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Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is out now and you can play it via GeForce Now. This is great news for people like me with crappy laptops, as while Stalker 2 is a fantastic, atmospheric experience, it's also very buggy and demanding even on mid-range computers.
In Stalker 2 review, Andy wrote it was "The best but most broken game I've played all year." After reviewing the game myself, I agree. I played on a laptop with an i7 core and an Nvidia RTX 2070, but even on medium settings there was frequent texture pop, my frame rate tanked whenever I went to an area with a lot of NPCs, and I lost track of how many times the audio for my guns simply stopped working.
I'm back to using my crappy writing laptop which only has an integrated graphics card, but what I do have is a fast internet connection, which is all you need to stream games via the cloud on GeForce Now. It's an Nvidia service that allows you to stream games you already own using the company's servers, meaning you can play on your phone, mac, laptop, and even smart TV without needing to buy expensive hardware.
There's a free tier you can use if you want to just trial it. This has ads and limits you to one hour play sessions, but it's a good taster. The performance tier has no ads, six hour play sessions, and Nvidia RTX, so the game will look better on it. The ultimate tier has eight hour sessions (though you should probably take breaks) and gives you DLSS frame generation as well, meaning even the busiest parts of the Zone should look smooth. You can check out the tiers for yourself here. I use the ultimate tier, but the premium tier will be perfect for most of you and it's half the price of ultimate.
There's also a deal on right now for 25% off a day pass so you can try out the premium and ultimate memberships and see which you prefer. It's only available until Friday, November 22, so check out the details here if you're interested.
As of January 1, 2025, GFN will be implementing a playtime limit of 100 hours per month to ensure queue times are low for everyone. One caveat is that you can roll over 15 hours. That means if you play for 85 hours one month, you can play for 115 the next. It only rolls over for one month, though, so if you then play for 99 hours, you'll get 101 the next month, not 116. I've asked, and the reverse doesn't work, so you can't play more hours one month in exchange for less play time the next. If you become a GFN subscriber in 2024, though, this change won't affect you until January 1, 2026.
Also being added to GFN alongside Stalker 2 are the game of the year editions of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Fallout 3 is my absolute favorite Fallout game – and yes I've played New Vegas and the originals, I said what I said.
If you'd prefer to just upgrade your hardware instead, you should check out the best PC graphics cards available this year. We've also got a comprehensive list of Stalker 2 guides to help you survive the brutally oppressive Zone.
