The STALKER 2 Ultra Plus Graphics mod significantly improves the game's visuals without completely butchering performance, as highlighted by a new comparison video.
The new video put together by MxBenchmarkPC puts the vanilla and modded game running side by side, highlighting the massive visual enhancements brought by improved Lumen GI, Reflections and Ambient Occlusion, increased Lumen draw distance for indirect lighting, improved overall shadow quality and ambient occlusion in vegetation, increased LOD distance for vegetation and geometry and more. While these enhancements obviously impact performance, the drop is not as massive as one might have expected, as the game still manages to run in the 50/60 FPS range at 4K resolution with NVIDIA DLSS in Quality Mode on an RTX 5080 without Frame Generation.
STALKER 2 launched late last year on PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S after a few delays. The game is a worthy successor to the original in every regard, offering an engaging experience that can be more than challenging at times, as highlighted by Alessio in his review.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a worthy successor of the original in every regard, good and bad. The vision is the same: an uncompromising game that will often frustrate you, but also offers a unique experience that can hardly be found anywhere else. It's the classic example where the total is more than the mere sum of its parts. Bugs and balance issues are still very much an issue, but they shouldn't stand in your way of playing, especially if you're willing to wait a while for developers and modders to fix them. If you enjoy open world games and shooters and don't mind a challenge, there's no reason for you to pass up on this game.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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