The demo was recently updated on Steam Road to Vostok is a hardcore survival sandbox created single-handedly by a Finnish developer going by the nickname Antti. We played “single player Escape from Tarkov” and are ready to share our impressions.
Although “played” is a pretty strong word. The author of Road to Vostok has approached his project responsibly and is in no hurry to add locations and the world; first of all he builds the basic mechanics and systems.
Have you heard of Road to Vostok?
In the demo we were shown the shooting system, weapon attachments, movement and the process of exploring locations using the example of a small village in the forest. We also saw a change in the time of day and even in the seasons, although so far only in the example of winter and summer. But first let’s talk about the game itself.
What is Road to Vostok about?
Road to Vostok is first and foremost about hardcore. According to the author’s idea, the game should be a sandbox shooter with realistic weapon mechanics (shooting, attachments, damage), an advanced survival system and a hostile world. A cataclysm has occurred in the region, throwing the border area of the two countries into chaos, in which we must survive.
It is not without reason that the game is called ‘Road to the East’. The game world will be divided into separate areas: the territory of Finland, the border between countries and the eastern location, which is located in Russia.
There is no world map; the game is divided into separate location areas. We start in Finland and as we move east and east we are faced with increasing complexity: opponents are becoming smarter and more dangerous. But the loot is also better: the weapons are more powerful and the loot is more valuable. The player can only save in shelters located in different places on the map.
Real hardcore starts in the East. After crossing the checkpoint (each has a unique mechanism and level of risk), we enter the east, into the eternal death zone. If we die in the East, we lose everything, including shelter items and stored items. The stakes are very high.
The desire to survive forces you to move on. You will have to plunder settlements and look for unique items: weapons, tools, consumables, medicine, electronics, clothing and much more. All of these items can be sold to various merchants who, in addition to bartering, can heal and maintain weapons.
Finally, dynamic events and diseases. The latter, according to the author, are more than twenty – and it is better for the player not to waste the character’s health. Events are fairly standard for the genre: exploration of crash sites, aerial supplies, ambushes, trader tasks and weather conditions, such as thunder or rain.
But these are all plans for the future. Developing alone is not an easy task, and at this point the author has a foundation, albeit a strong one, which was shown in the demo.
What was shown in the demo
The Road to Vostok demo weighs approximately 3 GB and is divided into two zones: a shooting range and a “Village” test location.
At the shooting range, the developer, using stands, talks about the changes in the new demo and explains how the game works. Compared to the first demo, the game’s inventory and equipment system has been updated, a body kit system has been added, a winter look for locations has been added, and many mechanics have been reworked and brought to mind.
We can see what collecting loot and placing items in the world looks like, what weapons and attachments have already been added to the game for this purpose and what shooting feels like. It feels quite hardcore by the way. Not in order ArmA or Escape From Tarkov, but it certainly can’t be called casual. Weapons cause a lot of damage and gunfights are extremely risky.
We liked the aiming system, which “zooms in” only the image in the lens, and not the entire screen. This improves immersion, but let’s be honest: looking for enemies in the bushes in this case is not an easy task. In general, it is not easy to understand where the bullets are flying at you – flashes of shots are barely visible, and the sound lacks depth and “three-dimensionality” to accurately determine the position of the enemy.
Adjustments can be changed on the fly during battle using the X key. Interestingly, individual keys allow you to change the position of the crosshair, as in reality, moving it closer or further away on the mountain. For now, you can customize the sights, barrel mount, magazine, and ammo.
Movement is also quite hardcore – the character has inertia, he moves quite slowly even during a sprint, and can also tilt his body left and right.
The village itself is a quite attractive location. Old houses, dilapidated rooms, an atmosphere of neglect and anxious expectation. Background noises, character steps and sharp, silence-piercing shots create tension.
Road to Godot
Road to Vostok won’t be released anytime soon for a fairly simple reason: unity policy. We have already discussed this event in one of the materials and now we are faced with another consequence of the company’s shortsightedness. The developer of Road to Vostok announced in a recent video that the game is being ported to Godot Engine.
The author worked for Unity for eleven years, but the action of the company of the same name left him no choice. After trying several engines, he chose Godot and now plans to transfer his work to this engine in a few months so that he can release the third version of the demo on Steam early next year, using the new technology.
The Road to Vostok demo is a great example of how indie developers can give hope to players waiting for their project. We haven’t even gotten a full snippet of the game yet, but we can already get an idea of what the shooting will be like, how the world will be explored and what the author has managed to do.
Have you tried the Road to Vostok demo? Did you like the concept of “single-player Tarkov” or do you prefer less hardcore shooters? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Do you like hardcore shooters?
Source: VG Times