Gray Zone Warfare

Sim shooter for a more casual player base. Been running a duo with a buddy and its been a good time. Also a PvE only mode for the people looking to play without the looming threat of Chris Kyle chilling in the next zip code ready to ventilate your eye sockets.

So far I've played this game 35 hours, all in the PVE mode called Joint Operations. This review is more for semi relaxed tactical shooter fans who don't care about sweaty PVP or K/D ratios. I usually don't post reviews, but with the brigading that took place with this title I felt the need to review it positively.
TLDR review: At launch this game is pretty fun, especially in the PVE mode (for me). I bought the $35 base version and plan to upgrade to the $100 supporter edition.
Pros:
- Top tier weapon dynamic, customization, physics and firefighting. Better then COD or Battlefield, very similar to Tarkov, and arguably similar to games like Squad, Arma, etc. There are some weapon and projectile dynamics bugs at launch, but overall I think its a good balance between an arcade shooter like COD and a full on sim like Arma or Squad. Even just seeing the gas blowback when you shoot with a suppressor cluod your scope is something I have never seen in a game before and is a real life touch.
- Amazing visuals, possibly best looking shooter on the market at time of review. Not as polished as a AAA game as far as performance, but the visuals are top notch if you have the hardware to run it.
- Huge open world map that you can literally walk for hours and hours through, with a really high attention to detail. Some assets were definately reused, but each major location feels distinct
- An amazing coop experience. The fact they launched with VOIP and it seems like 90% of players both use it and communicate in the battlefield with it is amazing. So many other games you barely hear other players in the game, but in this one you almost always hears players working together, offering help with a mission, even sometimes from the other factions. I haven't seen or heard a toxic player yet.
- One of the best medical systems in a game, bar none. The only better medical systems I've seen is something like KAT medical in arma (a mod) and some medical mods in squad.
Neither cons or pros:
- I do think the game play loop may be a bit repetitive. I still don't see what end game content looks like, but the main game play loop is - get a quest to explore a new area, then 3 quests to find or pickup or deliver something to the area, then kill the boss. Its definitely been fun, but I worry it might get old.
- I also worry about the long term support. Unlike squad where servers are hosted by third parties, if the devs run out of money this game will be dead in the water. I usually don't like to support these types of games. This developer has only created mobile games so keep that in mind.
- It seems like for performance at launch there is a mixed bag. Here is another point of data for those who are curious: I have AMD 5800X3D, 32gb of ram, and a 4080 super. At 4k I get around 100fps with max settings DLSS on, 60fp with it off. My GPU usage is 90% and CPU usage is around 20%.
Cons (overall):
Currently none. There are many cons to this game, but I see them being fixed long term. I will update this in a few months though.
Cons (launch only - hoping these are fixed):
- As many have mentioned, the server situation, especially for US servers and during peak gaming hours, are pretty bad. There is a lot of stuttering, walking in place, etc. Even on a good server, throwing a grenade results in watching the grenade move, pause, move, pause, etc. Leaving your server and rejoining fixes this most of the time, but sometimes it takes 4 or 5 times trying to rejoin to even get in a new server.
- The projectile physics are bizarre. It seems like 5.56 and 5.45 does more damage then 7.62, as well as shooting through windows, huts, fences, bushes can be a mixed bag with different outcomes. Sometimes an AI takes one head shot, sometimes 3.
- There is a no time of day/weather at launch, but the devs have said they will add this.
- The only using little birds for transportation is currently just not enough. I'm not even talking about people camping LZs on PVP, as much as its just an annoying and painful to use mechanic. The devs have said they will add basecamps, which will be good but I still think an ATV or something similar would be nice.
Things I would like the devs to add (at launch - will update if they add them):
- Searching and filtering in the vendor menus
- See linked items in the item description - i.e. a flash hider necessary for a suppressor or a plate adapter for a sight.
- Turn in quests from quests tab of tablet
- Other people should be able to loot your body in PVE mode if you die twice or disconnect
- Keys, especially quest required ones need to be less RNG. I still have not found most quest required keys despite clearing the mobs in area several times.
- Audio needs to be reworked. Footsteps and bush moving is essentially inaudible, while gunshots are too loud with headsets on. The different ear pro either just mute everything (razer) or make everything louder (gssh).

I do enjoy the game, it has some things that needs to be fixed but I still do recommend the game and it will just become better with time. (This is what I think)
So if you are okay with playing an EA (Early Access) game, as you know they might have some bugs/issues and not be top-notch state, then go a head and get it now.
If not, I would say to wait until they fix a few more things.

I tried to avoid jumping on the hype train/bandwagon after being burned by BF2042 (still pissed about that). I spent a week just watching people stream the game and give their two cents. After a few beers and continuously disconnecting or being unable to load into EFT'S PvE servers, I decided I'd grab the $35 version of this game to make sure I could run it on my hardware. If I couldn't, I'd just get a refund.. no big deal. I played for an entire day, and forgot to eat. I witnessed the devs issue hotfixes on the fly as I played. Their level of proactivity, drive, and passion I find to be very refreshing. They even read our Reddit posts on the weekends, so that they can make necessary adjustments based on player feedback.
The second day I played, I upgraded to the Gray Zone Supporter edition because of how much fun I had playing with some friends all day. I haven't spent much time in the PvP servers so I can't really speak to that. This game sort of reminds of the vibes I would get playing R6: Vegas 2 terrorist hunt with your friends. But now there's elements of open world exploration, cooperative play with other players, and quest/trader progression.
While I do think there are a lot of aspects that need tweaking and extra attention, my experience has been one that I have not had for quite some time. And after I log out, I don't have to worry about insurance timers. You can pick this up and put it down at your leisure. Some of us have responsibilities.
They said this wasn't the Tarkov killer, but it helped me Escape from Tarkov.
P.S. I just want to make this abundantly clear. I did not purchase Tarkov's Unheard edition, nor will I ever. I have been playing on and off with an EOD account since 2017 or so, and was granted access to the PvE. They're dishing it out in waves to EOD owners.

So, having played Tarkov for a few years and the numerous comparisons surfacing at launch and even now I'll give a quick disclaimer. This game is properly using alpha, meaning it is by no means release ready, that being said it has updates queued by the devs till 2028 and further planned.

The game has a good foundation, their asking price is correct, and overall the game seems to have a bright future. The Devs are somewhat new to creating PC games, as they have mostly created mobile games, but they are doing a damn good job. This game is not Tarkov, though it has many aspects of it, the systems are streamlined, the storage while being the classic STALKER/A RPG stack loot is not as painfully difficult to deal with. Overall, if you enjoy the idea of Tarkov but don't want to PVP all the time, this game is solid. Though be warned, PVE is the focal point, pvp is something you have to seek out.

Get the game if you are ready for an Alpha with all the bugs and issues behind it, don't get it if you're expecting something polished with just a few updates.

The good.:
-Gun customization that will match most other games, though the weapons are limited.
-No loading screens outside of getting into the match, meaning you can walk across the entire world.
-Immersive ambient noises, from flies going towards your ears to the normal insect sounds in the background.
-Constant Dev feedback and updates, within the first few months till now there has been a consistent dialogue between the devs and players.
-Simplified ammo, looking towards Tarkov there is not a pool of over 100 different rounds that you will never use polluting the loot pool.
-Graphics while not polished are lovely especially the beard physics, again alpha game so optimization is not there, but the devs did release what settings to press to fix a issues like low frames, stutters and the like.

The Mediocre/Soon to be changed.
-Pistols and shotguns were all but useless, this change is coming next patch this fall so could be a day after this review or a few weeks.
-Helicopters choking up people coming and going, this is being adjusted in said patch.
-Lootable Valuables are coming in, how this is implemented may change to be good are bad.
-A.I. is basic if not over tuned, think Tarkov Raiders/Rogues/scavs, soon this will be changed. At the moment some act like scavs, then they will suddenly become rogues or raiders. Also, if you play tarkov PVE currently the AI reacts with the same hivemind.
-Limited weapon choices, though more are coming in along with the day night cycle with NVGs and actual night missions and more points of interest.
-Quest keys are hard to come by, they will now have world spawns.
-The UI for shopping and tasks is simplified, though some hotkeys are a bit testy.

The bad
-The game is in Alpha so mechanics and bugs are available, along with growing pains.
-PVP is not a focus of the Devs, the map is larger than the average battlefield map so don't expect any good pvp unless you plan on walking to a place setting up to fight in compounds.
-No squad progression yet, I believe they are adding it in with the next update, but I could be wrong.

If you liked tarkov, but didn't like the tryhards or the closed maps, this is essentially Tarkov merged with Tom Clancy's Breakpoint and I'm all for it

A lot of people will say this game is unplayable, but honestly I think what this team is doing is awesome. I am personally horrific at PvP and always wanted to get into Tarkov, however I didn't want to just constantly get screwed over by other people. Playing this game however the optional PvPvE and PvE is ecstatic, people you meet on the PvE side are always down to Earth and willing to help. I've hung out with people from different factions waiting for a helicopter just shooting the shit and trading knowledge.
As for gameplay, there are times the AI is straight bullshit, however most of the time it's a fun and immersive experience, especially with their night ops update, that has changed the way the game feels and sounds in the best way.
Also a major plus is I get to play with my Dad, who loathes PvP, so yea any game that lets me do that is good in my book