Intro
Game: Zero Sievert.
Hey there! I’ve known about these Extraction Shooters for quite some time. However, I still haven’t built a PC specifically for gaming to try out all kinds of games. You know that here, we test games with medium to low requirements but that have something worthwhile to offer.
And by something worthwhile, I mean a good story, gameplay, or visual style. You know, those games that, despite not having the most amazing graphics, we can still consider great games.
We could debate... What makes a video game truly great?
That would be a good topic for another time. For now, let’s take a look at this game that only takes up 300 MB on my hard drive.
Choosing the difficulty level
There are three difficulty levels: Rookie, Survivor, and Hunter.
Rookie: This difficulty level is designed for new ZERO Sievert players or those who prefer a more relaxed experience. Resources and supplies like ammunition, food, and medical items will be plentiful. Enemies will deal less damage, allowing players to learn the game's mechanics and explore the world without too much stress. The player's character will have more health points and can withstand more damage before dying.
Survivor: This difficulty level is aimed at players with some experience in the game who are looking for an intermediate level of challenge. Resources and supplies will be less abundant, forcing players to be more strategic in their usage. Enemies will be more aggressive and deal more damage, requiring players to be more cautious and tactical in combat. The player's character will have fewer health points and will die after taking less damage.
Hunter: You will lose all the items in your inventory upon death. That’s it. Have fun.
Of course, we chose the Hunter level. Even though it's our first time playing this game, we already have enough knowledge from similar games, so I think I’ll enjoy it more this way.
The last time we played Terraria in Hardcore mode, I remember we had a great time. In Hardcore mode, items feel more valuable, and having a backup strategy is always a good idea. This makes farming more meaningful, as we won’t have guaranteed weapons or armor. Plus, these items already come with a durability system.
We were also given six initial equipment options. We chose the one with the least gear. The other options even included armor.
Getting Started
In my opinion, this is all we need. So, let’s dive into the map, gather some items to sell, and start upgrading our gear.
Before heading out, we equipped the backpack, loaded up the weapon, and set up some hotkeys to avoid dying because we took too long fumbling with the number keys. It’s better to adjust everything to your preferences, especially where to place healing items.
We’re new here, so as we stepped out, some guards at the entrance placed a 3,000-ruble bet that we wouldn’t make it back. Word is, this game is seriously tough.
Typically, hardcore mode is best when you already have a sense of the game. I took my time reading what each NPC had to say before heading out into this map. That way, I got a good grasp of the lore behind each faction.
My plan was to sneak around and grab a few items to sell back at the bunker. What I didn’t know was that I’d stumble upon some soldiers who had taken over a hunter’s camp.
In this game, a “hunter” refers to anyone venturing into the maps to scavenge resources and bring them back to the bunker. There are different tiers of hunters, which you can identify by the armor and weapons they carry.
It looks like these soldiers had run into a Tier 2 hunter. So, we took their armor, weapons, and basically everything they had on them. All of it can be sold.
However, if we die, all this luck will be for nothing. Upon death, we respawn at the bunker but lose everything—absolutely everything—in our inventory, even equipped items.
We ran into a pack of wolves. According to the game's lore, a massive nuclear accident affected the entire area, including animals and humans. So, we’ll be dealing with some pretty hostile and resilient creatures along the way.
This first game was more of an exploration run, as I didn’t know much about the items or the map itself. I saw some NPCs I could have attacked to take their stuff, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to take them on just yet. The plan is to first gather money to properly gear up, and then go after them.
There’s a day and night cycle, and visibility gets worse. But we came across another fallen hunter. Of course, we took all his stuff while we heard shots in the distance.
Luckily, no one was nearby; they could’ve come from behind, and I wouldn’t have noticed.
Loot and Bunker
This is all the loot I got. I spent the whole day sneaking around the map, raiding houses and soldier corpses. I only had to fight wolves.
Since I still don’t know what’s valuable and what’s trash, I decided to take everything I could find.
If you manage to escape, you get experience for your level bar. They also show you the approximate amount of money you earned in items. This first time, we got around 26,332 rubles. Not bad.
We left here with no gear and came back with tier 2 armor and a full inventory. Let’s see how long it lasts.
Now it’s time to sell and earn some rubles to upgrade our gear. We’ll check out the stores to see the prices of some items.
We arrived and headed towards the bartender, who runs the main shop. He also offers missions, which we could consider main quests to unlock new maps and areas within the bunker.
Once here, we can check the prices of the items and figure out what’s worth picking up for the next expeditions.
We also took a look at everything we can do in the bunker. We can craft many items by combining others, provided we have the right module level created and installed in our bunker space.
So, we stored the crafting items in our stash. Even though they are inexpensive, they are very valuable because they save us a lot of resources when creating our own items. This includes ammo, healing items, equipment repair, and so on.
Now, we just need to head to the dorms to start another day cycle, then embark on another expedition, complete missions, and return with more items to sell and craft new things.
Summary
I’ve been wanting to play this genre. It’s super addictive. If you’ve played any Extraction Shooters before, you might have your critiques about this game, Zero Sievert.
However, I think you shouldn’t expect something similar, as the game is literally top-down. It’s clearly a different kind of game but with the same mechanic of extracting loot from the map. Still, I don’t think it’s meant to be compared to an FPS.
What excites me is that a game with such low requirements brings content like weapon mods and other cool mechanics, all in Pixel Art. The sound design is great, which I truly appreciate as an audio and music student.
I think it’s a fantastic addition to the list of low-requirement games. I’ll definitely play through it and document the experience to share with everyone.
I believe playing it on Hardcore mode is the best way to truly enjoy a game like this. But we’ll see how that pans out as we progress through the game’s difficulty.
Thanks For Reading!
▶️ 3Speak
Losing all the items after death sounds so punishing. I would never torture myself like this lol.
It’s actually great for the content, trust me. You don’t lose much compared to what you gain from successful extractions, and progress is pretty easy overall. It’s more about the feeling—kind of like practicing an extreme sport.
It’s the same thrill that makes people ride roller coasters or skydive. You know there’s a serious consequence if things go wrong.
There are plenty of examples, like losing souls in Dark Souls or getting bitten once in Project Zomboid and losing an entire character.