Stalker 2 Heart of Chernobyl looks stunning and uses modern technology to create the same atmosphere as the first game.

I am, unfortunately, a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to videogames--especially ones like Stalker. In my heart, i know that atmosphere is not a function of graphical fidelity. A skilled artist can create a game that is deeply immersive with just a few pixels, a few shillings and some cardboard.

The presentation is a big reason why I haven't played Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl, despite all of the praise I've heard. The game's immersive atmosphere and visuals are lauded for their timelessness, but they have a short shelf life. It was developed using the X-Ray Engine, but I can't get away from the source-engine smell.

This is a personal failure. After playing a demo of the game on the Gamescom show floor, I am happy to report that the developer GSC Game World excelled in areas where it was already strong, and that the studio is on the way to creating a game with a legendary texture that rivals that of the first, using all the modern tools in its toolbox.

The short session I played followed Skif, an incredibly surly fellow who returned to the zone with a piece of artifact and a thirst to find answers. I'm a newbie to the franchise, so I didn't pay attention to the finer details. I was pushed through a pitch-black, dank sewer to teach me the basics before being given a map, a series of open fields with abandoned farms in them, and a few locations to scan.

In an interview with the studio's technical director Evgeniy Kulik, I was reassured that all locations, from the biggest cities to the smallest villages in the game, were made by hand. I can definitely feel it. I nervously crawl into abandoned buildings without my flashlight. While many are desolate and eerie, I am equally surprised at how many still show signs of life. The bodies are often slouched over by vignettes of a homey atmosphere, a collection of items that try to make this localised apocalypse feel more comfortable.

As a newcomer, I have few complaints about the gameplay. Most mechanics are easy to understand, and I even had a great little battle with an invisible mutant, where I had to turn and fire based on its footsteps, given my limited vision.

I was mainly thinking about how far the studio has come since the first game 16 years ago. Not only in terms its harrowing, real-life struggles - test builds being leaked, a war in progress, and a new, separate office suffering a fire away from said conflict - but also in terms of the things I am seeing, feeling, and hearing as I slink through the underbrush.

When I compare notes with PC Gamer's Phil Savage who played the demo at Gamescom last year, I get a sense that I've had an experience that's been much more relaxed. It's either because GSC GameWorld is so good at building tension and releasing it, or I played like an absolute scaredy-cat.

In one segment, when I go to a bunker to establish contact, I find that everyone has been killed. I slink around corners and cautiously search for laptops, waiting for the killer to jump out. If I'm lucky, it might be with an "ooga booga". Stalker 2 resisted this urge and it made me more nervous. I can imagine that the full game will use this trick with brutal efficiency. After all, the monsters that you cannot see are the most terrifying.

The modernisations in Stalker 2 could be what gets me on board the series, and--with any hope--shedding my irradiated skin like so much irradiated meat, motivating to go back and try the first games. If I can survive a duel against a mutant equipped with in-built cloaking tech with a rusty assault weapon, I'm sure I can handle the original recipe. (He said with immeasurable hubris). Stalker 2 is scheduled to release on November 20.