S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Puts a Name to Chornobyl’s Tilted Reactor Shield
The nearly 2,000-ton structure was thrown upward during the explosion and left standing on its edge inside the reactor shaft.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has turned its attention to Helen, the name given to the reactor’s upper biological shield. The latest official Steam post details how the enormous structure was damaged during the disaster and why it remains too dangerous to approach directly.
Before the incident, Helen was a metal structure roughly 17 meters in diameter. Fuel and control cables passed through it, giving the shield a role similar to the reactor’s head. It weighed close to 2,000 tons.
The explosion tore Helen from its original position and threw it upward. It eventually came to rest almost on its edge inside the reactor shaft. The bent pipes hanging from the structure became known as Helen’s hair, although they are actually the remains of its technological channels.
Some fuel may still be trapped among those channels. That possibility adds another layer of danger to an area already buried beneath wreckage and contamination.
After the incident, workers could not safely approach Helen in person. Instead, they had to drill holes, send in photo-probes, and install sensors remotely. The structure remains suspended in an uncertain position, standing as though it could still fall at any moment.
This latest look at the plant follows recent S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 posts about locations such as the Sarcophagus and the Golden Corridor, adding more real-world detail to the game’s version of the Zone.
Helen’s story gives the reactor shaft another grim landmark. Share your thoughts on this piece of Chornobyl history in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Developed by GSC Game World
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the unforgiving FPS survival adventure in a dark science-fiction open world. Scavenge for gear and resources, hunt for wonders, make hard decisions to survive and pave the path through the Chornobyl Anomalous Zone.
- Genre: Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Modes: Single player
- Release: 2024-11-20
- Publisher: GSC Game World
-
Age Rating:
USK 18 / GRAC 19+ / ACB MA 15+ / CLASS_IND 16 / PEGI 18 / ESRB M
- IGDB Rating: 81.3/100
