MSI has just dropped a whole host of gorgeously horrible hardware to celebrate Stalker 2's impending release

1 month ago 74

Stalker is one of the games I originally bought a PC for. With a second-hand integrated GPU-equipped Ryzen chip, it took me a while to get through the jank of the series, but it was well worth it when I did. Like the original game, MSI's Stalker 2-themed hardware is kind of ugly in a beautiful way, and gets you the game to boot.

Starting out with perhaps the strangest bit of hardware to customise, the Stalker 2 themed RTX 4070 Ti Super has that iconic post-nuclear yellow and green aesthetic the series is known for, with a big nuclear sign in the middle. On the right is the MSI logo and on the left is the name of the game. Despite the branding, this isn't too egregiously covered in logos, even if it will go unnoticed in the majority of rigs. This is $50 more than the MSRP at $850 but comes with a deluxe copy of the game.

However, if you want something you can show off, a set of three peripherals have also been announced. The first of these is the MSI Force Pro wireless controller, designed for Xbox. Doing away with some of the green and replacing it with blacks and greys, the most colourful part of the controller is the RGB lighting in the sticks and yellow accented central buttons. As well as coming with a standard edition of the game, you can get a unique version of MSI Center, the company's PC app, with a special Stalker 2 UI. I haven't yet been able to track down a store to buy this so there's no word yet on availability or price.

If you aren't a controller user, you can also get a Stalker 2 mouse and keyboard. For the mouse, there's the Clutch GM41 and Vigor GK41 for the keyboard. The mouse is relatively understated with a nuclear sign on the left click and an etched Stalker logo at the bottom but the rest of it being sleek black and greys.

The Vigor GK41, on the other hand, is pretty flashy, with tonnes of custom keys, and a big nuclear button for the escape key. They both come with a copy of the game, and may just be the most immersive way to play the game, when it launches on November 20.

Given the turmoil around the game, we still don't technically know if it actually will be released then, but marketing like this suggests some confidence in that release date. The game is finally almost here and these new, slightly yucky, peripherals could be a great way to celebrate.

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James is a more recent PC gaming convert, often admiring graphics cards, cases, and motherboards from afar. It was not until 2019, after just finishing a degree in law and media, that they decided to throw out the last few years of education, build their PC, and start writing about gaming instead. In that time, he has covered the latest doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and loved every second of it. Hey, it’s better than writing case briefs.