Games like Stalker: 9 survival shooters in dangerous zones

Games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. send you into a dangerous zone with a gun, a small bag, and a reason to go deeper. Here are 9 PC games with that loop, plus our own game. For each one, we describe the zone, what you scavenge, and how the combat feels.

What makes the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games special

GSC Game World made the series: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007), Clear Sky (2008), Call of Pripyat (2009), and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (2024). The games are first-person shooters with survival horror parts. You explore the Zone around Chernobyl, where anomalies do not obey the laws of physics. Stalkers enter the Zone to find artifacts, and they meet mutants and rival factions.

So we looked for games with these parts:

• A first-person view.
• A closed or dangerous area that you explore by choice.
• Loot and resources that you must find and manage.
• Strange threats, such as anomalies, mutants, or radiation.

Route 48 (our game)

Full disclosure: we made Route 48, so we put it first.

Developer: HOLY STUDIOS. Released: 2026, Early Access. Players: Single-player.

Route 48 is a first-person survival game. You search abandoned buildings for weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and fuel, and you fight the infected and armed survivors with guns. Your car takes you between places in a procedurally generated world, so each new game has different roads, towns, and loot locations. It is in Early Access on Steam.

Metro Exodus

Developer: 4A Games. Released: 2019 (on Steam in 2020). Players: Single-player.

Metro Exodus is a story-driven first-person shooter with stealth, exploration, and survival horror. You travel east with a group of survivors on the Aurora, a modified steam train. The story links large, open levels that the developers call "Sandbox Survival".

The zone: poisoned air, frost on your gas mask, mutants, and human enemies. The seasons change from spring to a nuclear winter.

What you scavenge: resources to craft and upgrade weapons. You can craft filters, medkits, and some ammunition from your backpack. Other ammunition needs a workbench.

Best for: players who want the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mood with a strong story.

Chernobylite

Developer: The Farm 51. Released: 2021 (Early Access from 2019). Players: Single-player.

Chernobylite is a survival horror RPG in a 3D-scanned copy of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Pripyat included. You play Igor, a physicist who searches for his lost fiancée. You can use stealth or open combat.

The zone: the real Exclusion Zone, recreated from scans.

What you scavenge: supplies for your base, where you craft gadgets, traps, and weapons. Supplies are low, and your comrades can die, so each day is a choice between survival and research.

Best for: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. players who want the real Chernobyl setting with base management.

Into the Radius VR

Developer: CM Immersive. Released: 2020. Players: Single-player, VR only.

Into the Radius VR has many S.T.A.L.K.E.R. parts, but it needs a VR headset. You explore the Pechorsk Anomaly Zone, with forests, swamps, and industrial ruins. Deadly anomalies, and creatures called Fragments and Mimics, guard the area.

The zone: anomalies that damage anyone too close. You use a detector to find artifacts.

What you scavenge: loot caches and shelters across the zone. You load each magazine by hand. A weapon in bad condition can jam, and bullets can ricochet or go through materials.

Best for: players with a VR headset who want to explore an anomaly zone with their own hands.

Atomfall

Developer: Rebellion. Released: 2025. Players: Single-player.

Atomfall is a first-person survival-action game. It is set in a quarantine zone in Northern England, five years after a fictional version of the Windscale nuclear disaster. You follow leads in any order, and your choices have consequences.

The zone: ruins, caves, and nuclear bunkers in the British countryside.

What you scavenge: weapons, ammunition, and scrap, which are all scarce. You craft items and barter with other people. In a fight, your heart rate goes up, and that makes it harder to aim.

Best for: players who liked the mystery of the Zone more than the gunfights.

Pacific Drive

Developer: Ironwood Studios. Released: 2024. Players: Single-player.

Pacific Drive puts the anomaly zone idea in a car. You drive a station wagon into the Olympic Exclusion Zone, a sealed part of the Pacific Northwest. Each trip has different weather and landscapes.

The zone: anomalies that can be dangerous, neutral, or just strange. Some areas are irradiated, and Zone Storms force you to leave in time.

What you scavenge: resources that you take back to your garage. There, you craft equipment and upgrades for the car and the garage.

Best for: players who liked the anomalies and want a new way to explore them. See games like Pacific Drive.

Far Cry 2

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal. Released: 2008. Players: Single-player, plus a multiplayer mode.

Far Cry 2 is a first-person shooter in a war-torn African state, with an open world of more than 50 square kilometers. Your character has malaria, so you must find pills to manage it.

The zone: a civil war, not anomalies. Fire spreads with the wind, and you can use it to trap enemies.

What you scavenge: weapons, but take care. Weapons wear out with use and can jam, and guns from dead enemies are often in poor condition.

Best for: players who want a harsh open world where your gear can fail.

Generation Zero

Developer: Systemic Reaction (Avalanche Studios). Released: 2019. Players: Single-player or online co-op for up to 4 players.

Generation Zero is a first-person shooter in an alternate 1989 Sweden. Machines have taken over, and the people are gone. You must choose your fights with care, because the machines hunt you.

The zone: streets, forests, and bunkers in a large open world.

What you scavenge: parts from destroyed machines, which you use to craft equipment, weapons, and ammunition. You can also build and defend bases.

Best for: players who want an empty, hostile land and co-op with friends.

Fallout 4

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios. Released: 2015. Players: Single-player.

Fallout 4 is an open-world RPG in the ruins of Boston after a nuclear war. You can play in first-person or third-person view. The V.A.T.S. system lets you slow time to aim, or you can use real-time gunplay.

The zone: the Commonwealth, with hundreds of locations, from forests to city ruins.

What you scavenge: thousands of items. You craft weapons, armor, and food, and you build settlements. A Survival difficulty setting turns off fast travel and makes the game harder.

Best for: players who want a larger RPG with factions and quests. See our list of games like Fallout.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Developer: GSC Game World. Released: 2024. Players: Single-player.

If you only played the original trilogy, the sequel is the next step. It is a large open world in the Chornobyl Anomalous Zone. Anomalies, mutants, and rival stalkers stand between you and the loot.

The zone: the Chornobyl Anomalous Zone, a vast and hostile open world.

What you scavenge: resources and gear in a brutal, dangerous land.

Best for: players who want a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game.

How we picked these games

Each game has a first-person view, a dangerous area that you explore for loot, and threats that are more than enemy soldiers. We left out games that are multiplayer only, so you can play every pick alone. We checked each fact on the Steam store page or on a second source.

Which one should you play first?

• For story and atmosphere, start with Metro Exodus.
• For the real Chernobyl setting, try Chernobylite.
• For VR, try Into the Radius VR.
• For mystery and investigation, try Atomfall.
• For a car between dangerous places, try Pacific Drive or Route 48.

For more survival games without other players, see the best single-player survival games.