S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a first-person shooter video game developed by GSC Game World and published by THQ in 2007 following a long development. It is the first game in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, set in an alternate reality where a second disaster of mysterious origin occurred at the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which further contaminated the surrounding area with radiation, and caused strange otherworldly changes in local fauna, flora, and the laws of physics. The background and some of the terminology of the game are borrowed from the 1971 novella Roadside Picnic and its 1979 film adaptation Stalker.
The game features a non-linear storyline with 7 different endings and includes role-playing gameplay elements such as trading and two-way communication with non-player characters. In the game, the player assumes the identity of the Marked One, an amnesiac man trying to find and kill the mysterious Strelok within the exclusion zone, a forbidden territory surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
The game was met with praise for the atmosphere, style and depth, as well as the level design, but was criticized for numerous bugs. It was also a commercial success, selling over 2 million copies by September of 2008. A prequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, was released in 2008. A sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, followed in 2009. A second sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, was released in 2024. There are also multiple fan remakes trying to restore the cut content from the original version of the game.
Setting
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. takes place in an area called the Zone. The Zone is based on the real-life Chernobyl exclusion zone and is also inspired by fictional works: Boris and Arkady Strugatsky's science fiction novella Roadside Picnic which was loosely adapted into Andrei Tarkovsky's film Stalker, as well as the film's subsequent novelization by the Strugatsky brothers.The Zone encompasses roughly 30 square kilometers and features a slice of the Chernobyl area extending south from Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; geographical changes for artistic license include moving the city of Pripyat into this area, although the city itself is directly modeled on its real-life counterpart, albeit smaller in size, and features in-game recreations of many actual locations from the city. The term Stalkers was also used for the scientists and engineers who explored the interior of the Chernobyl sarcophagus after its hasty construction in 1986. In addition, "the Zone" is also a term used to refer to the 30 kilometer exclusion zone around the power plant.
In the game's backstory, after the initial Chernobyl disaster, attempts were made to repopulate the area, primarily with scientists and military personnel. However, in 2006, almost 20 years after the first incident, a mysterious second disaster occurred, killing or mutating most of the inhabitants. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. begins years later, after people have begun coming to the Zone in search of money, valuable artifacts, and scientific information. In keeping with the post-nuclear decay within the Zone, extreme radiation has caused mutations among animals and plants in the area. As a result of the second disaster, the Zone is also littered with dangerous small areas of altered physics, known as anomalies. Explorers and scavengers operating within the Zone, known as Stalkers, possess an anomaly detector, which emits warning beeps of a varying frequency depending on their proximity to an anomaly.
Gameplay
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is primarily a first-person shooter video game.There are a large number of items in the game, so the player has customization choices which are constrained primarily by how much exploring they do. The game also attempts to blend the story and character interaction which are commonly associated with RPGs. However, conversation branches are extremely limited and do not significantly influence the course of the game, aside from accepting or declining missions.
The Zone itself is a large and varied area, consisting of wilderness, human settlements, and several heavily guarded military bases. However, the game world is not a true contiguous world, but rather 18 different maps separated by loading screens. Transfer from one area to another can only be accomplished at certain specific passageways; wire fences and extreme radiation levels block the player from attempting to cross the map in any other area.
Creatures within The Zone are vastly different from their real-world counterparts: dogs, boars, crows, and many more. Additionally, some areas contain mutated humans who have become affected by the so-called Brain Scorcher. Artificial intelligence of wildlife is highly developed and presents many realistic behaviors, such as fights over food and pack mentality, which can be observed in non-scripted events. The game engine was designed so that animal behavior is calculated even if the player is in a different part of the Zone.
There are several different variations of anomaly, each one having a unique impact upon those who cross its path. They can be potentially deadly to the player and the NPCs, delivering electric shocks, or pulling them into the air and crushing them. Most anomalies produce visible air or light distortions and their extent can be determined by throwing bolts to trigger them. Artifacts are found scattered throughout the Zone, often near clusters of anomalies. As well as being traded for money, a number of artifacts can be worn so that they provide certain benefits and detriments although certain rarer artifacts provide benefits without any negative effects.
The game does not feature controllable vehicles and thus players are required to go from place to place on foot. A sprint option using a limited stamina bar can be used to temporarily increase the player's rate of movement, though this is reduced by the weight of objects the player is carrying, and weapons cannot be fired while sprinting. It is possible to sprint indefinitely by using artifacts and keeping below a certain weight limit ; however, it is impossible to sprint with certain weapons.
Radioactive contamination caused by the nuclear incidents at Chernobyl occurs in specific invisible patches throughout the Zone. Although most areas are not contaminated, areas near abandoned construction equipment that was used in the post-accident clean-up, certain military vehicular wreckage and a variety of other locations create fields of radiation of varying intensity and size, some of which cannot be passed through without the proper protective equipment and anti-contaminant agents. The equipment is simplified into various sets of armor that have different levels of radiation protection. Additional radiation resistance may be conferred by some artifacts, and radiation sickness may be treated by medication or by consuming vodka.
When the player enters a highly irradiated area, they will begin to receive radiation poisoning. During this time, a radiation icon appears on the screen and fades through from green to yellow to red, signifying the strength of the poisoning, which grows the longer the player remains present in the affected areas. The stronger the poisoning, the faster the player's health decreases. Unless the player dies from damage caused by radiation poisoning, there are no permanent effects from contracting it other than health loss. However, radiation will persist and continue to drain health until either radiation medication or a substantial amount of vodka is consumed. Radiation can primarily be avoided by wearing certain artifacts that neutralize radiation or more advanced suits that will effectively protect the player from radiation.
In much the same way radiation works as a gameplay mechanic, the player will occasionally become hungry during their travels. During this state, an icon of a crossed fork and spoon will appear. Consuming in-game food items returns the player state from hungry to not hungry, which removes the negative impact on stamina that the hunger status gives. However, if one ignores eating, it will result in the death of the player in a certain amount of time.
As with radiation and hunger, bleeding is another state of detriment which the player must try to avoid or manage while playing the game. Bleeding occurs when the player sustains certain kinds of injuries of certain severity. The player will lose the amount of health determined by the landed blow and will continue to lose small amounts of health as they hemorrhage. Bleeding can sometimes stop on its own, but the player can prevent further bleeding by applying bandages or using first aid kits, thereby preventing further health loss.
Plot
Shadow of Chernobyl offers 7 different endings based on the player's actions. The ending below is considered canon in the series.The game opens with lightning striking a vehicle, causing it to crash. The unnamed protagonist is the sole survivor, and regains consciousness in the bunker of a local black marketer named Sidorovich. He is suffering from amnesia, and has only two clues to his identity. The first is a tattoo of the acronym "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." on his arm and the second is a PDA with the entry "Kill Strelok". Sidorovich nicknames the protagonist the "Marked One". The Marked One performs several tasks for Sidorovich as payment for saving his life. Through these missions and new contacts, the player discovers clues to Strelok's possible location. These bring the Marked One deeper into the Zone and provide more details about Strelok and his companions.
To progress further into the Zone, the player must disable a psionic device known as the Miracle Machine. The machine emits frequencies which cause those within its range to lose their minds, becoming zombies. While disabling the device, the Marked One finds a clue that leads to Doc, a member of Strelok's team. A trap injures the player, who is then rescued by Doc. He tells the Marked One about a monolithic artifact known as the Wish Granter, located at the center of the Zone. This artifact is sought after by most of the Zone's denizens and is guarded by a cult-like paramilitary group called Monolith. Doc also implies that the Marked One is in fact Strelok, before departing.
The Marked One eventually identifies the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat as the location of the Wish Granter. A more powerful version of the Miracle Machine, known as the Brain Scorcher, blocks the path to the city. Once the device is disabled, the player can travel freely around Pripyat and enter the CNPP itself. However, several militant factions in the Zone, as well as the Security Service of Ukraine, take advantage of this event to enter Pripyat as well and battle for control of the city. The Marked One must fight his way through Monolith cultists and Ukrainian soldiers to reach the CNPP. Once inside the plant's irradiated sarcophagus, the player discovers the Wish Granter and a secret laboratory beneath it. Inside the lab is a computer terminal, where an entity known as the C-Consciousness resides.
The C-Consciousness reveals that the player character is Strelok, and provides an overview of the history of the Zone. After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, the Soviet Union used the complete vacancy of the exclusion zone for unhindered psionic research purposes. This resulted in the development of various weaponized psychic devices. Seven scientists had their brains linked to a single neural network, creating a hivemind known as the C-Consciousness. Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union five years later, the C-Consciousness took control of the Zone and continued the research. The hivemind attempted to create world peace through global mind control via directly interfering with the Noosphere, an invisible field of energy linked to human minds and thoughts, which it discovered in its research. This attempt failed and caused the anomalies and reality-warping nature of the Zone. To protect itself, the C-Consciousness set up the Miracle Machine, the Brain Scorcher, and Wish Granter. The Wish Granter brainwashes those who reach it, turning them into Monolith cultists programmed to defend the CNPP against further incursions.
The C-Consciousness offers Strelok the opportunity to link his consciousness to it and become part of the hivemind. The player can either accept this offer or attempt to stop the C-Consciousness. If Strelok rejects the offer, the hivemind teleports him away. Strelok becomes determined to reach the physical location of the C-Consciousness and destroy it. After fighting his way through large numbers of Monolith gunmen and mutants, Strelok stumbles upon the original seven Soviet scientists, in a state of suspended animation. He kills them, eliminating the C-Consciousness.
Afterwards, Strelok rests on the ground outside the CNPP, unsure if he made the right choice but relieved that his ordeal is finally over.