15
votes
What's the current state of PvP survival shooters?
I used to absolutely love DayZ when it was still a mod. Even over a decade later I've yet to find a game with the sheer level of adrenaline that it could induce. I fell off the genre when it started moving towards crafting and base building since the systems just ended up feeling like busywork and detracted from the intensity of the core gameplay.
Is there anything newer that captures that experience from early DayZ, or is the Rust/Ark style gameplay loop completely ubiquitous now? I'd love something with good gunplay, a focused set of systems, and a punishing difficulty curve.
There's quite a bit one can say about this, but I think SovietWomble covered it better than I ever could in his series on the topic. He's someone who adores this genre more than most.
Video 1: https://youtu.be/_LhmHO6qXf4
Video 2: https://youtu.be/ZtNtbPuUdFc
Video 3: https://youtu.be/w_ZO_Ffa11E
Video 4: https://youtu.be/cj7JzmEf-_c
The summary of my opinion? The spark is mostly gone unless you join a community that explicitly focuses on keeping that style of play alive. What's the point in having a tense standoff when you can just shoot first and sort out the loot second? Not a lot of people can handle hours of walking and loot gathering only to be domed by someone much more equipped than you and then realize they have to start that journey yet again. It's why so many people jumped on the BR craze of Fortnite, PUBG and Apex. You can just hop into another game and be right in the thick of the chaos again.
Oh shit, as soon as I saw the title I knew I had to post that essay series.
Hands down one of the better overviews IMO, and just a tour de force by Soviet in general.
Yeah, I played day z and other games like that for only a few deaths, same with sea of theaves. Got tired of playing for an hour and leaving with nothing or less than I started with.
Definitely a good point to the split in this genre of games. The ephemeral nature of DayZ was one of my favorite parts. The only thing that carried over life to life was whatever bit about the game you learned during that time. One life you'd team up with a guy only to get shot by a sniper out of nowhere, then you'd be in a firefight with your former friend to get your stuff back, then the next you'd find an ambulance and go around healing players for free.
I think PvP shooters like DayZ kinda split at one point in the last decade. They diverged by going all in on either the survival (Ark, Rust, etc.) or the pvp(PUBG, Fortnite, Apex, etc.) I think it'll be hard to find a game that is a more casual mix of the two but I'm sure they're out there.
The introduction to SovietWomble's video essay about a game called The Isle from 2 years ago talks about the split and has a neat graphic that shows the spread of games from DayZ that broadly puts games into Classic, Base-building and PvP.
https://youtu.be/cj7JzmEf-_c?t=311
That was a fantastic video. Aside from perfectly laying out the state of the genre it did an amazing job showing how simple systems driving player interaction made some of these games great.
You know, I'm aware of the video but never got around to watching it. I might have to give it watch now.
Considering how much money some of those games you mentioned make its definitely not surprising that its ended up that way.
While not PvP, I found that The Long Dark gives me the same feelings you mention. Rather than zombies like DayZ, you are contending with harsh weather, scarce resources, and wildlife.
Man, DayZ as a mod was wild. I haven't tried it as a standalone, but I can't imagine it's kept the same vibe. The anxiety of playing solo and spotting someone and then hiding and trying to figure out if they saw you...unparalleled. Hunt: Showdown always looked interesting, like it tries to capture that first contact experience where you need to outplay an opponent.
I experienced exactly what you described here while playing the standalone. I haven't played it in a couple years, but I feel comfortable recommending it.
Definitely good to hear. I already own SA from years ago so installing it again to check it out. From a small amount of research it looks like DayOne servers attempt to capture the original gameplay.
I must have seen Hunt: Showdown mentioned hundreds of times the past few years, but never really connected the gameplay to the intensity of DayZ. Will definitely check it out.
Hunt is fantastic. It's quite a steep learning curve but the atmosphere is incredible. I can vividly remember the first time I was alone, hiding in a Wild West town because both my teammates had died, listening to the footsteps of enemies all around me, having no idea what to do next. The game somehow manages to be immersive, hilarious and exhilarating with a solid underpinning of PVP gameplay. The menus are dreadful though.
Totally agree, my friends and I have been playing a lot of Hunt over the past couple months. The first 30 or so hours were something special — there were so many situations where I’d feel almost paralyzed listening for sound cues and desperately trying to spot someone in the brush, or run zigzagging through a forest praying whoever was hunting me would miss.
At a certain point you get used to it, your knowledge builds up and that exhilaration isn’t as strong, and you find yourself playing calmer and more deliberately — but I’m still having a blast. Highly recommend it.
I think playing Tarkov, especially on a fresh wipe, still here the adrenaline going. Definitely has the punishing learning curve as well.
Tarkov would be amazing if they just fixed the desync. We stopped playing a few years ago because of it, while this latest patch has gotten it slightly better, its still subpar to other pvp shooters.
Tarkov has been on my radar for a bit, but I've been waiting for Linux/Proton support (always seems right around the corner). Sounds like its worth booting up Windows to check out though.
Probably not really worth it if you don't already own it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5LfGcDB7Ek
Oof, usually I assume that most cheating accusations are just people being salty, but that is heaps of damning evidence. I had already decided to pass on the game because some of the stuff the devs have done is pretty off-putting to me, but that definitely calls into question the gameplay itself.