GSC Game World’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is the studio’s 2007 open-world survival horror game. After initially being revealed in 2001, the title would notably suffer several delays, with many even considering the game to be vaporware. A large reason for the game’s delays was the complex systems GSC Game World put into place to govern S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s open world, with the developer’s proprietary A-Life system requiring extensive resources and development time. The wait would prove to be worthwhile, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. gaining near-immediate cult-classic status thanks to its living, breathing open-world sandbox and emergent gameplay elements.
In addition to strong commercial and critical acclaim, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. would go on to have a thriving mod community as well as continued support from GSC Game World for nearly a decade. The studio would follow up the original game with a prequel and an expansion built using the same engine. In 2024, the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and its expansions arrived on modern consoles as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy, breaking nearly 20 years years of PC exclusivity.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Premise
©S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl gameplay screenshot – Original
The plot of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. begins with one of the titular scavengers driving a truck full of dead bodies through the mysterious Zone. When one of the bodies appears to be alive, he rushes it to a local black market operator for medical assistance. This body bears a strange “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” tattoo on his forearm and a PDA with a single message — “Kill Strelok”. Known simply as the “Marked One”, he sets off on a series of adventures through the Zone that will eventually bring him face-to-face with the truth. Along the way, the Marked One will get to meet, ally, and even double-cross the other denizens of the Zone, building a reputation for their actions as they wander the irradiated wasteland.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.‘s gameplay was incredibly ambitious for its time, using GSC Game World’s proprietary “A-Life” AI model to allow for emergent gameplay in the open-world sandbox of the Zone. At its core, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a first-person shooter with survival and RPG elements. Players will wander the Zone, completing missions to earn rewards that help them purchase equipment to give them a fighting edge over increasingly dangerous threats. The Zone is a strange place left forever changed by the Chernobyl meltdown, resulting in strange anomalies related to weather or gravity along with dangerous, hostile mutants and human bandits. Navigating the Zone and charting a unique path through its impressively flexible world is the highlight of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Notably, the game includes a notoriously punitive weapon and armor degradation system, as well as strict weight limits that enforce players to continually shift their inventory. Several of the key elements of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. would eventually find their way into Bethesda Softworks’ reboot of the Fallout franchise.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Main Characters
The plot of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. borrows heavily from the Russian science fiction novella Roadside Picnic as well as its film adaptation, Stalker, putting players into a mysterious area known as the “Zone”. Rather than a place where extraterrestrials had visited planet Earth (as in Roadside Picnic) the Exclusion Zone of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is the area surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, with the meltdown of the reactor leaving the Zone home to strange mutants and other anomalies. As the mysterious “Marked One”, you set off on a journey to track down the equally mysterious Strelok all while performing various tasks for the inhabitants of the Zone to boost your reputation and Rank. Main characters in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. include:
- Marked One: The player character of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and the game’s protagonist, the Marked One is a mysterious drifter with the word “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” tattooed on his arm. Other than a PDA with the message “Kill Strelok”, the Marked One has no memory of who or what he is, prompting him to search for answers after Sidorovich saves his life.
- Sidorovich: The operator of a black market and information network within the Zone, Sidorovich is a fixer of sorts who puts the Marked One to work in exchange for information about his purpose.
- Doc: One of Strelok’s crew, Doc crosses paths with the Marked One during his mission to shut down the Miracle Machine. He gives the player important hints as to their true identity.
- Strelok: The presumed antagonist of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Strelok and the Marked One are the same person, which the hivemind C-Consciousness reveals to the player.
Games in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series
GSC Game World’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was an impressive game for its era, practically writing the rules for an open-world survival game. In addition to inspiring several other noteworthy franchises (including the revival of Fallout under Bethesda), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. would end up getting two lengthy expansions. GSC Game World would continue to support the title through regular patches and updates until eventually announcing plans to develop a sequel. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 would officially begin development in 2017, suffering multiple delays due to real-world events. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of war between Russia and GSC Game World’s native Ukraine, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 would eventually get pushed back to late 2024, where it has now released to incredible success, selling a million units in 24 hours. Games in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series include:
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC, 2007)
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (PC, 2008)
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (PC, 2010)
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy (PS4, Switch, Xbox One, 2024)
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl (PC, Xbox Series X/S, 2024)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Cheats & Secrets
Contrary to conflicting reports on the Internet, there are no official cheats for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. However, the game’s active modding community has implemented several workarounds players can use to cheat via mods. Additionally, there are several cheat trainer files available for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. that players can use in tandem with a third-party cheat engine.
Unlockable Endings
There are 7 different endings players can earn at the end of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The ending players receive is dependent on their actions during pivotal moments of the game’s story. Note that to receive a particular ending, it’s important to not fulfill the criteria for another ending.
| Ending | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Ending A | Go to the Wishgranter with more than 50,000 RU |
| Ending B | Go to the Wishgranter with more than 1000 Rank points |
| Ending C | Go to the Wishgranter after Lukash and Voronin are both dead |
| Ending D | Go to the Wishgranter with less than 1000 Rank points |
| Ending E | Go to the Wishgranter without meeting any of the above criteria |
| Ending F | Join C-Consciousness |
| Ending G | Refuse to join C-Consciousness |
Access Freedom Armory Without Being a Member
Players don’t actually need to join Freedom to access the faction’s armory. To sneak past the guard outside the armory, push a chair next to him. With the chair touching the guard, jump on the chair and then jump onto the guard. The game should immediately push you into the armory hallway. From here, slash the lock with your knife to access the armory. Use the same chair trick to escape the armory hallway without triggering an alarm.
X-46 Advanced Battle Armor Mod (PC Only)
A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mod created by user “Moshpit” gives players access to the next best thing to “God mode”. The X-46 Advanced Battle Armor is a suit that has top-tier resistance against all types of damage and radiation, a near-limitless carrying capacity, and built-in night vision. After installing the mod (which can be found here), players can purchase the suit from any vendor in the Zone for a measly 25 RU.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Cheat Engine Cheats (PC Only)
PC users have the luxury of using a third-party cheat engine and cheat trainer files with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. One such trainer file can be found here and includes the following options:
Player Mods
- Infinite Health
- Infinite Stamina
- Infinite Psy Health
- No Bleeding
- No Radiation
Inventory Mods
- Infinite Money
- Infinite Weight/Carrying Capacity
Weapon Mods
- Infinite Ammo
- Infinite Clothes Durability
- Infinite Weapon Durability
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Achievements/Trophies
The Legends of the Zone Trilogy release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for consoles has several achievements/trophies available. Completing specific in-game tasks will unlock the following achievements/trophies.
| Achievement/Trophy | Description |
|---|---|
| Legends of the Zone | Platinum Trophy (PlayStation-exclusive) |
| Explorer of the Zone | Beat the game |
| Sidorovich’s Apprentice | Finish the game on Novice difficulty |
| In the Zone! | Finish the game on Stalker difficulty |
| S.U.R.V.I.V.E.D. | Finish the game on Veteran or Master |
| The Wish Granter | Use the Wish Granter |
| Too Good to Be True | Join C-Consciousness |
| You’re Finally Awake… | Wake up in Sidorovich’s bunker |
| No Loner Stands Alone | Defend Bes and his men from Bandits |
| The Man Cave | Find Strelok’s stash |
| Explore and Protect | Escort the professor to Yantar |
| Lab Rat | Talk to the professor to get the Functional Psi-Helmet |
| Legendary Armor | Find the Ghost suit |
| Get Out of Here, Stalker | Talk to the Guide in Cordon |
| Follow Your Steps | Find Doc |
| Stoic | Open the Sarcophagus door with the decoder |
| I’m All But Certain It Was… | Reunite with Sidorovich one last time |
| Knock-Knock | Complete “Secret Stash in Pripyat” |
| Freedom vs. Duty | Pick a faction side between Warsaw Pact and the Hippies |
| Sentry | Protect Rookie Village |
| The Worst Stalker in the Zone | Kill Tolik |
| A Decent Start | Save Tolik with a First-Aid kit |
| Headhunter | Find the deserter in the bog |
| Gladiator | Become champion of the Arena |
| Law and Order | Save Yurik |
| The Door Vinci Code | Gain access to the keypad room in the Red Forest |
| Weapon of the Future | Acquire the Gauss Rifle |
| Stalker Legend | Find each common and rare Artifact |
| Hiker | Find the Tourist suit by giving Sidorovich the Night Star |
| Fanged Armor | Find the Fang exoskeleton |
| Mole’s Weapon | Acquire the Walker 9×18 pistol |
| Terminator | Acquire the Threaded SPSA-14 |
| The Smile of Martha | Find and loot Martha from Bullet |
| Zone Safari | Kill each Mutant at least once |
| Hunting Season | Kill 250 Mutants |
| Killer | Kill 500 Stalkers |
| Garland | Fill all 5 slots with Artifacts |
| I’m Done With Drinking For Good | Drink 25 bottles of Cossacks Vodka |
| Bread Expert | Eat 25 Bread |
| Boltman | Die from 5 different Anomalies |
| The Last Mammoth in the Zone | Buy the 800SR weapon at the farm |
| Meet the Creator | View the photo in Lab X-18 |
| Your Dogstiny | Sell 20 Dog Tails |
| Maximum Endurance | Equip all Endurance Artifacts |
| Party on the Beach | Equip all Beach-themed Artifacts |
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Cheat FAQs
How many endings does S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl have?
Depending on players’ actions during the game, they will get a different ending upon completing S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. There are a total of 7 different endings, with 5 of the endings considered to be “false” endings and the other 2 considered as canon or “true”.
How do you avoid radiation in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl?
The short answer is, you don’t. The Zone is an irradiated wasteland that will inevitably lead to radiation sickness the longer you travel through it. Thankfully, there are a few different items players can rely on to reduce radiation poisoning. The first and most obvious are the radiation drugs. Additionally, the yellow medkits will reduce radiation as well as provide healing. The most plentiful item to reduce radiation, though, is vodka, which players can readily find throughout the Zone by scavenging and looting buildings.
Does S.T.A.L.K.E.R. have console commands?
To open the command console in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., players need to press the tilde key (~) at any point during gameplay. While there are console commands, these are not cheat commands but instead commands that alter the parameters of the game’s engine. Players should use caution when inputting any of these commands as they can potentially overwrite changes on the User.Itx file for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. There are no known cheat commands for the command console that works.
How long to beat S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl?
If players focus on just completing the critical path in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., they should finish the game in roughly 30 hours. That said, the critical path is just a small slice of what the Zone has to offer. Those who enjoy exploring, coming across emergent gameplay elements, and tackling side quests, can spend much longer in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.‘s Zone. Players attempting the main quest plus side content can expect to spend 50-60 hours. For completionists, seeing and doing everything S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has to offer will take upwards of 120 hours.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone key art.