Marauders is the proven tactical loot shooter similar to Escape from Tarkov

We are in the 90s of an alternate universe. WWII never ended, Kurt Cobain never established Nirvana, Briteny Spears grew up as a normal child, and Earth’s industrialization reached an extreme and destructive limit, so much so that many people had to flee. alternative societies, but always in conflict with each other. Among the various factions that have formed, one of the best known are the Marauders, space pirates who travel across the galaxy in search of loot to plunder. Their aim is to save resources in quick and brutal raids to survive the ongoing war that is currently wreaking havoc between the three factions (Central Empire, United Allies, and Kingdom Alliance) and consequent destruction. All this, as you will read Tried by maraudersIt results in an ambitious and tactical online loot shooter set in diesel-punk maps, launching in Early Access on Steam.

Fundamentals

If we were to describe the Marauders starting from another game, we would call it a simplified Escape from Tarkov in some cases. mechanicalespecially in inventory management. In a sense, this is a more direct version of the formula, where rounds are associated with a single magazine, for example, ammunition management is reduced to the bone, as with medicinal items, much smaller in number and more. are general in their purpose (hence there are no separate medical kits and targeted therapies for different wounds). The immediate idea is that of a game that wants to appeal to a wider audience without sacrificing a certain tactical depth and often extreme difficulty, which can become problematic (as we’ll see). Yes, because in terms of challenge Marauders are truly ruthless. It doesn’t think twice to eliminate careless players, but also doesn’t even give him an escape route, this is some of the loot found (you know Tarkov?) from the early pass. So it’s all or nothing. Nothing too often.

But before taking action, the person needs to reach the places where they are. spoil. To do this, you have a spaceship at your disposal. At first it is practically a spaceship with limited offensive and defensive means. We’re not inside Stella Solitaria’s trailer, but we’re very close to her. On the way to the raid, we may encounter various difficulties such as defensive towers or other players who want to end our adventure early. By accumulating loot it becomes possible to improve the ship, but in the first few games it’s best to avoid direct confrontations and follow safe paths to the goal (where possible … and often not). At this stage one of the biggest imbalances of the game is revealed and we can summarize it like this: the big ship destroys the small ship. Translation: players who already have a few hours Gameplay behind them, they have a clear advantage over the novices who have no chance against them, such that it is often difficult to even reach all their raiding areas. Of course, there is always the possibility of boarding enemy ships to engage in direct combat, but it varies little, as a player with an equipped ship is usually also a player with advanced equipment and is much more deadly than at the start.

Regardless, once you’ve survived the voyage and disembarked, the dominant part of the game, the shooter phase, begins. As stated earlier, difficulty It’s really brutal: not only do the enemies do fierce and massive damage, we also have a time limit, an oxygen limit, and an inventory limit. In total, you have twenty-five minutes to enter, loot the best or most useful items around, and escape unless you die first.

A few too many problems

Another problem What stands out in Marauders, which will hopefully be fixed by various Early Access updates, is the AI ​​of CPU-driven enemies, which often respond erratically to the player’s presence or deal frustratingly. in random places, even very close to where you are, without giving you a chance to react. However, raid shots, whether runaway prisoners or military groups, can be rewarding, especially after a few hours of gameplay, namely when you master the various mechanics and understand how to overcome certain obstacles. various factions. After the first unsuccessful attempts, surviving raids with loot in hand, it is also possible to face another problem: many players with the strongest ships have decided that it is not appropriate to participate in raids, or, at the very least, the loot of other players, especially very weak ones, has been decided. not as bad as waiting for them to set out to plunder and landing their departing ships. Unfortunately, it is not easy to respond, because at the moment of sailing, there are a few seconds when you practically become a moving target, and it is also impossible to return fire. Beautiful. Is not it? If we add the presence of some cheat so much (space scum never fails), the current Marauders painting doesn’t look rosy, so it’s hard to rest in such frustration. The gist of it is that for beginners, the introductory curve looks very steep.

This lack of attention new players It is evident throughout the game: materials from traders cost a lot, and you can only buy practically useless things at the beginning, although you have to face the same difficulties as super-equipped players. Also, if you’re in a raid with the latter, it becomes nearly impossible to get decent loot unless you encounter a pious soul who has left us something. Also, PvP prevails, besides being unable to play stealthily due to too much noise made by moves, direct skirmishes and of course usually the one with the best gear and playing in groups.

after we said we didn’t want to complain difficulty in itself, how the genre is managed in relation to new players who can be seen but need to be introduced more gradually, without having to immediately confront those who may have already had weeks of training. Here it takes a few hours of shielding to allow novices to level up enough for the general challenge and understand all the game mechanics, otherwise the risk is that Marauders will become a desert frequented by only a few omnipotent pirates. they made a scorched earth from all the others. After all, such titles are bought for fun, not to please others as cannon fodder.