Game events take place in the alternative world's Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, present day. The game is based on the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, and also influenced by the movie Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky.
See also: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Arizona Border Recon, Panzer Bandit, Muslimgauze.