Gray Zone Warfare – What are the differences between it and Escape from Tarkov? And is it actually any good?

Milsim Gray Zone Warfare launched into Early Access yesterday and was immediately hit with the usual swathe of server errors followed up by a reviewing bombing on Steam which saw it slump to Mainly Negative as people stuck the camo boot in way too quickly.

The review ship has steadied now and it sits at Mixed, but is it any good – how different to Escape from Tarkov is it (which has also recently come under pressure), and will it get better as time goes on?

Let’s investigate.

Gray Zone Warfare vs Tarkov Maps

The way both games handle their respective maps is very different ways beyond the initial size difference. Escape from Tarkov’s map size comes in at 16 km sq whereas Gray Zone Warfar’s is a chunky 42 sq km. The playable spaces are dealt with differently as well as Tarkov breaks the game sizes down to 1.5 km sq squares. GZW just goes for it which has the consequence of making games feel less tightly packed.

Not that that is a bad thing. Tarkov forces players to get embroiled in close combat firefights whether they want to or not. And that is not always everybody’s preferred gameplay style. Anybody who hangs back from this kind of combat tends to get picked off by waiting snipers which can be frustrating.

GZW vs Tarkov gameplay

Solo play is pretty much rewarded in Tarkov and you can lone wolf your way through should you choose. Gray Zone Warrior is an out-and-out squad-based game and you better stick to your roles or face getting taken apart.

Both games require you to top up your health with food and water regularly but Tarkov encourages more scavenging. GZW on the other hand is brutal in that if you don’t regularly take on nutrition especially if injured, you will just die. End of.

GZW vs Tarkov combat

Let’s get this out of the way, bot are tough games to survive in. Tarkov these days is rough as people have been playing it for so long. Dropping into Trakov as a new player today can be a frustrating unpleasant experience. Fortnite it is not.

Tarkov is predominantly all about the PvP whereas in Gray Zone Warrior literally everybody apart from your squad is trying to off you – humans, AI bots with unerring accuracy. Stick your head up for too long and it’s getting blown off either way. This accuracy may be one of the first things to get tweaked down as the patches start to roll in. At the moment it feels a little too frustrating.

Is Gray Zone Warfare any good?

Yes, it is and potentially it could turn out to be very good. If people can stick with it and just keep kicking out at every issue that rears its head in the first few hours it could be a success. Steam reviews mean a lot to games and it is just full of people bitching about bad server connections from day one, it could kill it off before it starts. We have high hopes this doesn’t happen though and we look forward to seeing you in the jungle.

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