New major S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 patch fixes 1,800 bugs

Since its rocky release, GSC Game World has been hard at work fixing the messy aspects of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Its first big patch has dropped, fixed a whopping 1,800 bugs, and improved the busted A-Life system.

In a lengthy 3K word patch note (via VGC), it details the many things fixed, including quest fixes, performance stuff, and the aforementioned A-Life system. The system was put in place to make the world feel more lived in, but it turned into a big complaint among fans and critics, who noticed not only was the system busted, but sometimes combat encounters in previously cleared areas would also occur.

In our review of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, we said: “While some parts of the game still need a bit of time in the oven, I can see myself coming back to the Zone.”

The patch is available on both PC and Xbox, so players aren’t quite left out.

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger Editor-in-Chief

Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he's been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to TV and film. Starting as a contributor for PSX Extreme, he's worked his way up to its Managing Editor. Using what's he learned over the years, he founded Smash Jump to remind everyone to smash jump.