I can't believe I missed this. It's worse than I could have ever imagined.
This is the anti-thesis of what made S.T.A.L.K.E.R great. It has to be some kind of joke, there's no other way to put it. How can anyone who played those games think for a second that this will hold up? It's not even close. It can't possibly be.
They took the worst design trend of the last 2 decades, which has almost single handedly ruined exploration and immersion in games, and they dressed it up as an old familiar friend who was once king at those things. Fuck this game and fuck you if you already bought it.
Now be a good little dog and follow that marker from A to B to get your treat. That's a good little dog!