Escape From Tarkov Rival Gray Zone Warfare Shoots to Top of Steam Sales But Reviews are ‘Mixed’

Realistic first-person shooter Gray Zone Warfare is currently Steam’s best-selling game as extraction rival Escape From Tarkov endures a community revolt, though its also being panned with “mixed” user reviews.

Gray Zone Warfare’s Early Access began today, April 30, 2024, timed just as Escape From Tarkov players are sharing their frustration at “shameless” and “tone deaf” developer Battlestate Games. But while Gray Zone Warfare, which promises similar tactical FPS gameplay, is currently the best-selling Steam game above Manor Lords, Helldivers 2, and Fallout 76, players are having significant issues, including poor performance, frustrating design choices, unsatisfying gunplay, and connectivity issues.

“Can barely manage 60 frames per second with specs higher than the recommended,” wrote one Steam user. “AI is weird. [It] either shoots you from way too far away with no warning or runs out in the open and stands there like a mannequin.”

Another complained about lack of simple quality of life features. “Chose the wrong faction. Now I can’t play with my friends because there is no way of recreating your character or changing,” they said.

DemonicSquid posted an extensive review detailing the above issues alongside others such as “extremely annoying” loud music during the character creation scene, clunky movement, random slowdowns, unusual NPC health bars (enemies can be bullet sponges or they can go down in one hit), and “very shady” practices where upgrading the game makes the entire product non-refundable.

The connection to Escape From Tarkov’s isn’t lost in the reviews either, with many referencing the recent controversies. “At least it doesn’t cost $250,” wrote one positive review. This comes after Battlestate announced the $250 Unheard Edition upgrade to the Escape From Tarkov beta, which added an exclusive player-versus-everyone mode amid other extras, and notably wasn’t deemed downloadable content by the developer. This meant those who’d bought the $150 Edge of Darkness edition of Escape From Tarkov, which came with a Season Pass and thus “free access to all subsequent DLCs”, wouldn’t obtain this new content without spending another $250.

While Battlestate has already reversed some of these decisions following a backlash, fans arguably grew more upset at comments made by COO and studio head Nik Buyanov. “I would like to say that I am very sorry that fans and the game community in general are experiencing these feelings,” he said, which was dubbed a “fake apology” by many.

For its part, Gray Zone Warfare developer Madfinger Games has said it’s working to iron out the problems players are facing.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.