If you’re looking to loot and extract but aren’t a fan of Tarkov or just want to try something new, this list of the top 5 extraction games that aren’t Escape From Tarkov will help you find your next video game.
Extraction games. There’s just something special about them. Whether it’s the punishing “lose your items” death mechanics or the heart-pumping feeling when you know another human-controlled player is nearby, there’s nothing quite as fun. However — for many, the leading game in the genre, Battlestate Games’ Escape From Tarkov, is a pretty intense military sim that may not appeal to everyone.
If you love the extraction genre and are looking for an alternative to EFT, then the following extraction games are well-worth investigating.
Marauders
Publisher: Team17
Release date: October 3, 2022 (Early Access)
Developer: Small Impact Games
Platforms: PC
Marauders is a tactical first-person multiplayer shooter set in an alternative 1990s world where The Great War never ended, leaving Earth on the brink of collapse. As space mercenaries known as Marauders, players must pilot their ships through hostile galactic reaches to salvage anything they can and survive by any means necessary.
The game features solo or up to four-player squads and weapons and armor from WWI. Players spawn into the raid in an upgradeable ship, then dock on one of the multiple instances in the raid. Like other extraction games, players must traverse back to the loading dock where they came to escape and get out with all their loot. With a dark and gritty aesthetic, this game is less of a military simulation and more of a fast-paced FPS where the winner takes all.
Marauders is avaiable on Steam.
The Cycle: Frontier
Release date: June 8, 2022
Platforms: PC
Developer: YAGER
Publisher: YAGER
The Cycle: Frontier is an action-packed online multiplayer game set in Prospect Station, a space station orbiting the treacherous planet of Fortuna III. You play as a Prospector sent on missions by the powerful factions in charge of the station to gather resources and precious loot. You aim to survive and escape the planet with whatever loot you acquire while avoiding dangerous wildlife and other Prospectors who may be armed and ready for a fight.
Unlike Marauders, in The Cycle: Frontier, you automatically land down on the planet when you raid, then spend the rest of the time on a shared space station hub where you can meet up with other players and upgrade your apartment to gain passive resources. While the game has suffered from a hacking problem, the developers have diligently fixed the issue, and the game sustains an average player base of around 7,000 – 10,000 a day.
The Cycle: Frontier is on Steam.
Zero Sievert
Release date: November 15, 2022 (Early Acess)
Platforms: PC
Developer: CABO Studio
Publisher: Modern Wolf
ZERO Sievert is a single-player, pixel-art, top-down extraction shooter where you play as a wanderer in a post-apocalyptic world. Inspired by games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R., ZERO Sievert is an action-packed indie title set in an Eastern European bunker in an alternate dimension.
Unlike many other games on this list, ZERO Sievert is not a first-person shooter, nor does it boast intense, realistic graphics. Instead, the game opts for an overhead view, where your aim will be dictated by the fog of war and your character’s line of sight. With weapon upgrades, elite loot and gear, and pretty punishing PvE combat, the game has everything an extraction shooter should, but in 2.5D and with pixel-art graphics.
ZERO Sievert is listed on Steam.
Hunt: Showdown
Release date: August 27, 2019
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Crytek
Publisher: Crytek
Set in 1895 on the Louisiana Bayou, players are thrust into a world filled with savage beasts. Playing as Hunters, your job is to seek down key targets and banish them while avoiding other Hunters that would see you dead.
Hunt: Showdown is an interesting extraction game with a different theme than most. While there is first-person gun combat, where Hunt: Showdown really shines is the unique abilities and skills players can use in combat. In Hunt: Showdown, players can team up in teams of up to two or three, with 12 players total in the raid.
Hunt: Showdown is listed on Steam.
HAWKED
Release date: Coming Soon
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, PC
Developer: UPWAKE.ME
Publisher: UPWAKE.ME
HAWKED is an upcoming PvPvE extraction game originally announced at the end of 2022. In HAWKED, players assume the role of what are known as Renegades and must defeat the NPC monsters and human-controlled players when they raid.
Unlike other games in the genre, HAWKED opts for a colorful cartoony aesthetic and combines puzzles and other unique concepts to set it apart from other games. Two closed alphas were released in November 2022 and February 2023, showing that progress is still being made on this upcoming title.
HAWKED is listed on Steam.
The extraction genre as a whole is still a fast-growing type of game, so there will hopefully only be more titles coming in the future. As usual, we will keep you updated on the latest indie and niche releases as they are announced. For now, these top 5 extraction games other than Escape from Tarkov should keep you busy.
Did we miss any of your favorite extraction games? Let us know what we missed in the comments section below.
