Escape from Tarkov has become an extremely popular game in recent years. Aspects like PvEvP raids and realistic weapon behavior characterize the hardcore shooter. But what does a game need to be like the title from Battlestate Games? MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller shows you 5 games you should play if you like Escape from Tarkov.
Escape from Tarkov (EFT) can be very frustrating for new players. Furthermore, it can only be played on PC and can only be purchased from the developer Battlestate Games. If you want to buy the game on Steam, you are out of luck.
If you want to buy a game like Escape from Tarkov on Steam or need a change from the hardcore shooter, MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller has put together a list of 5 games that share basic gameplay mechanics with Escape from Tarkov.
EFT-Like: These games share the same gameplay principle
This is what defines EFT-Likes: Escape from Tarkov has established a new genre with its innovative gameplay – EFT-Likes. If you want to know exactly what characterizes this type of game, we at MeinMMO have explained the new gaming genre EFT-Likes.
Gray Zone Warfare
Genre: EFT-Like | Mode: PvPvE | Developer: Madfinger Games | Platform: PC | Release Date: April 30, 2024 | Model: Buy-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What defines Gray Zone Warfare? Gray Zone Warfare focuses on realistic gameplay. This is reflected in the graphic style, weapon models, recoil, movement patterns, and injuries.
You will traverse the tropical landscape inspired by Laos in squads of up to 4 players and complete various missions. During these missions, you may encounter hostile NPCs and players.
If you die during a raid, you will lose your carried equipment. Unlike other extraction shooters, however, the equipment is not automatically lost. You can set out again and recover your own equipment unless it has been stolen by another player. Therefore, the raids also have no time limit.
Here you can find Gray Zone Warfare on Steam
Hunt: Showdown
Genre: EFT-Like | Mode: PvPvE | Developer: Crytek | Platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 | Release Date: August 27, 2019 | Model: Buy-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What is Hunt: Showdown about? In the core gameplay mode of Hunt: Showdown – the bounty hunting – you must hunt down and kill at least one of up to two monsters on the map.
To know the position of a monster, you must first gather clues or encounter it by chance. There are four different monsters that can appear on the map.
Then you must collect the trophy dropped by the killed monster and get it off the map, similar to Escape from Tarkov.
What defines Hunt: Showdown? Hunt: Showdown has a very special twist: a permadeath mechanic. If you die before you have extracted your character and the collected trophy from the area, you lose everything – and when we say everything, we mean everything.
Even the character you have leveled up over hours and its progress is gone if the character dies. MeinMMO author Mark Sellner has experienced this in over 700 hours of gameplay in Hunt: Showdown.
In addition to numerous NPCs, preferably monsters or other grotesque creatures, the hunters controlled by other players also pose a great danger to successful extraction. The other hunters want to stop you from finishing the bounty objectives and collecting the respective trophy, and in the worst case, even kill you.
These features of Hunt: Showdown stand out: The paranoid feeling in Hunt: Showdown is further enhanced by the excellent sound design of the shooter.
You can hear almost every sound loud and clear and determine movements based on the soundscape. This is comforting when you can accurately determine an opponent’s position, but the multitude of continuously audible sounds also creates a certain tension that contributes to an immersive atmosphere.
Here you can find Hunt: Showdown on Steam
Incursion Red River
Genre: EFT-Like | Mode: PvE | Developer: Games of Tomorrow GmbH | Platform: PC | Release Date: April 10, 2024 | Model: Buy-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What defines Incursion Red River? Incursion Red River is an extraction shooter on Steam that was previously known by the working title “Project Quarantine” and focuses on realistic gameplay.
You find yourself in a fictional version of present-day Vietnam, where a civil war between gangs, militias, and private armies rages. The map accordingly provides you with a tropical area, with green forests and hot temperatures.
Gameplay-wise, you can expect a typical extraction shooter where you accept missions in your hideout and start a raid. You then aim to complete these missions while gathering new loot. At the end of the raid, you must successfully extract.
Unlike Escape from Tarkov or Gray Zone Warfare, however, Incursion Red River only offers PvE. You can, however, fight cooperatively with up to three friends.
Here you can find Incursion Red River on Steam
Marauders
Genre: EFT-Like | Mode: PvPvE | Developer: Small Impact Games | Platform: PC (Steam) | Release Date: October 3, 2022 | Model: Buy-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What is Marauders about? Marauders is already considered a space Tarkov before the official release, set in a parallel universe. In this alternate reality, humanity has aimed to conquer space after World War II. Accordingly, the spaceships visually resemble tanks with regular projectiles and bullets instead of lasers and railguns.
With the space tanks, you will head to space stations or spaceship wrecks and search them for usable resources. However, other players have similar intentions, which can quickly lead to a deadly confrontation.
If you have secured valuable loot, the next goal is to escape. You must flee from the space station or the shipwreck, and should you die in the process, the collected loot is lost.
What defines Marauders? In Marauders, you can own not just a spaceship, but an entire military frigate and engage in tactical space battles. You want to get as many fighters as possible onto the respective station or wreck and shoot the players to the target location using drop pods.
Since the drop pods are destructible and you may encounter space battles, upgrading and improving your frigate is an important feature in Marauders. Additionally, you can increase your character’s abilities by improving them through skills.
Here you can find Marauders on Steam:
Call of Duty: Warzone DMZ
Genre: EFT-Like | Mode: PvPvVE | Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software | Platform: PC, PlayStation, Xbox | Release Date: November 16, 2022 | Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What is DMZ about? With Warzone 2, Call of Duty has also ventured into the EFT-Likes genre and released the free DMZ mode. DMZ stands for “Demilitarized Zone” – an area where no military can be stationed.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of armed NPC enemies who will shoot at you as soon as they see you: the so-called AQ Forces.
How does DMZ play? Since the DMZ mode is a typical extraction shooter, there are not only NPCs but also plenty of other players on the map. These are traversing the city of Al Mazrah, known from Battle Royale, and trying to complete various faction missions and improve their equipment.
Within a round, however, you have limited time to complete tasks and loot buildings, as a timer is constantly counting down.
After the time expires, a radioactive zone spreads across the map. This will not only quickly eliminate you if you linger in it but also gradually push all remaining players on the map towards one of three extraction points.
These extraction points are crucial for the outcome of the round, as due to the spreading zone, you cannot remain on the map forever. You must extract eventually – ideally after completing your faction missions and packed with necessary items and good equipment.
Here you can find CoD: Warzone 2 on Steam
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