Although space is vast, it is not large enough for mankind to forgive its past transgressions. 1992 has passed, and the Great War is still raging. The hubris of man has rendered Earth uninhabitable. The solar system is now a haven for the surviving members of humanity; it is industrialised and habitable, but it lacks creature comforts, making existence challenging. Despite all the carnage and the catastrophic nature of the previous 70 years, the conflict still rages on, obliterating what little of humanity is left.
Marauders is a new game in a genre started by Escape from Tarkov and more recently The Cycle: Frontier, to which it will unavoidably be compared.
Despite taking place in a very different environment, it is a hardcore persistent looter shooter. While Tarkov concentrates on the present, Marauders is set in an industrialised, post-apocalyptic planetary system where the last of humanity fights for control of what little is left. Where there is conflict, there is money to be made. The Central Empire, United Allies, and the Kingdom Alliance are all at each other’s necks. The player is a member of a loose fourth faction called the Pirates and plays as the titular Marauders, who scavenge and plunder the resources of the other factions to survive. The player’s task in-game is to loot, kill, and flee while the major factions tolerate the marauders and frequently hire them to harass and weaken their opponents.
Loot, Kill, Esc…Die?
In my situation, though, it’s more like Loot, Die, Repeat In some ways, Tarkov, a game noted for its difficulty and somewhat complex mechanics, is even harder than Marauders. There is no such safety option in Marauders, unlike Tarkov, where you can store a small bit of equipment throughout each raid and even secure some loot there if you like. This container has more than a few nicknames. Instead, you put everything on the line during a mission, including what you take in and what you loot.
You’ll deploy into a mission on a spaceship in Marauders; initially, it’ll be a rustbucket with rudimentary armaments and limited durability, but you can later upgrade to bigger and deadlier ships. Using these ships, you can move across the maps and drop into things like asteroid mines or terraforming sites. However, other ships may come in your path and attempt to board or destroy your spacecraft. The system’s structure must be reached safely, but getting there requires you to navigate around defensive turrets and the constant threat of other players.
Once the ship has docked, it’s time to investigate and loot as quickly as you can because you’ll be on a countdown and have only 25 minutes to collect all the stuff and then extract it. Anything is valuable in such a dire situation, from scrap metal and food to weapons and armour, and your available space is limited. It’s crucial to pick the items you wish to take as a treasure so you may gather a supply of gear for more raids.
Loot, Die, Die
AI adversaries that roam the buildings and are a source of equipment include escaped inmates on an overrun penal colony or special forces protecting their stronghold. They frequently don’t react to players’ presence or tend to just turn and stare at walls, which is unfortunate. They shotgunned me to death without giving me time to react when they spawned two metres in front of me. Instead of taking cover, they simply charge a player, making themselves an easy mark. Unfortunately, these issues are signs of broader issues with the game.
The aforementioned space battles have a few inherent issues that will always put inexperienced players in a losing position, preventing them from ever having the opportunity to go loot in the first place. It is feasible to board, but a good player (who are usually the ones in the huge ships) will just shoot down the boarding pod too. Players in bigger ships are nearly invincible to novice or less talented players in their barely holding-together ships. It’s an unfair method that will only focus game progress on those that join early or are simply skilled at the game.
Another issue is that many players choose not to engage in the land battle, instead choosing to dock camp and kill ships when they emerge following a fruitful looting spree. Simply said, it’s not a fun tactic to use, and since you’re undocking, you make a good target. It’s quite upsetting to complete a quest and obtain some helpful treasure. … then get bombed as you leave the station because they know the route you’re travelling and you won’t see them for a vital few seconds.
Die, Die, Die
The ground battles, too, have problems. Armour and weaponry are hard to The ground battles are also plagued by issues. For inexperienced players, finding armour and weapons is difficult and expensive; one rifle costs the equivalent of several raids’ worth of treasure. Others who are knowledgeable about the game or were fortunate enough to advance early have a significant advantage over those who arrive later. They will be able to maximise their potential and looting capacity because they have stocks of medical supplies and backpacks, whilst new players won’t even have the chance to purchase them. Although crafting equipment is a possibility, it is expensive and has a long learning curve, so experienced players will always have the upper hand.
Overall, movement is good, but jumping and peeping are bad, and even while going slowly, the player makes a lot of noise. As a result, creeping is practically difficult, forcing players to spend much of their time running and shooting. A solitary player will always be at a noticeable disadvantage in this playstyle, which favours group play. In Tarkov, a solo player can simply try to sneak around and get the upper hand on another player or group, but this is not viable in Marauders.
There is much different weaponry in the game, including pre-WW2, WW2, post-WW2, and even slightly more contemporary weapons like the M16.
I’m glad to see some uncommon weapons that are rarely shown in video games, such as the ViperMk1 and the De Lisle carbines. Shotguns, assault rifles, SMGs, and other common weapons are included. Several customization options are available, but they are only available for magazines, stocks, and muzzle attachments. Unfortunately, the customizability pales in comparison to those of its competitors.
War, War Never Changes…
Contracts and progression are present, but they are also challenging. As time goes on, you can finish contracts to acquire weapons and armour by turning in crafting supplies, among other mission kinds. Additionally, you can perform arbitrary daily contracts for different factions to level up their traders and gain rewards like better weapons. Unfortunately, a lot of these tasks and contracts have challenging conditions that would be impossible to meet without a little luck if you didn’t have substantial game expertise.
The map you start on is chosen at random, and if you’re unfortunate you won’t start on the maps you need to advance. I think this should be changed, and map selection should depend on the player rather than be determined at random.
Finally, there have been quite a few issues that I’ve run into, including widespread stuttering, frame drops, AI glitchiness, and some mechanics that don’t work, like opening your ship’s escape hatch. The game appears to be simply incomplete in several areas and required additional development time before it could have been made available. Even though the game is in early access, several of these problems make playing it fairly difficult and must be fixed.
Marauders, therefore, require this time in Early Access. The game has some intriguing elements that I hope are further developed, but I’m worried about some of the design choices and what they might mean in the long run, especially for beginner players. The game needs a lot more polish, but I also think parts of the fundamental game mechanics need to be changed if it is to be engaging for anyone save the most ardent gamers. However, because this game is in Early Access, I’ll be watching for updates to see if anything has changed.
