Posted by damjancd on Feb 13th, 2013

They are a Polish group of a few dozen people, dedicated and passionate about recreating the STALKER feeling, environment, atmosphere in real life. At the end of their project, the abbreviation Socho stands, it is the town they are all from, Sochaczew.

Judging from the pictures their Facebook page generously feeds their fans on a regular basis, the town offers excellent locations and areas chock full of STALKER atmosphere. Their group varies in sizes, sometimes it gets to 30 people, 30 Stalkers hunting for artifacts, doing quests, exploring territory and hauling ass back for cover when emissions happen. Their group members are all in character, wearing military outfits, airsoft guns and most importantly: "Badass Gas Masks". Someone not familiar with the STALKER ethos would be completely confused if they see them in the wild.

These are experienced Stalkers we are talking about, and they leave no room for badly improvised situations: Emissions are announced by a portable audio system, maps and compasses are readily used, canned food is primary food source, they've even devised closed breathing system replicas for the SEVA suit aficionados. Exoskeletons are also something that you might run into if you happen to run into this Polish version of the Zone.

They have their own versions of artifacts scattered throughout the world, and radiation warning signs is something that this Polish Zone does contain, so it is clearly evident that this Zone is a living breathing area and the Stalkers are its inhabitants.

They tend to create original scenarios and quests instead of just copying them from the original games. Their inspiration initially comes from the book Roadside Picknic, later from the movie Stalker form Andrei Tarkovski and most recently from the PC game series S.T.A.L.K.E.R. This is what they have to say about the Books, Movie and Game series:

""Roadside Picnic" has and always will be the point of reference. It is where everything started, and it is the unreachable ideal of a man's journey through life. The movie is the quintessence of solitude and desolation, of trying to put together the shattered puzzle of life. The game is the crowning of both, set in the post-apocalypse universe of a world about to devour itself"

When I asked about a broad description of what they do, I received a poetic and very inspired reply back: "We try to capture the fleeting spirit of the Zone, getting as deep to Her twisted roots as we can... ...The world is evolving, floating seemingly aimless in the black abyss of the Sarcophagus, and so are we... "

They also have interesting plans for the future, so I wholeheartedly advise any STALKER addicts to like their Facebook page and keep an eye on anything they post there: Facebook.com