced batch were already shared by the STALKER 2 developer in 2023, the freshly emerged images are still notable for including a revamped HUD. Specifically, it would appear that GSC ended up revising the game's heads-up display with the goal of delivering a slightly more stylized interface. The most noticeable change concerns the bottom-left corner of the screen, which now features indicators for hunger, sleep, and overencumbrance. What appears to be a radiation meter is also a permanent feature of the newly redesigned HUD. If the past three games are any indication, all of these HUD elements will likely be user-toggleable.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl UI Comparison
Other than that, the compass at the top of the screen appears to be slightly more detailed compared to the previously shared STALKER 2 screenshots. Specifically, this HUD element is now divided into smaller angle increments, while the icons that it displays are no longer black-and-white, but color-coded. For example, the player's current objective is marked with a dark shade of orange verging on gold, while custom landmarks are displayed in green. Enemy indicators are bright red, while all the other icons visible in the screenshots are white.
GSC has yet to treat its upcoming title to a release date after delaying STALKER 2 to 2024. Given that state of affairs, and in light of the studio's recent reassurance that the game is still targeting a first-quarter debut, March 2024 seems like the safest prediction for its launch window.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an upcoming survival horror game from Ukrainian studio GSC Game World that will, despite its name, be the fourth entry in the first-person shooter franchise. The game was originally scheduled to release in 2022; however, it was delayed due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The game is still being developed though and is expected to release in Q1 2024.