Game is good, great even, but not excellent.
I'm enjoying my time but there is a lot of jank, small bugs that break immersion but they can be tolerated, nothing game breaking so far.

Performance issues probably tied to Unreal Engine, but also poor optimization in general.

Gameplay is good but there are questionable design choices, which make the game feel ever so slightly disjointed, I guess it makes sense considering what is happening in Ukraine. However, these small inconsistencies can be fixed with mods, in that sense it feels a little bit like a Bethesda game, the developers gave the meat and potatoes, and then gave the ingredients for the gravy to the community. Even small mods elevate the game from a solid 7 to an 8.

In general, the release of 1.0 feels like a hidden early access copy, like a 0.9, but it's nowhere near as bad as other launches we had in the past, it's relatively decent. Patches are also coming in at a steady pace.

Reading from the path notes - THIS WAS JUST FIXED
I absolutely detest one mechanic however which I guess might be patched at a later date, but it's kind of core to the game right now. Sometimes enemy squads spawn around you VERY close to you, I've had a few instances where I was clearing out a complex of buildings and a team of enemies spawned behind me, in a location I already cleared, which is also walled off... I try to roleplay it as a team sneaking up on me, but sometimes the spawn in is very blatant.

All in all, I recommend Stalker 2, it could've been much worse to be honest and we're starved for good immersive sims.
If you're on the fence tho, wait for some patches.

Game is good, great even, but not excellent. I'm enjoying my time but there is a lot of jank, small bugs that break immersion but they can be tolerated, nothing game breaking so far. Performance issues probably tied to Unreal Engine, but also poor optimization in general. Gameplay is good but there are questionable design choices, which make the game feel ever so slightly disjointed, I guess it makes sense considering what is happening in Ukraine. However, these small inconsistencies can be fixed with mods, in that sense it feels a little bit like a Bethesda game, the developers gave the meat and potatoes, and then gave the ingredients for the gravy to the community. Even small mods elevate the game from a solid 7 to an 8. In general, the release of 1.0 feels like a hidden early access copy, like a 0.9, but it's nowhere near as bad as other launches we had in the past, it's relatively decent. Patches are also coming in at a steady pace. Reading from the path notes - THIS WAS JUST FIXED I absolutely detest one mechanic however which I guess might be patched at a later date, but it's kind of core to the game right now. Sometimes enemy squads spawn around you VERY close to you, I've had a few instances where I was clearing out a complex of buildings and a team of enemies spawned behind me, in a location I already cleared, which is also walled off... I try to roleplay it as a team sneaking up on me, but sometimes the spawn in is very blatant. All in all, I recommend Stalker 2, it could've been much worse to be honest and we're starved for good immersive sims. If you're on the fence tho, wait for some patches.