Zero Sievert review

It took me a long time to appreciate what Zero Sievert is. From wanting to throw my head through the PC monitor to launching my Steam Deck at the wall, making progress takes many runs in its unforgiving world, but once that progress does start to come and you go in with the right equipment and skills, there’s a solid and satisfying experience to be had. It’s unforgiving and intense, but every death teaches you a lesson, and after a few hours you’ll want to dive back in for one more run.

Taking place in a post-apocalyptic Eastern Europe, you’re tasked with exploring the different biomes, scavenging for equipment, killing anything that stands in your way, then getting back to the bunker via an extraction point. The first time I played I was gunned down in a heartbeat because my gun hadn’t been reloaded first. The second time I was attacked by a pack of wolves. The third I didn’t see a sniper in the grass. This pattern repeated in different yet brutal ways, teaching me to proceed with caution and go in as prepared as I could possibly be.

Each area is procedurally generated, meaning the extraction point isn’t in the same place, and various locations are scattered around a new map every time. After hopping off the train, I would open the map and look for places I wanted to go and place a pin on them, as well as my way out. From there, I would plan which route to take across the map. Of course, there were still creatures lurking around every corner and soldiers ready to put a bullet in my head without hesitation, but at least I had a plan.

Once I had killed my first few soldiers and looted their corpses, I began to see the appeal Zero Sievert had to many throughout its Early Access. Incremental progression leads to safer exploration, and scavenging money, weapons, and skill books lead to easier runs. I say easier, but the enemies are vicious and calculating, making you carefully shift through environments as one mistake can result in death within a heartbeat. That tension starts to become a drug, and the thrill becomes a reason to keep on doing another run.

While exploring you’ll find NPCs who will give you quests, adding to your objectives and fleshing out your run. It makes it a much deeper experience that it first appears, and when you complete them that satisfaction adds to your love of what Zero Sievert is. Getting back to the bunker and buying new weapons and skills for your next run leads to a joyous cycle of craving the excitement that this violent world provides, especially when you know no two runs are the same.

The visuals are stripped back and simple, offering a pixelated top-down viewpoint, but it makes playing much simpler. Shooting is easy enough, but certain weapons require pinpoint precision with aiming. Menu management is much easier with a mouse, but playing on Steam Deck is simple enough when you’re roaming the wilds. For those who do struggle with its difficulty, there are plenty of options to tailor the experience to your liking as well, giving you control over most aspects of how to play.

Zero Sievert is a tough extraction shooter, but you are rewarded the more you play. Learning the enemies and the best ways to take them out becomes a part of why I loved it, and gathering as much as you can from dead bodies and supply crates starts to become addictive. That thrill of getting to the extraction point while carrying those rewarding items and avoiding death is such a thrill. With procedurally generated maps and its pick-up-and-play mentality, this is one that will entrance a wide range of players.