STALKER 2 is out

It happened. It really happened. STALKER 2 finally released. More
unexpected things have happened this year, but not more welcome.

Not that I'm buying it. Not yet at least. Not that I besmirch the
developers getting paid for their hard work, but I just don't feel
like paying $60 USD for a game in a franchise I've only lukewarm
feelings toward.

(Much less $80 or $110 USD for the Deluxe or Ultimate versions,
respectively. Honestly, the division of the game into these various
editions annoyed me enough to kill any desire to pay even the $60 USD
asking price for the standard edition).

Reviews are -unsurprisingly- overwhelmingly positive, although I'm
sure that has more to do with nostalgia for the franchise than any
actual, honest appraisal of the game (anyway, it's a huge game and how
anyone could honestly make judgement on the game after only a few
hours is a mystery to me). Also, this being 2024, I'm sure the game
released full of bugs and with poor optimization; it's worth waiting a
few weeks (or months!) just for all that nonsense to sort out. We'll
see what people really think about the game in February.

Still, congrats to GSC Gameworld (the developers) for finally
releasing the game. That's a hard struggle for a small developer with
an outlandishly large reputation under any circumstances; expectations
are unproportionally high. But having to do that while your homeland
is literally under siege and on fire... it's an impressive feat. My
hat is off to you, gentlefolk.