# Escape From Tarkov ## Thoughts I can't think of another game that is both so enthralling and punishing simultaneously. It's absolutely unapologetic about it, as well. I think that's part of what makes it so interesting to play. You can get way down into the weeds of kitting out your character's loadout for a run, and then promptly lose all of your equipment to another player or AI without even knowing that they were there. Recently, (it's [[2026 - June 8 - Monday]] today), I decided to get a copy of *Tarkov* for Steam because I wanted to be able play the official PVE mode. Prior to that, I had the starter edition of the game and had dabbled a bit with the SPT mod, which is a pretty impressive bit of software. That said, I tend to prefer to do things the "official" way, so here we are. Paying the extra cost for the game package that comes with PVE mode means the game is just a little bit less taxing on my sanity. The gameplay is still brutal, but AI-driven PMCs and scavs are more predictable than players. ## Progress **Escaped From Tarkov:** *Not Even Close* **Level:** 20 --- [[2026 - June 24 - Wednesday]]: I'm still enjoying good ol' *Tarkov*, but I'm a little concerned it's sucking up too much time. I think I might start winding down off of it for the time being so I can keep up some degree of pace with other games. --- [[2026 - June 15 - Monday]]: The PVE mode is way better than PVP for me. It's still plenty challenging, and I don't have to absolutely, 100% locked-in in order to play it. --- [[2026 - June 9 - Tuesday]]: Making progress — little by little!