Games from Russian developers rarely successfully enter the world market but Escape from Tarkov succeeded. Battlestate Games can be blamed for a too-long beta test, bugs, and a slow fight against cheaters, but all this has almost no effect on the popularity of EFT. We will tell you why gamers have been persistently trying to escape from Tarkov for several years.
The simplicity of the idea, the complexity of the details
Escape from Tarkov should not be confused with the "royal battle", despite some similarities with PUBG. Escape from Tarkov is more like a session-based MMO, referred to here as raids. The whole game is based on one simple mechanic, spelled out in the name of the shooter - in each game, you need to survive and leave the location.
As with other session games, Escape from Tarkov has no end goal - not even ranks to aim for. There is a system of progress and pumping, as well as quests, but most do not pay attention to them and repeatedly return to Tarkov for pure gameplay, consisting of shooting, survival, and of course, loot.
Matches in Escape from Tarkov take place in one of seven locations - in most cases, these are vast fenced areas with a dozen live players and bots. The fighters have about 30 minutes to complete their tasks or try to find loot and kill anyone in sight. After that, they need to get to the pre-specified exit point.
Sounds simple, but in Escape from Tarkov, there is no map, radar, pointers, markers, or even nicknames above the players. That is why all beginners are advised to first study the locations offline, or at least carefully observe the streamers. Only after that is it worth starting to think about places for loot and possible collisions with other players.
Hardcore and Realism
In most games, the word "hardcore" is associated with increased gameplay difficulty or permanent death mode. In Escape from Tarkov, your hero can easily die from a couple of hits, after which he will lose all uninsured equipment and collected loot - except for what you put in the pouch in advance. Of course, you won't have to start pumping from scratch after that, but the Tarkov money for preparing for the next raid will definitely go away.
The rest of the features of EFT refer to "hardcore" only indirectly and are more due to the desire of the developers to make the game as realistic as possible. And here you can list the mechanics just endlessly. For example, a fighter can suffer from a lot of different statuses due to injuries received - from fracture and bleeding to tremors and dizziness, which greatly interfere with the continuation of the fight. The character may also get hungry, thirsty, or tired from long runs and frequent hits with melee weapons.
What surprised me the most was the inventory system in Escape from Tarkov. Firstly, there is no one conventional backpack for everything - in order to use an item with a hotkey, it must be in the unloading or pockets, separate cells in the character's outfit. Secondly, when reloading, the cartridges in the magazine are not replenished automatically - the fighter simply exchanges one magazine for another. An unpleasant surprise for those who are used to pressing R after a couple of shots.
Considering that the whole Escape from Tarkov consists of such trifles, talking about two stamina strips, armor mechanics, and so on is simply pointless. All this is there, and the player needs to know how it works. Elements like these make you think and fight differently from other shooters - and this is one of the reasons why people continue to play Tarkov.
Attention to detail and "gunporn"
So far, the lore of Escape from Tarkov is hidden only in the slideshow during downloads and the insanely high-quality mini-series "Raid". From all this, it is known that the action of the game takes place on the territory of Russia. And this is not a simple convention - the Russian flavor is rushing here from everywhere. If the three cherished letters on the fence in Call of Duty are considered some kind of easter egg, then in EFT the walls are covered with much more creative phrases.
In what other game can you find the Goshan hypermarket or the Smoked Chimney pipe cleaner? Where else do streamers have to condemn the words of bots that are absolutely not shy in expressions? In this regard, only S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can compete with Escape from Tarkov, but even there was not such a variety in the voice acting and the general design of the locations.
Even more painstakingly Battlestate Games approached the study of weapons and all kinds of modules for it. Almost every cannon can be disassembled to the ground and restored with completely different parts, which will affect its performance. There are so many different modifications that even after a hundred hours in one patch, you can stumble upon something new.
Of course, most players use the objectively best builds, but there are also those who are willing to spend hours building their ideal killing weapon. Especially for them, Escape from Tarkov has a separate menu section with 3D models, many options, and the ability to quickly purchase parts. Why look for gunporn on specialized sites if it is right here - in Tarkov?
Tarkov and the deadly sins
From the side of Escape from Tarkov, it looks incredibly boring for an ordinary gamer. Most of the time you have to run around the location or lie in the bushes, and even at any moment, you can catch a bullet from some master of tactics and disguise. I myself was sure that such a game could only appeal to campers and military fans, but Battlestate Games turned out to be much more cunning.
Firstly, EFT has no direct competitors - in terms of gameplay, only Arma and, accordingly, DayZ can somehow be compared with it. Secondly, "Tarkov" skillfully plays with the user's emotions. The very feeling that you can lose all your equipment and loot constantly keeps you in suspense and at the same time turns every exit from the location into a personal victory.
Sometimes it seems that the developers of Escape from Tarkov are deliberately tempting players with all deadly sins. They constantly struggle with their own greed as they run to the body of a newly killed enemy; with envy when a streamer takes out insanely expensive things from the location; with anger when their fighters fall dead from an instant headshot, and sadness when they gather again for the next raid. Here, without God's help, it will definitely not be possible to finally escape from Tarkov.
Beta version of the game from a small indie company
Escape from Tarkov entered the closed testing stage in 2017 - and it still doesn't even smell like a full-fledged release. However, this does not prevent players from regularly returning to Tarkov and constantly monitoring updates. For example, now users are waiting for the expansion of the "Customs" location and the introduction of a new city map.
At the same time, EFT suffers from the illnesses of any online game - bugs, cheaters, and client-server desynchronization. The developers say that they are trying to solve all these problems, but so far they have not been able to deal with them quickly and painlessly. It's hard to blame Battlestate Games for this, as even the larger studios have been battling for their titles for years.
According to the developers, it will only get better further in the game. But even now, EFT has everything it needs to keep gamers staying and going on raids - and this without battle passes, constant events, and concerts of famous artists. I don't think that the entire audience came to the Russian shooter through the streams of the shroud, DrLupo, and other popular streamers. Escape from Tarkov, despite all its problems, offers users too many options, unique gameplay, and nice little things for them to just pass by.
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