Escape From Tarkov Gets Gritty Realism Right | Game Rant
It isn't often that games are able to nail down realism. Try as they might, they've simply never been great at conveying worlds at a true 1:1 scale. Look at a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which seems dead set on portraying a realistic version of the Wild West, though that almost always involves more monotony than entertainment.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is still a great game, though the realism doesn't always enhance the experience; it simply makes it feel slow. Players spend equal amounts of time in over-the-top gunfights and action-packed heists as they do methodically searching a cabin in the woods. Enter Escape From Tarkov, the FPS currently taking Twitch by storm, that captures realism in a way better than most other games.
Escape From Tarkov's primary selling point is its realism. The game features next to no HUD, forcing players to manually check ammunition, health conditions, and any other status effects that may be affecting their character. Moving quickly will stir up noise, but moving slowly feels grueling. For every action, there's an animation that will show the player performing that action. It should suffer the same issues as Red Dead, but Escape From Tarkov manages to benefit from its realistic aspects far more than many of the alternatives do.
Escape From Tarkov isn't perfect, far from it, in fact, but it is incredibly immersive. For those that have dove in, it should be obvious why streamers like Dr. Disrespect have declared it their new favorite game. That immersion goes much further than Tarkov's main competitors, Day Z and Arma III, and The near-complete lack of a HUD is responsible for most of that immersion, as it forces players to view the world as it would really be seen. To get specific information, players have to dive into the menu - a move that may get a player killed depending on the circumstance. All players can really see are minor details informing them of how much noise they're making and the speed they're currently moving.
Instead, players have to rely on the information they're constantly being fed by Tarkov simply through contextual clues. Grimacing in pain while slowly hobbling through the map is a pretty good indicator that a player is hurt, and Tarkov is exceptionally good at conveying that feeling. Putting players in a position where they know something is wrong, but not exactly what, is a strangely good way to build a connection between the player and their character.
Escape From Tarkov is a constant gamble, as death is permanent. Players are weighing the cost-benefit ratios of taking a risk at every moment, doing their best to determine whether or not a reward is worth potentially losing everything else. The same type of feeling is found in DayZ, but DayZ’s menu system makes for a much more sluggish experience. As soon as the sound of gunfire breaks out in Escape From Tarkov, players have to decide whether or not they want to stick around and wait to scavenge what’s left, become an active participant in the firefight - possibly leading to some John Wick moments, or simply dip out, putting a safe distance between them and the fighting.
Making a player feel that fear, the constant worry of losing everything they own, is something not many games do well. Even in DayZ, dying can simply be a setback, as it's possible to reclaim gear after the fact - so long as a player is quick enough. In Escape From Tarkov, dying leads to players being booted from the world, and once a player is booted, they’ve lost any hope they have of rediscovering their body.
Escape From Tarkov will likely change radically before it releases. The developers intend for it to have a narrative, as well as open-world elements. Compared to the multiplayer battle simulator that it is now, that's a far cry away from what some players have signed up for. That being said, the idea itself is intriguing. The early groundwork for what Escape From Tarkov will become is incredibly impressive, and that may be enough to sell players on the developer's future vision for the game, even if some are still wondering what Escape From Tarkov is.
Escape From Tarkov is a game for players who want real, engaging stories to tell to their friends. That's what makes it so perfect for the Twitch community. While it is, at times, incredibly slow, the adrenaline-spiking moments of action are perfect to keep an audience engaged or be clipped out into bite-sized videos. It's a great formula of realism for a game that will live and die by its popularity, as seeing it on stream will push more people to actually give the game a chance, even if there are things they should know before starting.
More often than not, heavy-handed realism isn't a good place for games to go. While it can work in some instances, oftentimes it makes players focus more on the things that feel out of place than the experience it's trying to sell. But Escape From Tarkov is a different beast entirely. The developers clearly know how to create a grounded but entertaining experience, despite how delicate of a balance that can be. Hopefully, it'll stay that way into the future.
Escape From Tarkov is available in early access now on PC.
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