Developer MADFINGER Games recently launched their latest project, called Gray Zone Warfare, in early access via Steam. The title immediately reminds us of games like Escape From Tarkov, because you get a kind of extraction shooter where you can compete against human players, although there is also a PvPvE mode. The game also does a few things differently, because you immediately get access to a PvE mode that you can play in co-op and you spend a little less time in menus.
In Gray Zone Warfare you get a playing space of 42 km² where different players can stay. At the start you get to choose from three different factions. If you play with friends, it is best to choose the same one. After this, you travel to the base of your faction and you can view your inventory via the menu, but you can also meet the various vendors. The vendors give you access to new attachments for weapons, as well as new weapons, bullets, vests and other equipment.
They are also the contact person to give you tasks, so that you have something to do on the map. There are a bit of differences in terms of tasks, but in the end they are often about the same thing and that is getting, finding or placing an item, or killing enemies. With success you receive experience points and with a new level you get new tasks, but also vendors. You complete the tasks on the open map and sometimes you receive coordinates that help you find the location.
You always leave from the base where you can call a helicopter, but there can only be four helicopters in the air. If this is the case, you can wait, which of course immediately takes away the flow. Once you arrive you can complete the assignments and when you play PvP you can also hunt players from another faction. In the world you will find loot that you can take back to your base and store in your locker. Space is limited, so you have to do some puzzling and, if necessary, sell.
Visually the title looks good, although the performance is not really great and the servers are also struggling a bit. For example, we had heavy rubberbanding from time to time to the point where it was not pleasant to play. There is still some work to be done on the animations and some bugs still need to be resolved.
