S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Give it 3 hours
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 3 reviews are negative (38%); after 20h it's 1 in 5 (18%).
- At least 12% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “Welcome to the Zone” and “Good hunting, stalker”: from 100% to 74% of starters.
- 86% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 143,089 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 296 reviews: 61h for positive, 23.1h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (85.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Welcome to the Zone Prologue complete, but this is so far from over. 100%
- Good hunting, stalker Leave the Lesser Zone to go Scanner-hunting. More miracles await, and more dangers, too. Most players quit here 74% −26
- Would you like some toast? Meet Scar. 59% −15
- Eyes on the prize Retrieve the stolen Scanner. Time to find out what is so special about it. 48% −12
- I see you have many questions Meet the C-Consciousness Representative. Didn't Strelok finish them off? 33% −14
- Living legend Meet Strelok. How was it, talking to a living legend? 30% −4
- The Prypiat guardian Meet Degtyarev in Prypiat. The toughest place in the Zone has the toughest-looking watchman. 27% −2
- She will never be free Strelok went into the pod to protect her. Always. ≥12% −16
story milestone ending (most common ending) biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (76)
story milestone ending side
- Welcome to the Zone Prologue complete, but this is so far from over. 100%
- Goss Join Stalkers for some campfire gossip. 78%
- Lockpick Lure a mutant into an anomaly. Hardly a noble deed, but it gets the job done. 77%
- Proxy Kill a squad that just finished off another squad and won the fight. Or so they thought… 75%
- First touches First equipment enhancement. Never the last, for most Zone folks. 75%
- Good hunting, stalker Leave the Lesser Zone to go Scanner-hunting. More miracles await, and more dangers, too. 74%
- On the go Bread and sausage — Zone's most popular sandwich recipe. 74%
- Clincher 100 enemies shot in the head. Not bad for a head start… 68%
- Pump it up Fully enhance any type of weapon. Somewhere out there, a Zone technician just shed a tear of pride.. 62%
- Would you like some toast? Meet Scar. 59%
- The good, the bad and the ugly 5 headshots in 10 seconds. Good eye. 49%
- Eyes on the prize Retrieve the stolen Scanner. Time to find out what is so special about it. 48%
- House of glass Witness the temple of science get destroyed. 45%
- Your move! Found a unique weapon designed for a kingpin. Checkmate! 45%
- Personal approach One fight, four enemies, killed by different weapons. That trick would charm the hell out of Mavka! 42%
- Peace and quiet Kill everyone in the camp before the alarm is set off. They couldn't see it coming! 42%
- Taking it for granted Gear broken beyond repair. Don't forget to pay regular visits to the technician. 42%
- Monolith envoy You know more than I do, envoy. 34%
- Such is the will of the Monolith Kill Faust. 34%
- Coupons to burn Spend over 1,000,000 coupons. Myklukha and Sidorovich will fight hard over their favorite customer. 33%
- I see you have many questions Meet the C-Consciousness Representative. Didn't Strelok finish them off? 33%
- Baptism by fire Help Zalissya survive the Monolith attack. New generations of stalkers will have a place to stay. 32%
- Doctor's oath The mysterious Doctor had to reveal what he'd been hiding. 31%
- Run, stalker, run! That Chimera made you run like an Olympic champion! 30%
- Living legend Meet Strelok. How was it, talking to a living legend? 30%
- Zone's deadliest predator Kill a mutant of every kind. You'll need a bigger wall to fit all those trophies! 29%
- The Prypiat guardian Meet Degtyarev in Prypiat. The toughest place in the Zone has the toughest-looking watchman. 27%
- Bouncy A successful jump from a 30-meter height. No parachute, though. 26%
- Alas poor Yorick Kill Scar. 23%
- Can opener Use a knife to kill an enemy wearing an exoskeleton. Epic battle indeed. 20%
- All quiet in the Zone Kill Korshunov. 19%
- Apple-shot Three precise shots at apples spared stalker lives and helped you win a twisted bandit's game. 19%
- No obstacle too big… Kill 50 enemies through obstacles. No one in the Zone is really safe. 19%
- Legends never die Kill the Strelok. 17%
- Merry-go-round Drop a corpse into the Whirlgig anomaly. A joy for someone who never got to ride the Ferris Wheel. 17%
- The good ol' days Help Skadovsk get its name and rightful owners back. 15%
- Keeping your hands steady Shoot an enemy in the head, through an obstacle, having the intoxication effect. 15%
- On a leash The Leash project experiments are finally over. Hopefully. 14%
- She will never be free Strelok went into the pod to protect her. Always. 12%
- One awkward step I am blind, but it's you who cannot see. 11%
- High voltage Find a way into the Iron Forest. What mysteries are waiting behind the wall? 11%
- Project Y Go through with Kaimanov's initial plan. 9.9%
- Tit for tat Sidorovich's worst nightmare: buy and sell goods for the exact same amount of coupons in one deal. 9.4%
- Casus Belli Witness the breach of D4. Myklukha and Voronin wouldn't budge, so Duty and Freedom are foes again. 9.2%
- Loner shooter Shoot an enemy in the head from 75 meters. No scope-peeking! 9.0%
- Brave new world Korshunov sacrificed himself so that humanity could have a new future, free of doubt and the Zone. 8.5%
- Between the lines The "Best reader" award. And reward. 7.7%
- The territory of the future Get to the SIRCAA ruins and see for yourself what's left of the 'Temple of Science'. 7.5%
- Welcome back Get out of the Spatial Bubble. That place was weird, even by Zone standards. 6.9%
- Wiped out Kill a Rodent using a grenade launcher. A good wipe-out makes the Duty proud. 6.9%
- Get your hands dirty Get an artifact from the chimera's remains in the Spatial Bubble with your own hands. 6.6%
- Shadows of the idols Meet the founders of Duty and Freedom. Their beliefs may be different, but determination is common. 6.6%
- It's a no-brainer! Defeat the Psi Brain. Bigger isn't always better. 6.4%
- Goodnight Get 20 covert kills. The Zone likes it quiet. 6.2%
- Kilometer Zero Reach the CNPP and join the ranks of the Zone's legends. 6.1%
- Curiouser and curiouser! Collect all arch-artifacts. A priceless collection, arguably too weird, even by Zone standards. 5.9%
- Catching up Shoot an incoming grenade to make it explode. Nice view! 4.9%
- The four winds Unlock the whole map. Few folks know the Zone this well. 4.1%
- Freedom of Choice Take Mavka's side in the conflict with Zulu. 4.0%
- The end of the Golden Era Kill Myklukha in the Arena. This performance will be hard to beat. 3.8%
- The times of Freedom Set up a new Freedom base at the CNPP. Will there be an Arena, too? 3.7%
- This is our Duty Take Zulu's side in the conflict with Mavka. 3.7%
- Today never ends Scar went into the pod to rid the Zone of darkness. 3.6%
- In the heart of the enemy Set up a new Duty base at the CNPP. The Zone will one day end where it began. 3.5%
- His last order Witness Voronin's sacrifice at the Monorail. Now you have to make sure it was worth it. 3.5%
- Contra spem spero Help Mavka save the technology and bring it to the Mainland. And get an Oasis as a farewell gift. 3.5%
- Battle on – and win your battle! Help Zulu destroy all the samples of the technology. One less threat in the Zone. 3.3%
- The draw of the Flare Put together fragments of the past and grasp the light of the Flare. 3.0%
- Flash Royal Gather all armor and gear enhancement flash drives. 2.3%
- BOOM! 20 enemies killed by blowing up the surroundings. Save on hand grenades and enjoy the fireworks. 2.3%
- Scanning complete You were out looking for a scanner, but ended up collecting them all. 2.2%
- Stalker's smarts Find a way to get the parts without sneaking into the warehouse. 2.2%
- Voices of the Zone Get a hint for a stash from the Faraday Anomaly. The Zone favors those who listen. 1.9%
- Bingo Experience the effects of bleeding, sleep, hunger, alcohol, radiation and psi. Doesn't sound pretty. 1.9%
- Wardens drool Save a bandit's life, get on the Ward's naughty list. Was it worth it? 1.9%
- Miracle hoarder Collect all artifacts. What about arch-artifacts? 1.7%