Is Escape From Trakov worth it?
Absolutely, but not for everyone.
Escape From Tarkov is a riveting shooter that offers an experience unlike any other on the market right now. It bridges the gap between a hyper realistic sim like Arma and more round based shooters like Insurgency: Sandstorm.
But to get a better idea of if EFT is worth it for you, let’s look at what the game actually has to offer.
Why is Escape from Tarkov Worth it?
Combat
Combat is the single largest pull and the primary focus of Escape From Tarkov. Guns, grenades, armor, and even just moving from cover to cover all has its own heft, and a feeling that almost no other game on the market shares.
That being said, EFT is not a replacement for even games like Insurgency or Arma, as it neither offers the quick play potential of Insurgency, nor the large scale simulation of Arma. All in all, Escape From Tarkov offers very grounded, intense combat that is less forgiving than even Insurgency and less immersive than Arma, but bridges the two.
What it definitely isn’t is a replacement for Call of Duty or Battlefield. EFT doesn’t even attempt to compete with those titles because it’s going for a completely different atmosphere with a completely different ruleset, and while Battlestate Games has stated they’d like to implement an arena of some sort, details on this have been sparse. So far we have a relatively quick paced close-quarters map in Factory, but even that doesn’t begin to get close to the CoD style of experience.
Trading
Depending on who you ask, Escape From Tarkov is either about combat, or making money. But even if getting into gunfights is your main goal, maximizing your capabilities means getting your hands on the best gear you can, and ensuring you can afford the best gear requires maximizing your profits.
Trading, using the Flea Market, and bartering for items is how we convert some loose duct tape and a broken smartphone into an AK and body armor. If you’re the kind that enjoys shoveling up all the loot you can, or flipping purchases on a player driven market, EFT has something for you.
Exploration
A lot of long-time players may forget this from time to time, but a big part of the new player experience in Escape From Tarkov is the sheer amount of exploration and discovery you’ll experience. The game tells you almost nothing, but provides all the tools you need to start poking around every corner of Tarkov from the beginning.
This can serve as a massive driving point for some new players, but it can also serve as a large roadblock because the game really tells you nothing. EFT is still in development, and Battlestate Games has expressed an interest in introducing more narrative and world building to the game, but it has yet to be introduced beyond a few lines of dialog.
Realism
This is more of an element that exists among all the others, but is in itself a big part of the game. From the ways the weapons handle, to the audio of footsteps and items being used, to the way bullets interact with objects and armor, and even the visuals of using a sight on your rifle. All of these things have been handled with a large amount of care that builds a crazy amount of immersion without feeling overly clunky.
For new players the sheer amount of immersion can be daunting, and loading into your first game can have you feeling super isolated. But even veteran players have their heart pounding moments when a battle is won or lost based on the sound of someone checking their magazine because they forgot how many rounds they fired, or bringing extra ammo to repack into a magazine mid-raid gave you just enough firepower to fight your way to an exit.
Depth
This shouldn’t be a surprise coming from someone that does entire guides just for EFT, but the game has an amazing amount of depth. Learning how bullets work, how armor works, how the gun customization works, how active headsets have different effects on the audio, how to manage inventory properly and how to break weapons down to get the most money out of them without having to take the whole thing with you.
This level of depth may not be what players are looking for, some people just like to take it smooth and easy even in a competitive shooter. But for those of you like me that enjoy the depth, and enjoy learning something new every time they play, EFT has a lot to offer.
Requirements and cost
Now if EFT was free I’d say 100% it’s worth at least trying even for everyone, but it’s not.
Escape From Tarkov currently costs $45 with several more expensive tiers available as well. The game isn’t fully developed yet and has a lot of changes coming, including a complete game-wide account reset for everyone once every few months. This can absolutely be a deterring factor for people looking for a simple or bug free experience.
In addition, EFT has some optimization issues. While the official system requirements are very low, I’m Running a Ryzen 7 1700 and an Nvidia RTX 2060.
Max settings at 1920×1080 have me bouncing around between 45 and 55 FPS pretty regularly, with the not-too-uncommon dip down to 40. In comparison, I regularly break 90-100 FPS in CoD:MW with the same settings. Obviously I don’t run on max when I play EFT, and the game is more than playable on lower settings, but note that it can be pretty trying for low and mid-range rigs.
So is EFT worth it?
If the price isn’t an issue, Escape From Tarkov is absolutely worth it, but not for everyone. If you do decide to give it a try, I recommend checking out our Beginner’s Guide and our Shoreline Map Guide to get you started.