Escape from Tarkov is a game that makes you feel amazing if you win, and awful if you lose. You’re likely to feel terrible again and again if you play it, but the thrill when everything goes right makes up for all of that. And while it’s hard to beat that feeling of pleasure, I imagine I’m not the only person who played Tarkov and felt the pain of its hardcore difficulty. Escape from Tarkov: Arena seems like a game that even these kinds of players can jump in and enjoy. Arena retains the original Tarkov’s hardcore shootouts while being a fast-paced and much more easily-digested team shooter.
What makes Arena special is that despite the different rules, the game as a whole still feels like Tarkov, including the gunplay. Between its minimal HUD, lack of respawning, and wealth of equipment presets to choose from, you can tell that the game is still Tarkov at its roots. I had the opportunity to try Arena out at Tokyo Game Show 2023. While it was only for one match, I was also able to hear from Sergei Drozdov, game designer at Arena developer Battlestate Games.
Still Pursuing Realism, Just Like Tarkov
We began by purchasing a character preset, separated by role. As a Tarkov game, preparing your loadout in advance is naturally going to be important in Arena. There were four roles to pick from: Assault, CQB, Scout, and Sniper. I chose Assault and bought the preset with the HK416-A5 assault rifle.
I had the opportunity to try out the 5v5 Team Fight mode, one of five apparent modes. The basic rules of the mode are as follows:
- 5v5 team battles with rounds that end after 1 minute and 25 seconds. (round length at gamescom)
- No respawns, and wiping out the enemy team results in victory.
- If time runs out, the rules switch to victory being decided by controlling a point on the map.
- Seven rounds per match.
As far as how the game feels under these rules, you can think of it as an FPS defuse mode without the bomb. The map we played on, Air Pit, was similar to Call of Duty’s Search and Destroy mode when it came to enemy encounter timing and map structure. The areas where you come into contact with the enemy are more or less decided, allowing you to enjoy pure and straightforward gun fights.
I thought that Arena had a casual feel at first, but it didn’t go that easy on me after all. Like the original Tarkov, Arena doesn’t show where your teammates are or mark them in any way. The only way to distinguish between friend and foe is by the red or blue band around their arm. And of course, friendly fire is on.
When I asked Sergei if friendly fire is part of their attempt to pursue realism, he said it was, explaining that “While people may feel disoriented when playing Tarkov for the first time, it makes for an even more challenging experience.” As for why teammates aren’t marked, he simply replied, “It’s not like you get those kinds of indications in the real world.” Talking to him gave me the sense that being true to life, or true to Tarkov, is something that Arena values.
The gun fights in Arena were also straight out of Tarkov. The immense recoil when firing in full-auto made it difficult to hit anything, though the nature of the HK416-A5 I used did also play a role in that. It was only once I started properly firing in semi-auto that I was able to win my fights. The surprising accuracy when hip firing was also just like the original Tarkov.
Speaking of similarities to Tarkov, Arena is also a PvPvE game, according to the official website. While we didn’t encounter any NPCs this time around, Sergei mentioned the existence of a “cleanup crew.” An official post describes them as enemies that appear if there’s no winner during the point capture period that takes place once time runs out. Sergei mentioned that other NPCs may appear as well.
A Fun Boot Camp Atmosphere at the Booth!
This hands-on experience featured PMC (USEC and BEAR) cosplayers supporting us from behind. They’d give us a thumbs up and praise us when we did well, and I got to feel like I was a new US Army recruit in boot camp. I was surprised to see Battlestate Games appearing at TGS, but everything they did, down to the quality of the briefing guides, made it feel like they are serious and passionate about selling Tarkov in Japan.
I asked Sergei about wipes (data resets), to which he replied, “Arena has wipes too.” According to him, managing your money in Arena will be important, just as it is in Tarkov. The official website states that winning matches will increase your character’s level, skills, and weapon mastering in both Arena and the original Tarkov. It seems like Arena will be a game that you can enjoy together with Tarkov, even when it comes to wipe timing.
While I’m someone who had stepped away from Tarkov, I felt that it’d be easy to return to it through Arena. For new players, Arena could be their introduction to its unique world. Arena may be a fast-paced game with matches that end right away, but everything about its essence is Tarkov. I stepped away from my time playing Arena feeling that what makes it special is that it still retains some hardcore elements in its identity.
If you’d like to try it for yourself, Escape from Tarkov: Arena is scheduled for a closed beta test sometime before the end of the year.