Let’s take a look at Escape From Tarkov’s thriving single-player modding scene

Escape From Tarkov is one of the most complex first-person shooters on the market right now, and it has successfully been holding onto this title for years now. This complexity appeals to many players: from its excessively detailed weapon modification systems to its janky but engaging combat loop, Tarkov delivers the sort of experience that virtually no other FPS has delivered. They’ve certainly tried, mind. The game’s appealing complexity, however, goes hand-in-hand with its always-online progression systems, where you’re always engaging with other players. This, of course, means you’re always at the risk of losing everything you’re carrying, which is bound to put many people off.

The game’s many issues did come to a head with the massive Tarkov cheating scandal from earlier in 2023. The developer, Battlestate Games, issued some updates on that front, but the fact of the matter still is that the innately cutthroat economy of the game may be preventing newcomers from jumping into the fray. But, what if you could take other players out of the equation? As some might already know, there’s a group of dedicated modders working to fashion Escape From Tarkov into a full-fledged single-player survival FPS, and it just so happens that they’re doing a phenomenal job of it.

Tarkov’s single-player mod works great, in fact

Specifically, this article is dedicated wholly to SPT-AKI, the most comprehensive of several different Tarkov modding projects. Aside from its sheer longevity, having first come out back in late 2020, SPT-AKI is also important because it’s got a big community of modders working on it, and because it’s making absolutely no attempts at producing a co-op version of the game to boot.

In other words, SPT-AKI will never have a multiplayer component to it, as the devs are working to keep it separate from Tarkov proper: “EFT is a multiplayer game. SPT is a singleplayer modification to this game. No overlap,” says an announcement from the devs. “The Singleplayer Tarkov Project (SPT) has and will never provide an EFT experience with multiplayer capabilities [separate from BSG]. We develop an offline singleplayer experience that requires a legal copy to play, and won’t and will never be otherwise.”

Indeed, it is not possible to play SPT-AKI without owning a legal copy of Escape From Tarkov, and the installation of the offline mod includes setting up a totally separate file base that does not impinge on the base game. Following a short and fairly foolproof installation process, you’re good to go!

Is Escape From Tarkov worth playing offline?

The obvious question poses itself: is an extraction shooter such as Escape From Tarkov even worth playing if you take real human players out of the equation? In most cases, the answer would be a resounding no, but Tarkov‘s gameplay loop is far too engaging to suffer the same fate. Moreover, SPT-AKI’s modders have discovered ways of compensating for the base game’s sometimes shoddy AI.

Indeed, AI extensions for SPT-AKI include (but are not limited to):

• allowing bots to explore and patrol across entire in-game levels
• allowing bots to complete their own quests
• allowing bots to freely loot items they find
• fully reworking the bots’ combat logic to perform more like real-world players

In other words, SPT-AKI’s bots can behave almost exactly like human players, to the point where they may end up actively pursuing you across maps. Heck, some modders have even allowed them to use their VOIP functionality to spew memes, making the whole experience that much more authentic. Aside from all the cheating that may or may not be present in mainline Tarkov, that is.

Modding the modded Tarkov

One of SPT-AKI’s biggest strengths – aside from allowing you to play offline proper – is that it serves as a modding platform for a wealth of fan-made content. Much of it is very transformative, in fact, to the point that it turns the game into even more of a combat sim than it already is.

Certainly, one could simply use SPT-AKI to throw more guns, armor, and cosmetics into Tarkov, but mods such as Fontaine’s Combat Stance Overhaul add additional layers to an already impressively deep combat system. CSO, specifically, allows you to switch between different weapon handling systems on the fly: something that’s only recently made its way into Call of Duty.

While you could very well just turn off Escape From Tarkov‘s equipment loss penalty, wouldn’t it be more interesting to be able to granularly slide weapon attachments precisely where you want them to be? SPT-AKI is, therefore, precisely as game-breaking or game-changing as you want it to be.

Tarkov for people that don’t like Tarkov

It should, perhaps, come as no real surprise that the SPT-AKI dev team is affiliated with the STALKER: Anomaly devs, as per its disclaimer page. Anomaly is a hugely comprehensive modpack for the legendary survival FPS that amps up its complexity to a ridiculous level. It is, in a sense, very similar to Escape From Tarkov itself.

Anomaly, too, is a lonely experience by design. It’s a game that will, by default, allow its player to persevere only if they eke it out by the skin of their teeth. In concept, STALKER games have always been somewhat similar to Tarkov, but its multiplayer nature has meant that many fans of the former might end up being put off by its gameplay. SPT-AKI side-steps this issue, all the while giving way to Battlestate Games to continue its always-online romp for those who do enjoy it. It’s quite lovely, really!