S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

This game is amazing, but there's already a thousand reviews telling you that, so I want to quickly talk about the massive modding scene this game, specifically, has.
If you go to google and search for "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly", you will find a link to a moddb page that has a FREE download for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly mod, which is a mod for this game. Basically, it is a fanmade engine update for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. that was much needed. It also adds a lot of new things and has a far larger map than any of the official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, as it's pretty much all of the maps from the 3 games merged into one, and it works amazingly. It also features a main story that is 3 (+1 bonus) chapters long, and while these questlines won't be winning any awards, they definitely kept me sufficiently interested to keep exploring the zone, and also provide some answers to some questions the original trilogy left, though they're obviously fanmade theories and not actually canon.
I will say though, play the original trilogy first, if only to support the devs. A 4th game should also be releasing later this year, so now is the perfect time to get stuck in.
Now things get interesting, mods on mods on mods.
On ModDB there are a ton of mods that you can install ontop of stalker anomaly, which add new animations, areas, weapons, questlines, etc. Though if manually modding games isn't your thing, there are also lots of modpacks that completely overhaul the game in various ways. The main one I want to gush about for a moment is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. G.A.M.M.A.. This FREE modpack has given me the most entertainment I've had while playing any video game for years. Seriously. No games core gameplay loop has gripped me by the balls like G.A.M.M.A. has. It is, for me, the perfect single player FPS experience, and it is entirely free, though it is like 200gb to install (100gb after installation).
One downside with G.A.M.M.A. however, is that it does not like to run well sometimes, as it is a collection of hundreds of mods. I have an RTX 3060, Ryzen 5 3600 +32gb of RAM, which is by no means any sort of super computer but seems like it should be sufficient, however it will still have times where it struggles running G.A.M.M.A., though these are only ever dips down to 40-50fps for about a minute max, then it usually smoothens out again. A YouTuber named "Cheeki Breeki" has a great video detailing how to squeeze the most fps out of G.A.M.M.A. that you should check out if you're interested in playing the game.
There are also other modpacks available for download, some better than others, but after playing a good chunk of them, I can say that, at least for me, G.A.M.M.A. is the best I've played, though the rest are absolutely still worth a go. G.A.M.M.A. is also massively customisable, with a ton of mods that you can enable/disable inside of MO2 after you have it all downloaded. "Cheeki Breeki" also has a great install guide. *
Anyway, all in all, Grok and the rest of the G.A.M.M.A. team have done great work compiling and creating their modpack, and it offers a beautifully brutal experience like no other game I've played, and I cannot recommend it enough for fans of difficult First Person Shooters.
TLDR: The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy is amazing, but it can be better with mods. Try out S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly and, if you have a decent PC, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. G.A.M.M.A.
*EDIT: The GAMMA Discord now has an official channel for optimising the game, and should help get the game to run on weaker PCs. It has a ton of steps that are very detailed and easy to follow so check that out if you're interested.

It took three games to perfect the best S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience. The amazing environmental mechanics of Clear Sky combined with Shadow of Chernobyl's atmosphere and mystery surrounding the Zone - all combined with amazing gameplay, exciting missions and immersive player choices in one ultimate Call of Pripyat experience. Challenging, exciting, thrilling and rewarding - that is what the Zone was meant to be!

HMM I dont know why but I couldnt take screenshots of just this game (and another stalkers )
✅The best part of Stalker in terms of gameplay. All the problems of the predecessors have been refined, everything that needed to be improved has been corrected. The only downside is that there are quite few tasks in Pripyat itself, but it's great to explore.
✅ A well-created post-apocalypse universe
✅ Engaging plot that connects previous parts
✅ Maintained detective atmosphere
✅ A vast world full of dangers
✅ Realistic artificial intelligence npcs
✅ Tons of weapons and equipment to use
✅ Option to upgrade equipment from technicians
✅ Conversation and trading system
✅ A huge number of side quests
✅ Full freedom when performing missions
✅ Friendly inventory interface
✅ Several difficulty levels to choose from
✅ Beautiful and highly realistic graphics
✅ Great Polish translation with a film narrator
✅ Reasonable hardware requirements
✅ A huge number of mods to download from the Internet
➖Occasional trimming regardless of equipment
➖Occasional desktop crashes
➖Occasional bugs in various game elements

This game still holds up today 2024 even without mods. Playing this cause the excitement that Stalker 2 is finally going to be released is too much.
The atmosphere of this game is amazing for a game that came out in 2010! The game systems and player choice is amazing! You are literally just dropped in to the zone and it up to you on how and when you complete your objectives. There is very little if any hand holding. There is no yellow paint on how to do anomalies you have to figure it out.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat is the Final game in the trilogy and by far the best one. I am new to S.T.A.L.K.E.R., last month played SOC and loved it. the story continues from there. CS is a Pr-equal. I thought SOC couldn't be improved but I was very wrong. The Dev put their souls to create this masterpiece.
The first time I booted the game I Played around 3 hours without realizing I was lost in the world. This game defines what is a True Open world game. Every game tells you what to do but this game lets you do your own thing and the world reacts to it. and I am a gun animation kind of guy, so for guys like me, Mods are Blessings.
Thank You to the modding community! You Guys the greatest!
The best mods I Used - (You have to choose between them, they are not compatible with each other)
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Call of Pripyat Gunslinger Mod (Includes new gun animation, Atmosphere, and Character animation)
PRP (Vanilla Game With Fixed Bugs)

Kill Burers
Behead Burers
Roundhouse kick a Burer into the concrete
Slam dunk a Burer baby into the trashcan
Crucify filthy Burers
Defecate in a Burers food
Launch Burers into a Burner anomaly
Stir fry Burers in a wok
Toss Burers into the active Brain scorcher
Urinate into a Burers gas tank
Judo throw Burers into a wood chipper
Twist Burers heads off
Report Burers to the CCCP
Karate chop Burers in half
Curb stomp pregnant Burers
Trap Burers in Vortex anomalies
Crush Burers in the trash compactor
Liquefy Burers in a vat of acid
Eat Burers
Dissect Burers
Exterminate Burers in the gas chamber
Stomp Burer skulls with steel toed boots
Cremate Burers in the oven
Lobotomize Burers
Mandatory abortions for Burers
Grind Burer fetuses in the garbage disposal
Drown old Burers in Fruit Punch
Vaporize Burers with a Gauss Rifle
Kick old Burers down the stairs
Feed Burers to Hamsters
Slice Burers with the fucking knife
if there's burers in STALKER 2 i'll end it all
I HATE BURERS o(>^<*)o
good game 10/10

There are few games that exist that truly utilize "terror" as a core mechanic in the experience of the game. The gun-play is okay, but its the ambiance alone gets your heartbeat going, and in the dead of night with only your flashlight illuminating the unknown, you'll find out what fear really feels like. Mods such as Misery, really put the game into the realm of the masochistic, and that's how it should be. The zone is unforgiving; you do not belong here, and yet, despite the warnings, we can not stop ourselves from braving the constant state of fear one heartbeat at a time. "Get out of here stalker."