Escape from Tarkov

Online Shooter Action First-person view Stealth

Escape from Tarkov is a survival game with elements of a first-person stealth shooter and RPG set in a post-Soviet visual style, taking place in the fictional city... Read more

Anticipation Rating:

4.3/10

1.6K ratings

Release date:

July 28, 2017 (PC)

Developer:

Battlestate Games

Publishers / Distributors / Localizers:

Battlestate Games

Included in compilations:

Russian shooters, Tactical shooters, Shooters about war, Shooters for powerful PCs, Russian games, Online shooters, Survival games

About the Game

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Escape from Tarkov is a survival game with elements of a first-person stealth shooter and RPG set in a post-Soviet visual style, taking place in the fictional city of Tarkov. Players make raids into different areas of the city in search of valuable items, striving to survive — it's not enough to find loot, you need to carry it to the extraction point.

The task is not easy, as Tarkov is a deadly environment: there are no rules and everyone is for themselves. At any moment, from anywhere, a bullet can fly, and the situation is further complicated by enemies of varying difficulty levels and threats such as radioactive contamination. Since 2017, it has been in closed beta testing.

Contents

Backstory of the game world
Plot
Gameplay
Character and leveling
Game modes
Important features

Backstory of the game world

Escape from Tarkov belongs to the alternate reality of the "Russia 2028" universe, created by the developers for Contract Wars. Specifically, Tarkov is located in the south of the Karelian Isthmus in the fictional Norvinsk region, which was a free economic zone of the Russian Federation and the EU.

The city was developing confidently until the international corporation TerraGroup was exposed for conducting illegal research and experiments. A political crisis ensued, leading to the area being isolated by UN peacekeepers and the Russian army.

While politicians argue, TerraGroup hired the PMC USEC to protect their laboratories, personnel, provide force cover for illegal experiments, securely hide secrets, and counteract attempts to investigate the company's activities. In response, the authorities of the Norvinsk region hired the PMC BEAR, close to Russian government structures, to prove TerraGroup's criminal activities.

There is no open world in the game; instead, there are large unique maps with a high degree of freedom of movement, each with a predetermined theme. The "Factory" map consists entirely of production facilities, workshops, and includes several levels of "verticality." The "Forest" map, on the other hand, has a few buildings and is engulfed in dense forest, offering survival in open spaces.

Plot

In 2020, almost nothing was known about the plot of Escape from Tarkov, except for the developers' promise to add a full story in the future. The events will begin in the midst of the war between the two PMCs, civilians are fleeing, chaos is all around, giving the writers plenty of room. For now, players make do with story-related quests from traders.

Gameplay

The main mechanics of Escape from Tarkov are:

survival — the character needs to eat and drink, body parts are easily injured, an advanced damage and healing system is in place (a fracture requires a splint, and bleeding can only be stopped with a bandage), taking different pills disrupts metabolism, stamina limits running and jumping, and you need to keep the entire map and its key locations in mind.
realism — the physical shooting model takes into account many parameters, including the type of ammunition, distance, bullet energy, and presence of armor; it's easy to die from a couple of shots, or a limb or organ will be "disabled," leading to problems with movement, shooting, or health; every action is animated and takes time.
stealth — avoid rushing in, control the situation 360 degrees, move cautiously and inspect every corner, don't stay in one place, and don't make noise. The skill of accurate shooting will only be an aid.
looter-shooter — the game features a colossal set of weapons, upgrades, and attachments of various shapes, sizes, and degrees of usefulness. There are dozens of equipment options and skins for all content. All of this can be found during raids or bought from traders or other players.
MMO component as of 2020 is limited to trading ready-made items or their components in the menu, as well as completing raids together with friends (up to 3 people). Full-fledged BEAR and USEC confrontation, clans, and groups in these factions are promised to be added later, along with tasks at all levels.

Character and leveling

The game begins with the choice of the side of the conflict (USEC or BEAR), after which a character is created and their appearance is customized. The character is constantly in the Hideout, which serves as the game's menu, venturing out from there into raids.

You can't go on a raid with a "naked" character; first, you need to decide on all the equipment: weapons and a sufficient supply of ammunition, grenades, medkits and painkillers, food, and water. The inventory size is limited by volume and weight, so you need to find a balance in everything, but over time the inventory expands. Everything missing can be bought from traders or other players.

The game has dozens of skills divided into categories: physical, mental, combat, practical, and others. Skills level up passively — the more you use weapons, the better you shoot; the more you survive, the easier raids become. Each faction will eventually receive unique skills, making the gameplay more diverse.

The Hideout is the player's base, where they heal wounds, recover, and store all the loot obtained in difficult raids, and it also levels up. The player starts in a cluttered, damp basement, but by spending resources found in the game, it turns into a comfortable autonomous underground dwelling, with a storage warehouse, a crafting workbench, and a shooting range to test these items in combat.

Game modes

As of 2020, Escape from Tarkov offered two main modes:

Raids — from 7 to 12 well-prepared players appear in different places on the map, joined by mobs, bosses, and player-raiders ("Scavs"). You can hunt each other in hopes of looting quality items from corpses, or you can complete side quests, search for secrets, caches with useful items, and just survive.
Game against the environment — no valuable loot, skill development, or other players, only bots. However, you can shoot calmly, get used to the controls, study the map, buildings, and nothing will be lost in case of death.
Playing as a "Scav" — a mode for beginners, does not require equipment, so there is no risk of losing valuable loot. The game itself provides initial-level weapons and equipment and throws you into an already ongoing raid, in the middle of the round. Everything found goes into the player's stash. Surviving until the end is not as easy as it seems at first glance, which adds adrenaline.

Important features:

Excellent character voice acting in both Russian and English.
Constant tension and fear of losing hard-earned loot make you calculate many situations.
Возня с оружием считается главной фишкой игры. У каждого ствола можно поменять десятки элементов, а подбирая модификации самую плохую пушку можно превратить в убийственную «швейную машинку» или дальнобойную винтовку.
Высокий порог вхождения — еще не ArmA 3, но почитать и посмотреть гайды по началу игры, меню, основным активностям и поведению во время боя точно стоит.

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