Introduction

Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore and realistic online first-person action RPG/Simulator with MMO features and a story-driven walkthrough.

Official website: https://www.escapefromtarkov.com/

Play demo:

Analysis through the Elemental Tetrad

Story

Apart from normal FPS games, EFT has a rich and complete background setting.

The events of the Escape from Tarkov take place in the fictional Norvinsk’s region Special Economic Zone that became a gateway between Russia and Europe. Preferential conditions for large international companies, however, have not only attracted law-abiding businesses but corporations of dubious intent as well. In Tarkov, one of the largest cities in the region, a transatlantic corporation became the ground zero of a political scandal. Six months later, the political standoff escalated into an armed conflict involving UN peacekeepers, Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and two private military companies. The region’s borders were sealed off, and those trapped in the middle of this local warfare flare-up were isolated from the outside world.

The players will have to experience living in the skin of one of the mercenaries who survived the initial stage of the Tarkov conflict. After choosing one of the sides – USEC or BEAR – the player’s character starts to make his way out of the city. Tarkov is sealed off by the UN and Russian military, supply chains are cut, communication with operational command is lost, and in these conditions, everyone has to make his own choices of what to do and how to get out of the chaos-ridden metropolis.

Aesthetics

• Unlike other FPS games which clearly highlight the enemies, EFT focuses a lot on reality, so the whole background environment is on a dark scale, very close to the story setting.
• The Ui design is also simple and gives the player a real feeling of trading in a flea market.
• High quality of the gun models, each component has its own physic model, which makes the game very realistic as compared to other FPS games

Mechanics

• No crosshair and no teammate sign. The game simulates the real war-like experience, you do not have any crosshair to assist shooting, so you need to assemble a good sight on your guns. Also, teammates will not be marked on your screen, you may just shoot your teammate without knowing it, so you need to keep communicating with your friends.
• A giant map with no map display. You can easily get lost inside the giant map. You have to gradually remember all the locations as you keep playing.
• Gun-assemble system. Almost all parts of the guns can be assembled freely, you can choose better parts for higher stats at a higher price. Players can freely come out with their own design of one gun.
• Looting and market. Dynamic in-game loots, after successfully survive from a match, players can take out the loots and trade them with other players in the in-game market. Players can then use the money earned to purchase better armour and weapons.
• PVPVE. Lots of AIs are added to the map with either good or bad weapons, they will shoot players with extreme accuracy. Player has to keep in mind the AIs when looting and combating other players.

Technology

Powered by unity, EFT has a very realistic physics engine.

Analysis through Lenses

Lenses of freedom

Unlike other FPS games or PUBG-like games, the only goal is to kill other players and win, Tarkov has more thrilling experiences. Players can choose to wear low-quality armour with a pistol and focus on looting without troubling other players or become an AI-hunter, focusing on killing the in-game bosses or wearing the best armour to seek for killings of players. Player has the freedom to decide what they do within a 45 minutes raid. They only need to arrive at the retreat position in the game on time. This kind of freedom makes the game more possibilities.

Another kind of freedom is the in-game market. Players can choose to become professional traders – make money by trading instead of raiding and fighting. These two layers of freedom extend the playing time greatly.

Lenses of Gambler’s mentality

Imagine you spend 50w in-game dollars on a set of equipment and you are preparing to kill all other players in a raid but after joining the raid for 2 minutes, get killed by an AI. Or you spend only 2000 dollars for a pistol, but you successfully kill an AI and find the body of that full-set player. You can easily earn a lot of money without much effort or lose a lot of money unwillingly. This is in line with the gambler’s mentality. Tarkov catches the mentality of the player and attracts players to use different strategies in games. The in-game currency cannot be purchased and it can only be earned within the game. Therefore, more and more players become gamblers to join a raid and use their luck to earn more money.

Lenses of Cooperation

Tarkov encourages cooperation. They provide an in-game broadcasting mic, to allow players to talk to surrounding players either teammates or enemies. This encourages not only team cooperation but also cooperation among strangers. You can negotiate with another player to peacefully retreat or give them some loot to make them ‘let you go’. Players can trust or distrust but cooperation opportunity is everywhere. Sometimes, two teams can fight together for killing a team of boss AIs, and old birds can help noobs find their task object. This is why EFT is a very ‘socialised’ game.

Lenses of Challenge

Unlike other FPS games, EFT is very difficult to learn. You have to remember the giant map, you have to complete NPC’s tasks, and you have to come out with a cheap but effective gun design. All of those challenges make EFT fun to watch but hard to play. A lot of players are attracted by streaming, but when they play themselves, they found out the game is actually very hard to survive at the start. However, as the playing time increase, you get familiar with the map and other combinations of issues, the game becomes easier and the shooting skills become a new challenge ( what all FPS games require ). This kind of setting makes the game very fruitful.

Ps:

Try not to play it if you are timid 🙂