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Since being released to the public just over one year ago, Escape from Tarkov has gone on to a huge hit. The game is brutal, not just in a blood and gore manner, but also in the choices you're forced to make, such as the killing of friends and comrades. The whole game will require a huge investment of both time and effort from a new player. It's certainly not a game you can just pick up and master over a couple of hours. The game has the same feel as a first-person horror game. Though you're not up against monsters, you will be fighting other soldiers. There's no set script to follow. And there a massive open-world maps.
The game offers several different playing locations, from abandoned factories to beautiful shorelines. We must say that they are wonderfully rendered. One negative about the landscapes if the player can't step into the water. To that end, any river or lake acts as a barrier to free movement. Another factor is that you can't climb or jump over low barriers like fences. You need to keep walking until you find an entrance or doorway.
If you're after a realistic combat experience, then you've come to the right place. Escape From Tarkov offers outstanding gun-play, with a gritty and immersive shooting capability. You have any number of custom options when it comes down to the weaponry. Reloading is super fast. If you're too fast, then you can accidentally drop a whole loaded mag to the floor. You can reload bullets into a mag at any point during gameplay and it doesn't matter if the mag is empty or just contains a few bullets. One interesting point is that telescopic sights with cross-hairs are available from third-party software venders. But if you're playing online and get caught using them, then you'll be banned. The gun battles themselves are pretty grim in that you can target individual body parts and see the specific damage that results from a hit.
Another more realistic aspect of the game is the nature of winning and losing. For example, you could well win the battle, but bleed out and die on your way back to base camp. A raid doesn't end with all the enemy killed, you have to get to the extraction zone and then make it home in one piece. More than anything else, the game is based pretty much solely on the player's skill. A skilled player armed with just a knife could easily take out a whole squad of well-armed soldiers if they knew what they were doing.
The progression in Escape from Tarkov revolves around increasing your wealth. There's a hideout system with a cash sink. This provides unlimited funds in Roubles to buy items and for unlocking the tier one workstation. If you're a new player, then you should concentrate on basic survival. This means finding a sustainable income and learning how to scavenge. Having some cash in your pocket is vital to survival, simply because for the first few hours you will be losing your gear to other players, and you'll need the cash to re-equip yourself. Without spending some time learning the ropes, you'll have zero chance of surviving more than a few hours. Keep in mind that there is a "cooling-off period" if you happen to die, of between 15 - 20 minutes. So if you're an absolute beginner, then you could well be spending more time dead than you are going to spend playing the game!
Let's consider that over 2.6 million players are playing the game over Twitch, with a viewer count of 10K, then the answer is probably a big "yes." Within the game, there is a "faction system" whereby you can join up with other players into one of three groups, the Bears, Scavs, and USMC. But in reality, everyone just shoots at everything that moves. You have no friends you can trust and so your default setting is to kill anything that breathes or moves. Your best option for staying alive is to run, hide, or shoot. Don't assume the guy wanting to pair up and be friends is anything other than your killer in three seconds from your sweet introduction.
Look, this game isn't for everyone. And certainly, it's not going to be much enjoyment for the casual player. That's because playing it well required some serious skills. And those skills take time and energy to develop. As a shoot-it-up simulator, it's an excellent choice. But as a FPS for many players, it's just too involved and is too difficult. Then we come to the gore and brutal reality as far as the war experience goes. This game holds nothing back. So, if you're squeamish maybe it's not for you. It's a good idea to watch some YouTube game-plays before sinking over $100 into a game that may not be for your taste.
