"S.T.A.L.K.E.R." is a series of first-person shooter video games set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a fictionalized version of the real-life area affected by the 1986 nuclear disaster. The games blend elements of survival horror, role-playing, and open-world exploration, allowing players to navigate a dangerous environment filled with mutants, anomalies, and rival factions. The series is inspired by the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and the film Stalker directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Players take on the role of a stalker, scavenging for artifacts and completing quests while managing resources and facing various threats in a post-apocalyptic world.