Unforgiving, and unkind. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is the main character. You are not--and the game won't let you forget it. Trek through the survival-horror RPG "lore-friendly gameplay bug" anomaly infested world of Stalker as the Marked One in search of a man named Strelok. The gameplay progression features no XP, levels, or skill trees, solely relying on your ability to adapt against different enemies and the equipment you rip from their corpses. Gunfights are grueling, and require better planning going into them. No matter how strong your equipment is, headshot means headshot. You will die if you are unprepared. However, despite the cruel nature of the game the atmosphere of the Zone is the most immersed I have ever felt in any game, and you'll find that even the long downtimes are still worth your attention as the world and its inhabitants live through their lives without requiring player interaction. Subsequent games improve on the gunplay and quality of life, but don't let the 2007 graphics fool you, as none of them surpass the feel of this game. As mentioned before, there are quite a few bugs, very few of which can't be fixed with a few mods such as ZRP. So, if you're looking for a pseudo-realistic survival horror FPS, I cannot recommend this game enough.