Sievert’s ZERO review

Published:

I need to know

What is this? A very deadly hybrid of an extraction shooter and a single-player roguelike.
Release date October 24, 2024
Expect to be paid $20/£17
Developer Studio CABO
Publisher Modern wolf
Review on NVIDIA GeForce 4070Ti, 32 GB RAM
Steam deck Playing
To combine Official website

- Advertisement -

Have you ever wondered what would have happened to Bill Murray’s character in “Groundhog Day” if he hadn’t gotten out of this time loop? If he just lived the same day over and over again, with no joyful ending?

It’s a bit like how you might feel with CABO Studio’s debut title, ZERO Sievert – at least at first. A top-down extraction shooter with graphical fidelity similar to the original Grand Theft Auto, combining elements reminiscent of Escape From Tarkov with a roguelike structure. You leave your bunker and head out in search of supplies, weapons, and quests as you desperately try to get home alive. This is one of those combinations that seems completely obvious in hindsight, and CABO is certainly successful in it.

ZERO Sievert is tense, tense and burdensome. While it’s not multiplayer like most extraction shooters, its enemies seem almost as deadly as other players. When I finish my last run at 2 a.m. with a bullet between my potato hero’s eyes, I should be cursing the screen and throwing up my hands. At this point I exhale and puff out my cheeks – in a way, death brings relief in such a brutal world.

The game’s uncomplicated façade feels intentionally disarming. Looking at it, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all routine – running around, circling bad guys, and “pew pew” like it’s Power Pete from the shareware days.

With these humble looks, how challenging can it be? This false sense of security was knocked out of me within minutes on my first run because I was moving too rapid, alerted the boar to my location, and was quickly choked to death. No hardened mercenary, no cunning trap, just a disgruntled pig.

(Photo: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

However, it was humility that helped me appreciate more what ZERO Sievert is about. Death is a teaching tool – every mistake has consequences, but they are also an opportunity for improvement. Although this positive perspective doesn’t make me feel any less terrified as I weave between trees and buildings, listening for the telltale sound of the enemy ahead.

In one instance, I snuck up on one bad guy and took him out, only for another trio of bad guys to turn around and chase me away, calling me names as I ran away with my tail between my legs. Enemies will follow as best they can, which means your initial sprint away from the scene must turn into quiet footsteps as you sneak to hide behind a tree or rock.

In this example, I certainly wish I had spent some money on a scoped sniper rifle in a secure play zone so that I could explore the area more thoroughly and perhaps even take out an enemy or two without the others knowing. Gear plays a huge role in ZERO Sievert, helping you tailor your playstyle whether you’re trying to sneak more effectively, deal more damage at close range, or shoot from a distance.

(Photo: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

Skills allow for further customization, allowing you to earn more XP from quests, run longer, or benefit from better aiming while moving. They can be obtained by finding skill books throughout the world, but can also be resold in the bunker, making it easier to change your play style.

All this makes ZERO Sievert a much deeper experience than it might seem at first glance. Great attention to detail is paid throughout the game, and the more you learn the nuances of the game, the greater your chances of survival – a gradual process of improvement that makes even the smallest win feel like an achievement.

Just successfully mining it is already a victory, even if all you have in your Tetris inventory is extra ammo and some random junk – and you’ll soon be ready for another try. In fact, despite being an extraction shooter, this is one of the most enjoyable parts of ZERO Sievert IN.

(Photo: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

This is because every time you leave, the world is procedurally generated anew. The maps aren’t huge, but they strike the perfect balance between being uncomplicated to manage while still having plenty of possibilities.

Each time in a modern environment, a key moment of each run is checking the map after jumping off the train that drops you into a given level, and using pins to mark points of interest and the evacuation point. It’s a welcome change to a formula that might otherwise get stale. But this also causes perhaps the biggest problem with the roguelike formula – the awkwardness of finding quest items.

Many of the game’s NPCs have quests that require you to kill a specific type of enemy or obtain a series of items, which can be challenging when they are constantly respawning in modern locations. For example, if you are looking for a propane tank, one time it may be found near your arrival point, and the next time it may be at the other end of the map. It’s a relatively minor problem, but it’s annoying – during the last of your six attempts to find that one item or enemy type that’s eluded you, you’re bound to feel frustrated.

(Photo: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

What’s helpful, however, is that you have exhaustive options to tailor the overall experience to your liking when you want it to be more forgiving (or more challenging, if you’re a masochist). Whenever you start a modern game, you can adjust an impressive number of sliders for everything from the decay rate caused by the game’s starvation system, to the permadeath mechanic, to even more specific details like how many money traders there are and what they do. I will pay for your items.

Changing them to your advantage is a good way to make the game easier, but there are also presets for easier, harder and very challenging difficulty levels. This gives the impression that you’re always eager to kick into another gear, no matter what your mood is – whether you’re looking for a modern challenge or just want the satisfaction of grabbing some junk quickly and making an uncomplicated profit from the sellers.

Simple graphics make ZERO Sievert an ideal candidate for the Steam Deck, and the good news is that despite its modest “playable” rating, it works really well. The only problem I had was that inventory management is obviously easier with a mouse. More than once, I tried to move items from a corpse to my inventory, only to be shot by another enemy while trying to fit a pack of cigarettes into my backpack. However, I suspect that with a little remapping, Steam Deck (and other handheld options) could become a great way to play this game.

If you’re looking for an extraction shooter that takes the hassle out of PvP and strips the subgenre down to its essentials, ZERO Sievert is worth a look. As suspenseful as Tarkov, this is a very promising debut from a modern studio, and I’m planning additional series for it after writing this review.

Related articles