Area awareness explained

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl it has an incredibly unique setting. Although its post-apocalyptic wasteland might remind players of games like Fall out, The last of usor skyline, STALKER 2His area is unlike anything else in the gaming world, offering memorable surprises at every turn.

Set in an area around the destroyed Chornobyl nuclear power plant, known as the “Zone of Alienation”, STALKER 2: Heart of ChornobylIts story sees players embark on a seemingly simple quest to recharge and then retrieve a mysterious artifact, one that Skif, the player character, will sell to rebuild his home. But like any fan of STALKER series will know, traversing the Zone is no simple walk in the park. The area is home to terrifying mutants, physics-defying anomalies, and plenty of radiation, and has a rich history that begins long before players first set foot there. STALKER 2.

STALKER 2's Zone History Explained

The 1986 Chornobyl disaster

Before the events of 1986, STALKER The timeline is essentially the same as ours, although a key difference is that in the early 1980s, the Soviet Union built research facilities near the city of Pripyat. These research facilities were in the process of creating mind-controlling weapons and experimenting with the Noosphere (an invisible field that surrounds the Earth and affects human emotions and thoughts) when Reactor 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant malfunctioned, causing an explosion.

Immediately after the disaster, the Soviet Union sent a cleanup crew to try to stop the spread of radiation. Following this effort, the Soviet Union created a 400 km² exclusion zone around Chornobyl.

The timeline begins to diverge

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Despite this, former Soviet scientists decided to continue their research in the heart of Chornobyl. The Ukrainian government is trying to investigate the rumors of these mysterious experiments, but they are unable to put an end to them. Around 2000, reports of strange creature sightings made their way across Ukraine, and Pripyat became a hot spot for tourists looking to catch a glimpse of the rumored creatures. In 2001, a bus full of tourists disappeared in the Zone.

The 2006 Chornobyl disaster and its consequences

In March 2006, a group of ex-Soviet scientists conducted an experiment on the Noosphere, attempting to send a wave of mind-controlling energy. This experiment was abruptly halted, though not after the citizens of the surrounding area noticed the resulting bright light above the Chornobyl power plant. Only a month later, this experiment was repeated, although with much more catastrophic results.

This second experiment sees the same bright light appear in the sky above Chornobyl, although it was quickly followed by an otherworldly boom and a magnitude 6.9 earthquake. This experiment ended up tearing a hole in the Noosphere, an act that caused strange anomalies to appear throughout the Zone, anomalies that defied the laws of physics.

Many of the scientists responsible survived the experiment, and as the Zone began to expand, they split into two opposing factions. Scientists who wanted to remove the rift and cleanse the Zone formed the Clear Sky, while scientists who wanted to continue experimenting with the Noosphere merged their minds, becoming C-Consciousness.

The frequent releases of the zone are the necessary release of excess energy from the Noosphere rift.

Rise of The Stalkers

In the following years, rumors about the Zone spread like wildfire in Ukraine and neighboring countries. Many rumors claim that treasures lie in the heart of the Zone, and gradually those seeking their fortune began to venture into its treacherous wasteland. These adventurers became known as Stalkers, many of whom formed their own factions within the Zone.