In 1986, a terrible accident happened in the Ukraine, radiation from Chernobyl spread across the land. The fallout changed life in that area for quite a while. In 2006, 20 years after the initial accident, another explosion was confirmed to have come from within Chernobyl, letting out even more radiation, and changing the zone quite a bit. This attracted many groups, Researchers, Military, Bandits looking to make money off rare items found only in the area known now as “The Zone”.

This is also where you come in, you are found amongst a group of dead bodies, but you are still living. When you are found, you get taken to a shady underground location, you don’t remember anything, but you have a tattoo. On you arm it says “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.”, and that’s what you are, a Stalker, which is basically another way to call you a mercenary.

The Trader here has some jobs of a sort that need done, and in trade he will help you to move forward in your quest. Once you prove yourself to him by doing a few missions, he gets you in touch with a friend of his, a Barkeeper up north of the Trader’s location. Upon arriving at the base where the Barkeep works, the world starts to open up all the more, and become more and more alive.

The closer you get to Chernobyl, the stranger things become. When it all starts out, you are fighting bandits, and the occasional trained soldier. Move on a bit further, you’ll start to find dogs that look like they have had their skin ripped right off. There are bursts of radiation everywhere, causing all sorts of problems, such as lightning, or a random vortex tossing whatever is nearby into the air and to its doom. You’ll even encounter zombies along the way, as well as mutated creatures I can’t even begin to describe; it’s the kind of thing you have to see for yourself.