The player explores a wide range of notable locations scattered across a vast valley, such as an abandoned church, a cosmodrome, several campsites, an altar lined with totem-pole-like torches.

Piecing together the notes, in 1950 the Kremlin created the RRUNP with the aim of studying and understanding a mysterious paranormal phenomenon called "Anomaly 7" in the Ural Mountains.

Other incidents included the inexplicable disintegration or solidification of dozens of gulag prisoners, the appearance of moving lights in the sky, and strange, orange gas that kills or maddens those who contact it.

Vitalij, a member of the Unit, was dispatched to locate the victims of the Dyaltlov Pass Incident in relation to the Anomaly but suffered an unexplained mental breakdown as a result of finding their bodies in horrible condition.

Awaking in pitch darkness, the player is drawn towards an orange glow at the peak of the mountain as the narrator's angered voice begins to echo in their ears.