The StunLock

The time has come and gone that I found myself neck-deep in a Tarkov addiction, and now I’d like to share my thoughts on the game as a whole:

It’s Wildly Satisfying

The audio, the gun customization, the looting and combat loops, it’s all just so satisfying. Believe me, I’m trying to get into other games to satisfy the itch that Tarkov has seeped into my mind and despite my best efforts, it’s becoming apparent that there isn’t anything like it in the world.

Tarkov is satisfying, and it’s one of a kind.

If/When the Game Dies, It’ll be Because of Cheaters

They are the single biggest downside of playing Escape from Tarkov. Cheaters plague the lobbies in a ratio that feels like it’s either 1/20 or 1/5 depending on the maps you like to frequent. For those who main Labs, it’s almost certainly closer to that latter figure.

The game back-loads a lot of it’s fun onto the player. That is, a lot of what makes Tarkov worth playing isn’t learned about until a bit later into one’s playing career. This is opposed to front-loading the fun, like so many games like to, which shows good qualities of a game first before tapering off and showing the weak-spots.

The map layouts, combat mechanics, looting, and gun customization aren’t really all that intuitive due to their intentionally complicated nature. I mean, do you remember trying to find your first extract before giving up and just googling the locations? It’s an absolute nightmare, and BSG like it that way.

And they like it that way because the feeling of satisfaction from finally learning the layout of a map, or pulling off some niche mechanic, or finding an item that you desperately need before successfully extracting is unrivaled: there is nothing like it in gaming and I doubt anyone will be able to make a game that matches the sheer levels of highs and lows that Tarkov does. And it’s all back-loaded to boot.

The only negative that sits there in the back is the eventual realization that the cheaters in Tarkov are common and you, the genuine player, are at their software’s whim as to whether or not you get to play the game. That kind of problem, I’m quite certain, can’t be fixed without a kernel-level anti-cheat engine.

For Gun-Enthusiasts, It’s Unmatched

Simply sitting in the trader menus and equipping some niche, strange weapon like the VPO-209 with an all-black setup of hand guards, stocks, foregrips, scopes, magazines, flashlights, lasers, pistol grips, barrel attachments, and dust covers is not only a relaxing experience, but being able to take that personalized weapon into a game that observes complicated weapon ballistic calculations, travel time, and differentiates between sonic and sub-sonic ammo makes each raid feel personalized.

You feel like your play style extends beyond simply mechanical and shakes hands with your ability to use your weapon knowledge in crafting a gun with high ergonomics, or low recoil, or a quiet sound profile, or all three.

These compliments extend to the ammo, as well. As aforementioned, Tarkov stipulates on an ammo’s travel speed through altering it’s sound profile. But it also pays attention to the model of round that you’re firing. Some have quicker travel times, higher damage, higher penetration, different accuracy at different distances, and all of that plays into what you’re trying to get out of a raid.

In Escape from Tarkov, the ammunition is arguably more important that the gun that fires it.

I Respect the Developers

The fact that Battlestate Games has managed to craft this one-of-a-kind masterpiece and is continuing to see it through speaks volumes about how much they care about the title. Most games that have been in early access for the amount of time that Tarkov has are released before being finished and then abandoned outright.

In Tarkov’s case, BSG are seeing it through, it seems, And I respect them for it.

I’ll be Back

I’d like to say that I’ll be spending my time on things a little less addicting than Tarkov, but I know for a fact, when wipe comes ’round again, I’ll be back. At least, I’ll return for a while until seeing my first cheater again. But, really, I hope BSG contract Riot Games to throw in their Tencent spyware so we can play the game without cheaters. Or, instead, they can just release a single-player version (I’d buy that).

GLHF,
-E