A WW2 Space Tarkov, you're probably wondering what Marauders is and why it looks like someone took a passing glance at old-timey footage from World War 2 and then had a fever dream about space travel immediately afterward. The simple answer? That's pretty much exactly what's up!

Marauders sets up a delightfully strange, retro-futuristic dieselpunk universe that challenges just about everything you know about sci-fi. MP-40s in space? You bet! Overindustrialization of the known universe? That's the jig!

Now, it ought to be clear right off the bat that this is closer to Warhammer 40K than anything else. Milk and honey this ain't. To that end, prepare for a dreary, fridge horror-esque aesthetic across the board. Intrigued? Well, read on! You're in for quite the treat.

Play Marauders on Steam today!

What is Marauders? A WW2 Space Tarkov?

Marauders has a rather unique elevator pitch. This game is set in - believe it or not - the 1990s. Alternative 1990s, of course. The central conceit here is that, in this alternative universe, the second World War never did end, and the warring forces simply kept warring on. Eventually, the war left the stratosphere and extended into the final frontier, and that's where roving bands of mercenaries - Marauders - come into the picture.

Players step into the shoes of one of these marauders and take off to mount raids on unsuspecting spaceships. Immense frigates, complex asteroid bases, cargo vessels... there's a bit of everything in Marauders, and the game basically lets players band together into roving parties and go ham on the universe. Neat stuff, right?

Marauders offers gameplay for solo players or for fireteams of up to three marauders at a time. This means you can progress at a decent pace even if you've got no squad to speak of. And, since the majority of the game takes place in a PvE environment, it's a fairly flexible situation no matter if you're alone or if you've already palled up.

Is Marauders like Escape From Tarkov, then?

In a way, Marauders does take after Escape From Tarkov. Coincidentally, it also wears a variety of other inspirations on its proverbial sleeve. In our time with the game, we've noticed hints of Payday 2, GTFO, and a few other noteworthy highlights, each of which has seemingly played a role as the developers' muse for this or that feature. It does all mesh together rather nicely, however.

There's a heavy, chunky feel to its combat and movement. This isn't an arcade bunny-hopping heaven at all, you see. Instead, your character is cumbersome and bullets hit you hard. The good news, though, is that the same goes for your enemies, giving the whole thing an abject sense of brutality no matter what you're doing.

Anyone who's ever played a WW2 game knows what we're talking about. Your gear is chunky, rugged, and just a tad annoying to deal with. Imagine using an StG-44 in the cold void of outer space. Not just because that's pretty much what you'll be doing in Marauders, but also because the scene is ridiculously awesome in the best way possible.

Is Early Access a potential issue?

Now, the obvious concern here is that Marauders is currently in Early Access. We certainly understand any potential apprehension that you might have as a gamer, but the game can only really get even better from this point on. If we take a gander at some of the Early Access reviews on Steam, people are generally rather happy with the current state of things!

According to one reviewer, "It's an arcade mini-Tarkov in space!" Namely, most of EFT's truly advanced weapon handling mechanics are out - for better or for worse. It's a rather polished FPS experience, albeit one that revels in how arcadey it is. To that end, those who might be hoping for a game as immensely complex and technical as Escape From Tarkov might not be thrilled with Marauders. Many have been calling it "Starkov," regardless, thanks to its overall vibe and the core gameplay loop, which is rather cute and highly appropriate.

Another review says that "2 thumbs up. 10 hours on test server and it is worth $30," referencing the game's previous closed beta testing phase. It does go into a bit of detail on how the game's trader mechanics ought to be expanded upon, mind. This feature is likely to get substantial new batches of content as the Early Access moves along, however!

Broadly speaking, the reviews are rather positive with an over 75% approval rating on SteamDB! Thousands of early adopters are already enjoying the game, and with plenty more content, features, and goodies coming over the next couple of months, we're in for a heck of a ride with this one.

Space Mercenaries? In WW2? Sort of!

As you can probably tell by now, Marauders is a fascinating new experience. It's both new and familiar-looking. Something most of us had played before, but never mashed together in quite this same exact way. According to developers, it should be out of Early Access in 12 to 18 months, and they've got a solid roadmap already in mind.

Expect updates to drop in fast and hard, then. They're slated to have an overarching theme and feature new maps, enemies, weapons, missions, and more.

Now, it's certainly worth pointing out that there will be wipes throughout the game's Early Access progression. Devs have already confirmed that these will be telegraphed ahead of time, however, and that they'll stop once the game reaches its 1.0 status. Since it's a simpler game than the admittedly ridiculously complex Tarkov, this shouldn't be too big of a deal, we think.

With that all out of the way, we hope to see you as we raid our way across the WW2 Sol system! It's gonna be a ridiculous ride for sure, but isn't that what we're all here for, anyway?

Play Marauders on Steam today!