It's a big day for , which saw the return of A-Life in the as well as the addition of the absolutely massive (as in, bigger than my whole entire primary SSD) , a modding toolkit that will enable users to "modify existing content or create new experiences—animations, [[link]] weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone."
Even though the Zone Kit has been out for less than a day, there are already dozens of new Stalker 2 mods available on , and for much of that early rush you can thank , a prolific modder who appears to be , a self-described "" who is more formally credited as an architecture artist and outsource art manager at GSC Game World.
? Check. ? Check. ? You better believe that's a check. You can replace boars with , or rat swarms with , or turn Siderovich into a sort of centaur thing, except instead of a horse body it's more of a messed-up mutant deer—the , naturally. You can also turn him into a if that's what you're into.
For its part, the Stalker subreddit seems to prefer the Strelok E3 hairstyle as "peak," and you know what? Fair enough.
from
(That's apparently based on an , by the way.)
"Can't wait to see someone fight Shrek in the Swamps while outrunning several Sherman Tanks with only Sidorovich in their hands to survive," redditor wrote, describing a scenario that has a reasonable chance of happening by this weekend, if it hasn't happened already.
Alongside Silantev's work, there's a growing number of less fanciful (but perhaps more practical) mods, like animated menu screens, weapon and animation tweaks, and A-Life adjustments, and there will no doubt be more, and more advanced mods, in the future. GSC Game World said the current version of the Zone Kit is "phase one," and that "there will be [[link]] even more things to do with the Zone" when phase two arrives.
Establishing a thriving mod scene is vital for the long-term success of Stalker 2. As others in the subreddit pointed out, mods represent durability, especially for games like Stalker 2 that [[link]] have boundless potential and almost as much jank. The original Stalker benefitted tremendously from post-launch mods, and redditor predicted the same for the sequel: "I can see it now. Stalker 2 may have had a rocky start, but five or so years from now this game will be considered an absolute gem and a fan favorite."
I've reached out to GSC Game World to confirm this is actually Silantev's work, and will update when I hear back.