The Zone In Stalker 2, Explained

It has been a few years since the last installment of the Stalker series, but Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl has arrived with new challenges to thrust you into and a new story in The Zone for you to survive. While there are many questions surrounding the lore of the game, it might be a good idea to start off with the basics.

New players and old ones alike will come to the inevitable question when entering into the world of the Stalker series: what is The Zone? Mysterious, deadly, it’s a lawless place where only the toughest survive, but what is this enigmatic place, and why is it so important?

Where Is The Zone?

The Zone is the area directly around Pripyat, Ukraine in the central northern part of the country near the border of Belarus. It extends around 40 miles around the town, although not in a perfect circle.

The area is marked by the various high-walls and military installations that aim to keep intrepid adventurers out, and the horrors that call it home.

What Is The Zone?

The Zone is the fictionalized version of the real-life Chernobyl exclusion zone (spelled Chornobyl in the game) that sprung up after the nuclear contamination event in 1986.

It’s made even more deadly in the game by the various supernatural or pseudo-scientific creatures and anomalies that call it home.

The area wasn’t only a place for researching nuclear energy, but also for experimenting on the human psyche, atmosphere, and other fringe scientific pursuits. These scientists continued their studies after 1986 and the dissolving of the USSR, causing a resurgence in the initial energies in 2006.

These ’emissions’ happen from time to time now in the zone, causing damage to the area, odd weather patterns, and who knows what else.

In older games, The Zone is the shorthand colloquialism for The Zone of Alienation.

Why Do People Enter The Zone?

Everyone who chooses to enter The Zone of their own volition do so with a purpose of their own. Some are the various Ukrainian military forces whose goal is to maintain the ‘safety’ of The Zone and monitor it for any changes.

The bulk of the humans in The Zone are those referred to as Stalkers. They often enter the area to hunt for valuables, weapons, scientific equipment, or everyday valuables left by the government and people of Pripyat and the surrounding area following the evacuation.

Some of the first Stalkers were actually employed by the USSR government to explore and map out The Zone’s dangers.

Some, though, are more adventurous, and seek to harness the peculiar energies that suffuse the area. Top dollar can be made by selling the artifacts that are filled with energy from The Zone to various government agencies and black markets across the globe.

Of the Stalkers, various factions have coalesced, each with their own goals, weaponry, and history in The Zone. Some want nothing more than to help those that enter the area, while others will attack anyone on sight, with the goal of scavenging their gear.

Why Is The Zone Dangerous?

The event changed the area surrounding Pripyat in two ways. The first of which is the more obvious: the gamma radiation that can still be seen by those who enter the zone to hunt for valuables.

In some areas, this radiation is more severe than others, which has ultimately resulted in various mutated versions of animals inhabiting the area.

These mutants aren’t the only thing that threatens the Stalkers. Anomalies also haunt areas of The Zone.

Some are as simple as odd bubbles that distort vision and can hurt or kill people that enter them. Others are more complex, throwing objects through the air, knocking the victim unconscious, or confusing them.