| Escape from Tarkov | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Escape from Tarkov Review Overview
What is Escape from Tarkov?
Escape from Tarkov is a first-person extraction shooter game developed and published by Battlestate Games, first released in 2017 as a playable pre-launch or Early Access title. It is now fully released in version 1.0, launched on November 15, 2025 through the Battlestate dedicated client and on Steam.
Set in the titular fictional city of Tarkov that has since been ruined by political scandals and the collapse of its reigning corporations, warring factions have taken over the desolate city and are up at arms with each other, vying for control and power. Players take on the role of a soldier from either of the two PMCs (private military company) and find a way to escape from the city.
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Escape from Tarkov’s gameplay and story.
Escape from Tarkov features:
⚫︎ Military-Like Shooting Gameplay
⚫︎ Hundreds of Firearms
⚫︎ Expansive Maps to Explore
⚫︎ Challenging, Survival of the Fittest Mechanics
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
 Steam |
 Dedicated Client |
| $49.99 | |
Escape from Tarkov Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Realistic Military-like Gameplay Tons of Replayability Expansive Maps to Explore |
Paywalled PvE Difficulty Level Is Not For Everyone |
Escape from Tarkov Story - 7/10
Escape from Tarkov’s story takes a backseat, as there’s not much of a solid story to begin with anyway. You’re given a general background and update on the happenings of the world around you, as well as a bunch of quests to follow throughout the campaign for more worldbuilding. But in raids and actual gameplay, it doesn’t matter much, especially when you’re trying to survive for the next thirty or so minutes. It works, but it’s not the center of it all.
Escape from Tarkov Gameplay - 8/10
Escape from Tarkov’s military-esque gameplay is brutal, but solid. It’s realistic, with dozens of terms and items to keep track of. It’s not called a hardcore game for nothing—you are immediately pulled into the fray with barely any knowledge of what’s going on. If you’re up for a good challenge, Tarkov might just be one formidable enemy. Although, one of the tougher opponents you’d have to face in game is the prevalence of its unstable ping, coming in at inopportune times.
Escape from Tarkov Visuals - 9/10
The game’s visuals is one of the best things about it, as every little nook and cranny has been rendered well. It’s as visually appealing as it can get if your PC can handle it. It’s also an added bonus that many of even the smaller areas of maps are fully rendered and explorable, lending itself to a deeper immersive experience.
Escape from Tarkov Audio - 7/10
There’s barely a soundtrack to speak of, but otherwise, Escape from Tarkov’s sound design is good. The pouring of the rain, the sound of the bullets firing from your gun, metal clanging against metal—it gives a sense of immersion to it all. It also has a bit of voice acting from the other characters and tapes you find, adding more to its atmosphere. Normally though, it’s just pure silence, save for the occasional footsteps and firing guns somewhere out nearby.
Escape from Tarkov Value for Money - 5/10
$50 for a game with this much replayability and scope of content should be worth it, and will easily entertain you for hours on end if you find the game your cup of tea. However, I find the need to pay an extra $30 to even have the OPTION to play PvE simply outrageous. The option to play PvE or PvP especially in a game that’s well-known to be rampant with cheaters should have come with that steep price.
Escape from Tarkov Overall Score - 70/100
Escape from Tarkov is a ruthless but engaging FPS extraction title that is not for the faint of heart. High stakes equal high rewards, and its punishing gameplay does just that. It’s complex, it can be overwhelming, but it’s an inherently fun challenge to overcome. Its story is barebones, and is still riddled with hidden bugs and glitches and connection issues despite being out for so long, but if you look past that, it’s a solid military simulator.
Escape from Tarkov Review: Military Simulator Lvl. 999
Escape from Tarkov, the infamous "original extraction FPS" that has seen its ups and down for over a decade since its pre-launch days in 2016. I have, unfortunately, never got to play the OG before its Steam release, but I have delved into other shooters here and there—most recently, Escape from Duckov, a cuter, more forgiving parody of the game it clearly takes inspiration from.
And here I am, with the original title that inspired, in some way or another, the rest of its genre. Was I prepared? Hell no. Nothing can truly prepare you for a trip to the ruined city of Tarkov. I knew what I was getting myself into, but reality was way harsher than I thought it would be.
From Riches to Rags, Tarkov-Style
So, Tarkov. The titular city, the center of it all. The entire game takes place in this fictional city in northwestern Russia, in an area called the Norvinsk Special Economic Zone. Tarkov and its surrounding region was a center for international partnerships, so much so that one of the most dominant corporations in the world, TerraGroup, has staked its headquarters in the city. Their influence grew rapidly, under the name of their "revolutionary projects" to make the world thrive and prosper into the future.
However, the corporation began meddling with the government, making use of restricted government facilities for their own use. To protect themselves, the United Security private military company, or USEC for short, was hired. The Russian government tried to mediate, yet even they were denied access, leaving them further in the dark about what’s happening within their borders. And thus, they were forced to take on desperate measures—they hired their own PMC to retaliate and to gather evidence of their illegal activities, a group called BEAR (Battle Encounter Assault Regiment).
The conflict only further escalated from there, with international entities powerless to stop or control the situation in Tarkov. Marauders and bandits, who scour the land under the banner of the Scavengers, have also made their mark in the city, adding even more fuel to the fire.
Bearing the mark of either USEC or BEAR, you are then one of the PMC soldiers caught in the crossfire, left to survive the harsh landscape and to find a way out of Tarkov…alive. With enemy PMCs and Scavengers out there looking for blood, you must gather resources, make friends with the right people, and piece together the truth of what happened in this war-torn city.
In-Depth, Realistic Gameplay
Escape from Tarkov is a first-person shooter extraction-survival game that prides itself on its hardcore realism, an almost militaristic simulator in scope. Players go on matches called Raids, which places them in one of the game’s 11 maps and pits them against other players and also NPC Scavengers for a set amount of time. The goal is to loot and gather resources such as firearms, medicinal items, food and drink, armor, and odds and ends for bartering, across the expansive map while surviving long enough to be "extracted" at certain extraction points usually found at the edge of the level.
Should a player fail to escape or be extracted from running out of time or from being eliminated in combat, they will lose everything in their inventory, including the items they took from their Hideout before going on the Raid. However, specific items can be put in a secure container or insured for a price so that they are not permanently lost.
In terms of resource gathering, it features hundreds of items to collect and take back to the base, such as items for bartering and medical supplies to almost 200 different types of weapons and a whopping 2000+ weapon parts and mods alone. In addition to that, the gun customization is complex and in-depth, allowing for precise modification. With that in mind, in Escape from Tarkov, inventory management is a game in itself.
There are five different modes of gameplay, namely the PMC (private military company) Raid which advances the plot and makes use of your main character, the Scavenger Raid that puts players in the role of a Scavenger and assigned a random loadout instead of your own, a Practice mode to test out weapons and get the feel of the game, and an Arena mode that is similar to the session matches of games like Counterstrike and Call of Duty.
Aside from going on raids, you can also spruce up your Hideout or base of operations, as well as buy and sell items with trader NPCs or with other players as well.
Hardcore To The Max
As you can tell from the gameplay summary, Escape from Tarkov doesn’t hold your hand or anything from the get go. It kicks you straight into the fire of the arena, left to fend for yourself. Yes, there is a tutorial, but it’s pretty much barebones, and it doesn’t explain any other mechanics aside from the basics. Every time you step into the map for a raid, you can’t help but feel on edge—whether that paranoia makes you a better player or not is up to you.
You will die. And die. Again, and again…and again. And that’s okay. This game is definitely not for the weak-willed nor those who would not want to put in too much time and effort—Escape from Tarkov is unforgiving, and requires patience and understanding of its mechanics to really get into the groove of things. From the in-depth gun customization, to the separate health bars of your body parts that can actually affect your movement and vision, and the need to play tetris with your inventory on the fly, it rewards players who take the time to learn it because none of their systems can be mastered in just five rounds.
It’s to the point that you actually need to spend more than just a few hours both inside and outside of the game, learning about the items, the ammo, the weapons, and even the darn map. There are entire, full-fledged guides and information resources out there on the internet because of how broad the scope of the game is in terms of items. It’s gotten to the point where most guides would recommend players to have a second monitor or an open mobile device to keep track of things, especially because time is your enemy in this game—well, aside from the opponents, of course.
I’ve taken some time to read these guides, and kudos to all these helpful users who are trying to make Tarkov’s world a better place to dive into. And even if you think you know what you’re doing, raids are insanely unpredictable, which forces you to be extra aware, extra cautious of the environment.
Perhaps that’s what makes the game more appealing to play despite its flaws—unpredictable, high stakes gameplay with high rewards to boot should you successfully extract yourself. And with a little of something new every time a new raid starts, you’ll find yourself playing for hours on end.
Paywalled PvE
You see the header—why is the PvE mode an entirely separate DLC? It’s a rather uncommon practice that I have yet to see in other games I’ve tried, and frankly something that shouldn’t have been separated in the first place. Most games have the option for separate servers to separate those wanting an all-out PvP war from those who prefer playing with computer-controlled enemies in PvE no matter the price.
And to think that the PvE DLC costs a little more than half the original game is kind of disappointing. It’s DLC for something that is usually readily available, which feels like a rather scummy move on their part.
Lag Spikes Are Apparent
For a game that’s technically been out (publicly) for nearly a decade now, you’d think they’ve got the server issues down pat. Well, even when I’m queued on the best server for my internet, it still randomly spikes up for no apparent reason—even when I’m not particularly squaring off with another player.
Luckily enough, it hasn’t made me completely fail a raid because of its choppiness, but the way it doesn’t respond to some of my actions can spell life or death in a game where time is of the essence. Imagine you’re calmly (as calmly as you can be while watching the screen and the numbers tick by) reloading or playing tetris with your inventory to make everything fit…and a lag spike forces you to restart it, making you vulnerable for another thirty seconds or so. A precious thirty seconds.
Is Escape from Tarkov Worth It?
Worth It If You’re Looking For A Challenge
Escape from Tarkov is an FPS extraction game that is ruthless, unforgiving, and will shoot you down time and time again—yet, it is totally worth it for those who want a bit (er, a lot) of challenge in their life and have a lot of time to pour into it.
Despite its difficulty and realism with complex mechanics and things to keep track of, the excitement and exhilaration of playing high risk high stakes games is an insane feeling. Every new raid feels like something new, and there seems to be something fresh to discover across all its maps. No wonder people have thousands of hours poured into the game—it’s a testament to how engaging it really is.
Again, it’s not for the weak or the faint of heart at all—it’ll slap you hard in the face. But for those who have that perseverance and motivation to see how far they can go, then by all means. Tarkov welcomes you…and hopes you can escape its clutches.
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
| Steam |
Dedicated Client |
| $49.99 | |
Escape from Tarkov FAQ
Will Escape from Tarkov come to consoles?
As revealed in passing by Battlestate Games head Nikita Buyanov at Tokyo Game Show 2025, Escape from Tarkov is on track to releasing on consoles. Yet, there is no news as to a release window or date as of writing.
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Escape from Tarkov Product Information
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| Title | Escape from Tarkov |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 15, 2025 |
| Developer | Battlestate Games |
| Publisher | Battlestate Games |
| Supported Platforms | Steam, Dedicated Client |
| Genre | FPS, Action, RPG |
| Number of Players | 1-5 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Escape from Tarkov Official Website |
