Snork

Remnants of humans... A lone snork isn't much of a problem for an experienced hunter. You wait for him to jump on you and pump him full of shot in the air. Now, when there's a few of 'em... You've gotta just shoot at them as fast as you can while dodging their jumps. They know this and usually try to attack together.
― Gonta's description

A Snork is one of the most recognizable mutants in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series appearing in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. Thought to result from broken-minded soldiers left to "guard" the Zone, snorks are recognized by the loud grunting they constantly produce. On some occasions, snorks have also been seen talking to each other, although the "language" they use is barely recognizable.

Overview[]

It seems these creatures were human at some point, though it is difficult to imagine what conditions could turn a human being into such disgusting beast. Snorks are insane creatures leading a beast's life and differing little from other carnivorous monsters in the Zone. They move on all fours in long jumps, constantly sniffing the ground in hope of picking up the scent of prey. They hunt carefully, in a calculated manner, frequently setting up ambushes. Thanks to its uncanny reflexes and powerful muscles, the snork can approach the victim, pin it down in one long, accurate jump, and tear it to shreds in a matter of seconds. Strips of army uniforms and other clothing are occasionally found on their bodies. It stands to reason that they are all that's left of missing military stalkers.
― Shadow of Chernobyl encyclopedia entry

The snork is a horrifically mutated human soldier or Stalker, still wearing the tattered remains of his uniform, boots, a gas mask with cracked eyepieces, and a flailing hose. The gas mask the snork wears shows characteristics of both the Soviet GP-4 and SHM-62u civilian gas masks. It retains the grey color and rubber hood of the SHM-62u and the hose, exhale valve, and the tissot tube-less design of the GP-4.

Exposure to radiation and anomalies in the wake of the second Chernobyl disaster has destroyed the human mind, leaving a feral, vicious beast psyche and a twisted body in its place, creating a dangerous predator.

Snorks were first encountered on May 22, 2007, near one of the army posts at the 30th kilometer of the Zone, on the Kharkov side. An officer waiting for his shiftman's car near the post's gate was attacked by a snork, which slaughtered him with the rusty remains of a Izh 91 shotgun. The mutant was promptly gunned down by other soldiers.^[1]

Biology[]

Overall, the snork is 90-95% similar to a human,^[1] as it has the same general shape with no drastic modifications like claws or tentacles. Its skin is dark gray, covered with both lesions and open wounds, with an exposed spine on its back. However, despite the ragged appearance, the snork has incredibly powerful muscles and reflexes.

On the downside, the snork has poor eyesight (his field of vision is obstructed by the gas mask, and is hindered even more by the cracked lenses), but a brilliant sense of smell (his nose is the filter hose for the gas mask), which it uses to locate its prey. When not attacking, it slowly crawls on all fours across the ground, its spine unable to support its weight when standing upright.^[1] However, when attacking, it is surprisingly fast, thanks to mutated tendons in its feet. A snork can make long leaps to reach its target, and attack them with an incredibly fast series of kicks with their army boot-clad feet.

The snork cannot speak, as its vocal cords were destroyed beyond recognition. It communicates with growls, which vary in intensity and volume, the loudest being, of course, the one preceding an attack. Curiously, the lips on the mouths of snorks are missing. It is quite possible that in a desperate fit of hunger or insanity, the snork bit them off itself, condemning it to forever show its cannibalistic grin.

Name[]

Originally, the snorks were called Recruits by Ukrainian soldiers.^[1] The current name was given by a German RTL journalist Ulrich Klose, who reported about the situation in Ukraine after the accident. In his interviews he called the monster Schnorchel (snorkel), referring to the look of its face. The soldiers liked the sound of the name and started using a shortened version, snork.^[1]

Gameplay[]

Xr cop screen 006 1680w — A snork attacking.

The best way to deal with snorks is through the use of a shotgun, although ideally not a double barreled one. If one is not available, try to aim for its head. A single headshot is fatal, as with all other enemies in the game (excluding the Pseudogiant). The player should put some distance between them and the Snork. If it leaps, it is relatively easy to dodge by moving laterally or by crouching as low as possible, making it likely that it will miss the player. It is also easy enough to shoot them during mid-flight. When in close combat with them, 2-3 knife wounds to the back, or a single knife wound to the head is sufficient enough to kill it. As with most mutants, dealing enough damage to the snork will cause it to start limping and moving at a largely reduced speed, making it easier to either flee or deliver a killing blow.

The Snork's lunge is really its only way of attacking the player – it moves too slowly in its default run to hit the player if they keep moving. It's easy to recognize when they're about to leap – they stand up from their crouched position before jumping. If possible, strafe them or at least try to get an object between the player and it to keep the leap from connecting.

Snorks usually travel in packs of 3 or 4, and if the player does not have sufficient gear or experience with snorks, it is easy to be overrun. They are sufficiently dangerous, can hide in the environment due to their crawling stature, and are often in areas with numerous other dangerous hazards or entities, such as zombified stalkers, so it’s recommended to at least get the Chaser 13 pump action shotgun (such as from the professor in Yantar) before attempting to go anywhere where they frequent, as it’s a relatively easy weapon to get and is one of the best weapons for dealing with Snorks.

Appearances[]

Shadow of Chernobyl[]

Snorks become more and more common as the game progresses, although they can be most commonly found in Yantar, the Wild Territory, and Pripyat. They also live in Lab X-18 and Lab X-16. They have also been seen near the Red Forest and on the outside areas of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Both Barkeep and Professor Sakharov offer missions to purge local snork infestations: Destroy the lair of snorks in the Dark Valley and Purge the lair of the snorks. Sakharov is also interested in obtaining parts of snorks' bodies for use in research. To that effect he offers a mission - Bring a part of the snork's body.

Clear Sky[]

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, Snorks can also be found at Agroprom and, as part of a quest, the Garbage (only appearing at night, though they have also been seen during the morning hours). They can also be found in the Red Forest, and are plentiful in many underground facilities. The Snork also had its model changed compared to Shadow of Chernobyl. The flesh around the exposed spine has been expanded and colored in an orange shade, along with several other visual changes that included more blood spatter around its mouth and better detail.

Call of Pripyat[]

Snorkslap — A snork clawing at the player.

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, snorks can be quite common enemies, or very rare, depending on the player's choice of anomaly fields. In Zaton, they appear in the Claw anomaly field's underground section, as well as on the plateau – their lair is hidden in that area. In Yanov, they appear throughout the area, usually in pairs, but are rarer than dog packs. They are very common in the Jupiter Underground, but are rather rare in Pripyat until the player initiates the Evacuation mission, where a large number of them will appear at the School. Their health is now slightly higher than in other games, and thanks to massively limited shotgun power snorks can easily survive up to a half dozen buckshot rounds from a fully-upgraded Eliminator.

The snorks, like most of the other monsters in Call of Pripyat, have received an improved AI. Instead of aimlessly trying to pounce and attack the player, the snorks attempt a more guerilla-like style, where they try to flank the player, or perform surprise attacks from hidden areas. For example; if the player is facing a lone snork in an area with lots of cover, the snork will attempt a hit-and-run style, where it will attack, flee, and use any cover to its advantage to flank or attack the player from behind. However, unlike in previous games, the snork doesn't have any melee attacks; instead it will try to get some distance from the target stalker to leap onto him. So, ironically, trying to close the distance may not be a bad idea (especially since shotguns are weaker in Call of Pripyat).

Trivia[]

After a long leap, a Snork will perform a roll to absorb shock, similar to practitioners of Parkour.
At the border between the Army Warehouses and the Red Forest, there are spears in a line beyond the wire fence sticking out of the ground, with snork heads mounted on them.
Interestingly, Snorks are the only mutants encountered at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant itself.