Escape from Tarkov is a phenomenon. At first glance, the shooter from the Russian studio BattleState Games does not look very attractive: an overly hardcore game unfair to the player, a shooter on Unity in the universe of the F2P browser game Contract Wars，the biggest feature of the game is survival, escape, Tarkov Money, etc. Many unfulfilled promises, a considerable number of complaints about the technical part, development is going on for five years, the final of which is not expected shortly. Separately, the game's reputation has suffered from several P.R. failures and scandals related to player bans and misunderstandings between users and the developer studio.
It would seem that another unpromising long-term construction from the C.I.S. in the spirit of Survarium, if not even a video game analog of "MMM." On the Russian-language Internet, they don't talk much about it outside the fan communities, and significant publications don't write about the game - it's niche and not ready-made.
But at the same time, Escape from Tarkov has an entirely different story abroad: all these years, thousands of players around the world have been playing in a closed beta, far from release. In almost every country, there are dozens of bloggers and streamers on Escape from Tarkov, the thematic Reddit is bursting with posts, and interest in the game itself is only growing from year to year - information recently appeared that when developing a new model for Battlefield 2042, DICE was inspired by the game BattleState Games ... And in the C.I.S., with all the negativity about Escape from Tarkov, the game has enough fans among both streamers and ordinary players.
The phenomenon of Tarkov seemed to be interesting: it can't be that an ordinary "dummy" has such a massive community of players (and all over the world) who sincerely love the game. In contrast, the game itself is regularly updated with patches and content. Community drowns the hack instantly: remember at least LawBreakers, Marvel Avengers, endless attempts to make "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. killer," and other examples that did not last even a couple of months in the information field. Escape from Tarkov, on the other hand, has been alive and well for five years only through the sale of access to a closed beta test in various publications and a gift shop - no microtransactions, subscriptions, battle pass, and their analogs. The game quietly exists on the premium model.
We already had a review material of Escape from Tarkov, or rather, the 2020 version of the game. But the project has changed noticeably over the past time. This time we approached the study of the game more thoroughly: I spent 600 hours in Tarkov, survived the old and found a new wipe, and studied what was happening around it - fan forums, communities, famous figures, and streamers.
As a result, I must say: even though Escape from Tarkov is far from being released and has enough problems, it is a unique and incredible game that has no analogs. It's even more than a shooter with MMORPG elements or some super-hardcore simulator plus or minus modern warfare. Tarkov is a unique ecosystem of its kind, a video game analog of airsoft, a horror game, and the most Russian thing the industry has ever seen.
In this article, I will tell you what Escape from Tarkov is, how to play it, what is good and bad about it, and why it is a truly unique phenomenon in the modern gaming industry. We will cover everything literally: the plot, gameplay, features, distinctive traits, memes, numerous problems, and why it is worth it and, of course, not worth trying. We will also discuss scandals - alas, this topic cannot be avoided when talking about Escape from Tarkov.
The text turned out to be voluminous, so if you are only interested in something specific, use the content below.
What is happening in Tarkov and why they are fleeing from it?
A slight digression: what is happening in Escape from Tarkov, as well as in other BattleState Games (Contract Wars, Hired Ops) games, refers to the fictional universe "Russia 2028" - an alternative reality of our planet, where the focus of the narrative is focused on the wars of Private Military Companies - P.M.C.s. Much of the universe's lore has been invented for the game of the same name, which BattleState Games wants to do in the future. The rest of the projects, including Escape from Tarkov, are more like spin-offs and prequels to the future large-scale story, for which the studio does not yet have the resources.
But back to Tarkov himself. It was first mentioned in 1988. Tarkov played the role of a closed city specializing in scientific research and the production of electronics.
Before him, the players of the international arena did not care until, during the construction of the Nord Stream, the leading global gas pipeline, on the border with Finland at the junction of the Leningrad and Murmansk regions, the Norvinsk region was created - a special economic zone with benefits for large enterprises and businesses. A kind of "window to Europe" for Russia and a safe place where the countries of the West and the C.I.S. can safely conduct joint business. Naturally, under the supervision of all the necessary bodies, both from the U.N. and the Russian Federation. In addition to Norvinsk, this region also includes Tarkov.
These two cities are the centers of the Norvin Special Economic Zone. Tarkov was conceived as a financial and raw-material settlement. Therefore, in addition to ultra-modern buildings and research institutes, he has a developed road and rail communications system, port facilities, superhighways, and interchanges. Nordisk is a business city, with business centers and head offices of local companies.
The Norvinsk region was ideal for international business: only two, albeit critical modern cities, attracted a considerable amount of investment and corporations and became the benchmark of the megacities of our time - both in terms of jobs and living conditions.
Naturally, all kinds of benefits and incentives for business attracted law-abiding citizens and various types of suspicious business people who decided to take advantage of the situation.
TerraGroup (and their subsidiary TerraGroup Labs), a British corporation focused on future technologies, agricultural research, and aid to third world countries, can be considered the villain of the setting.
TerraGroup, in fact, by bribery, began to seize the territory of the Norvin region. A military reserve base (location "Reserve" in Escape from Tarkov), a chemical plant-combine number 16 (location "Factory") with the surrounding area, as well as several other land plots passed into its possession. This was done thanks to the bills of the corrupt mayor Tarkov on the alienation of the territory in favor of the British corporation.
The Investigative Committee uncovered the chains of corruption schemes and brought relevant charges to TerraGroup for illegal activities. In addition, other crimes were revealed: against officials, individuals, and ordinary civilians. It even came to illicit experiments on people.
Also, TerraGroup Labs showed an increased interest in the territories that previously belonged to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which hosted the Russian armed forces (all the same reserve base, for example). As a result of investigations, TerraGroup's activities were frozen - only iron evidence was lacking to bring the corporation to justice.
However, their investigators failed to find: attempts to infiltrate TerraGroup facilities were thwarted by the United Security P.M.C. (U.S.E.C.), an organization hired by a British corporation to protect its interests. It was founded by Brian Kernighan, a trucking company owner, to protect his business without the need for costly security firms. U.S.E.C. was created by several other Western P.M.C.s, whose property and Kernighan bought people. Having established themselves as working for the U.S. government, the mercenary military subsequently became a staunch ally of the TerraGroup. U.S.E.C. has approximately 7,500 employees.
To all accusations of the illegality of using private armed guards for their purposes, TerraGroup covered themselves with local authorities' agreements, which they could also conclude on not very legal grounds. As a result, any attempts to investigate the activities of the British corporation were suppressed by armed mercenaries from the U.S.E.C.
The situation was heating up: a criminal case was opened against TerraGroup, and riot police were involved in infiltrating the corporation's head office. Because of this, a firefight ensued between the U.S.E.C. and the Norvinsky region's order forces. And the building itself was destroyed by a small blast.
Immediately after these events, the dry-cargo vessel Ocean Logger left the port of Tarkov, which could not be intercepted. It is possible that TerraGroup employees were evacuated on it, along with documentation, evidence, and the bodies of the killed. Dropping up to about 80 outside of the ship's crew at the Danish port of Køge, the boat sailed towards Iceland but disappeared along the way, sending an S.O.S. signal.
What is happening in the Norvinsk region has grown into an international scandal. The Russian government blocked all facilities of TerraGroup Labs by internal troops, which is why the U.N., in turn, brought peacekeepers, "Blue Helmets" into the region and demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from civilian facilities. She agreed only on the condition of transferring the positions of the U.N. in the presence of international judges and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
However, during the commissioning of the port terminal, a group of unknown persons provoked an armed conflict between the troops of the Russian Federation and the U.N. forces. Both sides suffered losses. The situation in the Norvinsk region is approaching war between the leading states, and the Russian Federation is gradually beginning to lose control over the special economic zone.
The conflict could have been resolved by force by declaring martial law in the Norvinsk region, but in this case, a war with the West would be inevitable. So Russia created its P.M.C. - Battle Encounter Assault Regiment (Combat Assault Regiment, BEAR), which was supposed to obtain the necessary information on the territory of the Norvinsk region.
BEAR conducts local military operations on the territory of Tarkov, Norvinsk, and their environs to find the evidence necessary for the Russian Federation and show that the U.N. forces cannot resolve the conflict. The structure of the organization is about 3000 people. These are mainly retired military personnel and members of other P.M.C.s from the territory of the C.I.S.
BEAR promptly cut off Tarkov around the perimeter, cutting off the bridge to Norvinsk and a secret communications center at a sawmill in the city's vicinity (location "Forest" in Escape from Tarkov). Thus, the "Bears" blocked all escape routes for the remaining TerraGroup members in the city and prevented removing the necessary data from the special economic zone.
The military conflict gradually began to shift from the outskirts of Tarkov, inhabited by thousands of people, deep into the city itself. The world community immediately condemned the U.N. for inaction, which is why Western countries initiated the evacuation of civilians from the newly-made zone of open military clashes. Unfortunately, the rescue of people ended as quickly as it began - the civilians trapped between two fires were left to fend for themselves, because of which the roads were blocked by traffic jams from the refugees' cars.
Inside the territory, a local war was unleashed by two P.M.C.s. Tarkov's criminals quickly took advantage of the situation: criminals began to stray into significant gangs, rob refugees, and even attack police stations. As a result, the bandits gained combat experience and organization, and equipment for participating in Russian and U.N. checkpoints blocking the exits from the region. The doors from the area are blocked by Russian and U.N. checkpoints. In the meantime, local bandits are fighting for the redistribution of power, taking advantage of the madness going on around.
The situation is nevertheless close to a solution - every day, BEAR is getting closer to the goal. And then a critical event happens: a powerful electromagnetic explosion of unknown origin "kills" all the electronics on the territory of Tarkov and in its vicinity. An E.M.P. bomb cuts off both P.M.C.s from their command headquarters.
The city and its districts are isolated from the outside world and turn into an analog of the Zone from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - only without anomalies, mutants, and paranormal. To get to Tarkov, and even more so to escape from it, is almost impossible. The troops of different countries cut off the exits, and inside is the enemy, bandits, and a lack of supplies.
Moreover, in the newly-made "Tarkovskaya zone," new forces are beginning to operate: unknown new P.M.C.s, shadow dealers, smuggling traders, and a group of sectarians who saw in the E.M.P. explosion the harbinger of the end of the world. Past military tasks and political conflicts are forgotten: everyone in this military zone now has one goal - to survive and escape from Tarkov. This is where Escape from Tarkov itself begins. And, if possible, figure out what the TerraGroup was doing in the Norvinsky zone.
You can learn about what's happening in the period close to the game itself in the five-part RAID series, made with the direct participation of BattleState Games. He recently released a remastered version with improved color grading, effects, and editing. And more about the universe of the game itself and the setting of Russia 2028 can be found in the official books.
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