Escape from Tarkov, created by the Russian studio Battlestate Games, is a tactical shooter game in first person view (tactical shooter) which also includes an RPG dimension and a narrative framework. It's a multiplayer game that mixes action, survival, and management (of the economy and resources), simulating a realistic and immersive military experience quite close to the ArmA series. The game takes place in Russia, in the fictional city of Tarkov. Following an economic and political conflict, the city's borders are closed and war breaks out between two factions: the USECs, members of a private American military company, and the BEARs, agents of the Russian government. Upon entering the game, you can choose one or the other (final choice), but for now the only difference is the language in which they communicate. These two factions are also opposed to the SCAVs, civilians and criminals of Tarkov having taken up arms to survive.
Officially released in Alpha version in August 2016, the game has been in Beta since June 2017. Some elements are therefore likely to change over the updates, both in terms of gameplay and the overall content of the game.
First of all, be careful, Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore game that will require many hours of play and research on the internet to assimilate the basics, and thus be able to plan to survive. In this game, each online game, called "raid", is a kind of battle royale, except that there is not only one survivor at the end. Several players find themselves on one of the game's maps, each with its own specificities (spawn, loot, and extraction points) and try to survive. The goal is to manage to get out of these raids alive, taking with you all the loot you have amassed during the game. On the other hand, if you die, not only is the game over, but above all, you will permanently lose everything you are carrying.
Several menus are available from the main screen and contribute to the RPG dimension of the game, where almost everything revolves around the economy:
- Character
- Trade
- Hideout
Everything about your main character (PMC): game statistics, inventory, a health tab (because you will also have to manage their hydration, energy, injuries and bleeding, fractures, and other negative states such as fatigue, tremors, dizziness, etc.), a tab with skill levels and weapon proficiency, and quests. Your inventory is more or less full from the start (depending on the edition you pre-order) but nothing is specified; you have to inspect each object one by one to understand its effect(s), but difficult to know what is important or rare.
The inventory is a huge Tetris that can fortunately be sorted automatically.
Skills improve endurance, stealth, concentration...
Several currencies are present in the game: rubles - the main currency - euros, and dollars. This menu groups together the different Merchants in the game, NPCs who sell and buy at different prices depending on your level of reputation, and who also give you quests. In the Market, all items that are purchasable (offline) are listed, with a handy search bar. By writing the name of a weapon, we can thus see the different variants of this weapon, the parts associated with it, the prices, the seller, etc. Finally, an Auctions tab, accessible later, represents the online market between players.
Each merchant has his "specialty", his objects and his prices
The interface of the market is quite simple and well organized.
Your personal landmark where you will have to build and improve the different parts with objects found in raids, which will notably unlock crafting (health kits, food, etc.) and will grant several bonuses (improved regeneration speed, reduction of harmful effects on the character , or Bitcoin mining). This content is exclusively offline and there will also be no intrusion or negative event like a This War of Mine.
Improving the hideout will be the common thread of the RPG part.
Find the items in the raid, and successfully extract yourself with them to keep them.
When launching a raid, you can choose to play offline (with or without Bot), to familiarize yourself with the controls, the maps, the weapons... If you play online, you can choose to play either your PMC character, with your own equipment, either a member of the SCAVs, randomly generated character.
Random Equipment SCAV, or PMC.
Several advantages to playing an SCAV:
- You take no risks with your main character (loss of equipment, injuries, etc.).
- If you manage to extract yourself with it, all of its inventory and what has been collected will be profit that can be resold, or used with your PMC.
- The bots, present in each raid, being also SCAVs, they will never engage in combat against you.
- The possibility of cooperating with other real SCAV players against PMCs (more complicated to set up and more risky).
In summary, it is recommended to play them as soon as possible. But on the other hand, they start the game with rather average equipment, there is a cooldown of about 30 minutes between two games with it, and the quests can only be completed with your PMC.
On the next screen, you can choose the map, and finally, the time slot you want to play: one day, and one night.
Choice of map, time slot, information on the duration of the raid, the number of players, and the weather.
The game is already quite complex, it is strongly recommended to play during the day, where finding your bearings will already not be easy (so at night, and without night vision, let's not talk about it). A final screen allows you to invite friends to the group (up to 4 or 5 players), but they must have chosen the same parameters (SCAV/PMC, map, time slot) and must also part of the same faction, namely USEC or BEAR. Once everything is good, place to load the game, and there, prepare to have to wait each time between 2 and 5 minutes depending on the map, and if the game is on SSD or not (almost obligatory, fortunately the game weighs only about 20GB). The slightest well-placed shot can be fatal, so it is not uncommon for the time spent in game to be shorter than the time spent loading the game...
Once in game, you appear randomly on one of the spawn points. If you play in a group, be aware that no indicator differentiating between friends and enemies is present, and since friendly fire is obviously activated, many accidents are likely to happen without permanent and effective communication. From there, you're on your own, and the hardcore aspect of the game kicks in. No minimap, almost no HUD, and at first, not even a compass or a map. It is essential to search the internet for maps with legends. In addition to being extremely punishing, the game is not noob-friendly (not suitable for beginners): there is no tutorial, no game help, and very little explanation in general. The RPG dimension further widens the gap between newcomers and experts, who will have all their skills at maximum levels and much higher quality equipment. Also, matchmaking won't make it easy for you because you may very well, for your first hour of play, end up with players who have several hundred hours of play. Extractions are predefined, but a certain number of between them is available to each raid:
Example of a map with legend for the "Customs" map (2021).
In terms of gameplay, the character's movements are quite intuitive because the inertia and physics are realistic. The jumps are short, the speed of movement is quite slow, in favor of a less arcade and more tactical gameplay where you will have to adapt to different situations and think about your positioning. Sprinting decreases the stamina gauge, maintaining aim decreases the concentration gauge. To create the desired angle of view, or to hold a precise line, it is possible to lean to the side, and even to adjust the height of the character when he squats. The walking speed is also adjustable: the slower you go, the less noise you make. And the sound will really determine your survival in Tarkov. Playing with headphones is almost mandatory to hear everything well and to be able to locate each sound in space. Thus, you will know if someone is present around you, in which direction, on which surface he has just walked, at what speed, etc. In-game, you can equip your character with one of the different audio headsets, which more or less modify the perception of sound (noise reduction, muffled or clear sound, etc.). The sound design is impressive, as much in terms of the spatialization of sound, as noises related to the environment and the weather, as the sound of weapons. The graphics rendering of the game, which uses the Unity engine, remains realistic and clean even when lowering the quality, and the performance depends mainly on the processor and RAM.
Finally, knowing the equipment and the ballistics of the game will be essential, not only to be precise in your shots, because the bullets follow a realistic trajectory, but also to know the compatibility between the types of ammunition and the weapons. Indeed, the game allows a very thorough optimization of the armament: it is possible to disassemble each weapon to modify each of the parts, to choose the type of ammunition according to the caliber and the force of penetration against the protections, to install mods: grips, sights, stocks, etc., all of which obviously modify the statistics of the weapon.
Each weapon has a window to view its stats and attachments.
Escape from Tarkov is therefore far from being a game for everyone, not because of the complexity of its gameplay, but rather because of its requirement and the amount of information that must be assimilated to be able to start enjoying the game. Even for an FPS regular, at the beginning, the games will look the same in the wrong way because, to be effective, knowledge of the game takes precedence over skill with a weapon in hand. Knowing how to find your way around the map, knowing the equipment, the resources, making the right decisions: all this will determine your effectiveness and your survivability. The realism of the game, as much in terms of visuals and gameplay as in terms of sound, really reinforces the immersion. Despite the fact that it is still in Beta, the game stands out from most current FPS and is really promising. Most bugs (other than server and desync issues) have been fixed over time and an anti-cheat system has been added. On the other hand, everything really revolves around the economy; the future of the game will therefore also depend on the community. However, Battlestate Games has chosen to apply a "wipe" system during updates. In other words, when major changes need to be applied to the game, all players' progress is completely reset, and everyone starts from scratch. The duration between each wipe is variable, several months in general. The easiest way is to stay informed of the news of the game, which ensures a long life by continuing on this dynamic.
- Official site where to pre-order the game (the game is only available from the Battlestate Games launcher)
- Official game wiki (need help)
