S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (titled S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl on consoles) 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.