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What to Expect from an Early 2000s Classic

I heard a lot of hype about STALKER and I'm sure you have too given the massive cult following of the game. When I first got it, I expected something similar to Fallout, but more hardcore. What I got was a good game with a few unexpected twists. Here is an overview of some of the things you need to know before you buy.
The Setting
STALKER takes place within The Zone, a post-double-disaster Chernobyl. The landscape is barren, inhospitable, and generally depressing. There is little to look at save for some trees, roads, destroyed buildings, and rubble. The world is somewhat sparse and all travel is done on foot, there is no fast travel in this game.
The landscape is populated entirely by men and monsters. There aren't any misc items such that you would find in a game like Skyrim or Fallout. There are no containers to open, mainly there are just boxes to smash to get some ammo drops or a medkit. There are a total of 3 or so food items (so far as I can tell). So, don't expect a ton of loot to find.
Also, and this is important, the map is NOT open world, it's a vast landscape that is divided into sections. When you travel from section to section, you have to wait through a loading screen.
The map is dotted by "anomalies." these are essentially pockets of areas that you don't want to be in. Some crush you instantly, some zap you with electricity, some are made of acid, some explode. You can see these all over the world as you walk down the road. These anomalies cause "artifacts" to spawn, which are essentially shiny rocks that give you stat boosts and that you can sell for a good chunk of change. They give you effects like +3 bulletproofing and -5 radiation, etc.
Generally, there isn't a whole lot to explore or look at in this game world. However, where the game shines is the atmosphere. It's depressing and quite frightening at times. The sound design is exceptional, very immersive and captivating. You will be unnerved at times, I guarantee it.
The Missions
Now, we have to talk about the missions. I'm still in the process of working through the main story, but generally missions are given via dialogue with NPCs. These are provided in the style of Morrowind, wherein some dialogue is voice acted, but most is simply reading a text box.
The vast majority of missions seem to be fetch or kill quests. Go here, kill this guy, get this document, etc. There isn't a whole lot of variety or creativity there.
The Gunplay
Another important thing to point out is the gunplay. The battles in this game can be lengthy due to most enemies being bullet sponges. I mean, you can shoot an entire clip into an enemy at point blank range and the guy will still be alive. On top of this, enemies appear to respawn after a certain period of time. I had an instance where I had to defend an area from a wave of bandit. Once I killed the wave and got the mission complete notice, another wave came at me. My guess is that the game didn't register the mission complete or otherwise just reset the area to add a new horde, I don't know...
Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend playing the game of the hardest difficulty, master. Why? because the way difficulty works in this game is that it adjusts the amount of damage that bullets do across the board as opposed to messing with NPC stats. This means that at higher difficulties, you are more vulnerable, but enemies are easier to kill. Weird, right?
Survival
This game includes several survival mechanisms. You have to eat occasionally, you have to keep your radiation exposure down, your guns tend to jam in the middle of firefights, and you have a depleting fatigue bar. While you have a ton of inventory space, your character can only carry 50kg. If you go over this limit, you can still walk and run around, however your fatigue bar will deplete faster and once its depleted, your character becomes momentarily immobile. This is terribly annoying, especially because the distances you have to walk are vast and due to this mechanic, you simply can't sprint from point A to point B, you have to take your time.
The Mods
Perhaps the worst anomalies in the game are the bugs. This game's code was scripted on a sheet of toilet paper. The game crashes for several random reasons. If you eat food directly out of a dead enemy's inventory instead of putting it into your first -- game crash. If an NPC spawns at the other end of the map with a disrupted code -- game crash. I HIGHLY recommend getting the ZRP mod which updates the game and fixes some of these issues. There will still be issues with the mod, but at least the game will be somewhat playable. There are other mods as well that update graphics and completely overhaul the experience, so be sure to explore Nexus or simply google some STALKER mods.
The Verdict
STALKER is a kind of curiosity. It's an early 2000s game that, despite its flaws and bugs, was undoubtedly a masterpiece for its time. Today, the game is somewhat dated when compared to newer games like Fallout that basically offer similar experiences in a more optimized and grander way. However, STALKER has a unique and unmistakable atmosphere that grips you from time to time. This game gets intense and the environment has a tendency to provide you with unexpected situations that almost seem like they're scripted, but are actually fully organic and random.
It's a game worth checking out and definitely a game worth modding. At the core level, STALKER is an excellent FPS RPG that has a lot to offer. With a few mods installed, it can make for an epic experience and all at a fraction of the cost of a Bethesda title.