STALKER 2 is the best with Ukrainian voice acting (and English subtitles)

After my colleague Charlie Hall reviewed it STALKER 2 for Polygon and wrote some beginner tips, he gave me a bonus tip that I would like to pass on to all of you here: Turn on the Ukrainian language voice acting with English subtitles. Yes, you will have to do some reading and therefore pay more attention while playing the game, but STALKER 2 is difficult, so you pay close attention anyway. The switch is definitely worth it.

The English voice acting obviously sounds great, and if you never switched to the Ukrainian voice acting, you could just enjoy the entire game without any idea what you’re missing. (My use of the word “enjoy” ignores the relatively unstable state of the game at the time of writing this; I’m playing on Xbox Series S via Game Pass, a version that does some problemsbut so far I’ve had pretty good luck with it.)

There are many good reasons to change languages. One reason is plain old realism. STALKER 2 is designed by Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, and development continues even after the Russian invasion in 2022. The STALKER series is post-apocalyptic science fiction set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine, and STALKER 2 continues that story, depicting characters from that area dealing with both supernatural and real threats and finding community among each other despite the conditions they all barely survive on a day-to-day basis. For all these reasons, it is artistically and emotionally meaningful to hear Ukrainian spoken between the characters in this game.

But you will also enjoy the performances. Especially the voice acting of Skif, the main character in the game, is an excellent performance and for me the real highlight. Since it’s his voice you’ll hear throughout the game, it’s even more rewarding to switch up and really step into his shoes when you enter the Zone.