STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylhas finally arrived with a positive reception after years of delays. While the long-awaited sequel successfully captured what made the original games so great,STALKER 2still lacks one feature that fans have been craving to see for years.STALKER 2lacks any multiplayer features at launch, and although multiplayer could come in the future, there are no plans for the addition of the co-op campaign.
DespiteSTALKER 2’s lack of a traditional co-op mode,future multiplayer plansmay expand on the playable versions seen in past games.The simplicity of the previous PvP modes in previousSTALKERgames made them something of a letdownwhen compared to the unique multiplayer experience, being watered-down versions of simple PvP from other games like Counter-Strike. TheSTALKERfranchise is no stranger to complex factions or groups of Stalkers traveling the Zone, and while it would be difficult to add on a technical level, traveling in groups is the safest way to survive the deadly world ofSTALKER.
STALKER 2’s Lack Of Co-Op Is No Surprise
Following A Long-Lived Franchise Tradition
While the lack of co-op inSTALKER 2’s can be disappointing, it’s not something that any long-time fans should be surprised to see missing.TheSTALKERfranchise has always striven to deliver an immersive and incredibly challenging single-player experience, with co-op likely standing in the way of the developer’s idealSTALKERexperience. Not only would co-op remove some of the immersion andfear factorSTALKERis known for, but it would be incredibly difficult to add without buildingSTALKER 2from the ground up with co-op in mind.
More Games Need To Implement STALKER 2’s Coolest Feature
STALKER 2’s coolest feature not only makes it an incredibly immersive experience but also puts it leagues ahead of other RPGs like Fallout.
With STALKER 2 being released so long after the original franchise,it’s a much safer bet to focus on the franchise’s greatest strengths rather than experimenting with new mechanics like co-op. Fans hoping for a future co-op update toSTALKER 2will find themselves disappointed, but the full modding support thanks to Unreal Engine 5 offers a glimmer of hope in the form of community-made multiplayer mods. Players will also have to wait a while to receive the planned multiplayer update, as the developers work to stabilizeSTALKER 2for a more seamless experience, with the 1.0.1 patch fixing over650 known issues.
Call Of Pripyat Has A Proper Multiplayer Mod
Giving Players The True Co-Op STALKER Experience
While there’s no officialSTALKERco-op mode in any of its four releases, some dedicated members in the community have already made their own working co-op mods. While the mods themselves have varying levels of success, the X-Ray Multiplayer Extension forSTALKER: Call of Pripyatby thexMPE Teamon ModDB has come the closest to emulating the true co-opSTALKERexperience.This mod is still being worked on to this very day, with the latest update from November 10 serving as the release of a fullCall of Pripyatco-op mode with features restored from the single-player game.
The X-Ray Multiplayer Extnesion mod also comes with changes and fixes for elements like UI and animations.
The X-Ray Multiplayer Extension works almost seamlessly for players, letting them experience the updated co-op campaign in its entirety with some additional modding support, making the post-apocalyptic open world feel much less lonely.While this multiplayer mod still has its share of minor issues and bug fixes, it’s the most stable yet and is an amazing community achievement, especially given how old the originalSTALKERgames are. The concept of adding multiplayer mods to classic games has become a reality for more and more games over the years, with the legendarySkyrim co-op modhaving helped to pave the way.
STALKER 1 & 2 Don’t Have The Same Solutions
Unfortunately for fans hoping to experienceSTALKER: Shadow Of ChernobylorSTALKER: Clear Sky,multiplayer mods for the olderSTALKERgames are much more unstable and less developed in comparison. While there’s been some success in adding co-op to these games by building off of the X-Ray Multiplayer Extension, they are often riddled with bugs, constant crashes, and a lack of necessary features like saving or open-world consistency. Despite these issues, it’s still possible to play the olderSTALKERgames in multiplayer, but it’s far from the relatively ideal experience found inSTALKER: Call of Pripyat.
10 Things To Do First In Stalker 2 (Essential Beginner Tips)
STALKER 2 is a big game, and navigating it might be a challenge without a few hints to light the way and make the opening hours of the game easier.
While it’s uncertain if players will be able to solve the modding problems of the drastically olderSTALKERgames, there’s still hope forSTALKER 2’s future community creations. Acknowledging the popularity of mods being an integral part ofSTALKER’s success over the years,the developers plan to support community creations by adding a modding toolkit for Xbox Series X/S.
Not only are the developers planning to support the modding community over time, but the updated Unreal Engine 5 will make it drastically easier to edit compared to previous engines, being just the thing fans need to bring their creations to life. While it will be a mountainous challenge to add a true co-op mode toSTALKER 2, the new release is bringing back some much-needed life into the cult-classic franchise, reinvigorating the even larger modding community to try once more.
