ZERO Sievert review

Our VerdictA tense and taxing but wonderfully engaging hybrid of singleplayer roguelike and extraction shooter.

Our Verdict

A tense and taxing but wonderfully engaging hybrid of singleplayer roguelike and extraction shooter.

PC Gamer’s got your backOur experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you.Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

Need to KnowWhat is it?A very deadly hybrid of extraction shooter and singleplayer roguelike.Release dateOctober 24, 2024Expect to pay$20/£17DeveloperCABO StudioPublisherModern WolfReviewed onNVIDIA GeForce 4070 Ti, 32GB RAMSteam DeckPlayableLinkOfficial site

Need to Know

What is it?A very deadly hybrid of extraction shooter and singleplayer roguelike.Release dateOctober 24, 2024Expect to pay$20/£17DeveloperCABO StudioPublisherModern WolfReviewed onNVIDIA GeForce 4070 Ti, 32GB RAMSteam DeckPlayableLinkOfficial site

Have you ever considered what would’ve happened to Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day if he hadn’t got out of that time loop? If he’d just stayed living the same day over, and over, and over, with no happy ending?

That’s a little like what CABO Studio’s debut title, ZERO Sievert, can feel like—at least at first. An extraction shooter from a top-down perspective with similar graphical fidelity to the original Grand Theft Auto, it mashes upEscape From Tarkov-esque runs with a roguelike structure. You emerge from your bunker and head out to find supplies, grab weapons, and complete quests, before desperately trying to make it home alive. It’s one of those combos that seems completely obvious in retrospect, and CABO certainly finds success with it.

ZERO Sievert is taut, tense, and taxing. Though it’s not multiplayer like most extraction shooters, its enemies feel almost as deadly as other players. As I end my latest run with a bullet between my potato-like character’s eyes at two in the morning, I should be swearing at the screen and throwing up my hands. As it is, I’m exhaling and puffing out my cheeks—in some ways, death is a relief in a world this brutal.

The game’s simple facade feels deliberately disarming. Looking at it, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all a little rote—you run about, strafe around bad guys, and ‘pew pew’ like it’s Power Pete from the shareware days.

With those unassuming looks, how hard could it be? That false sense of security was knocked out of me within minutes on my first run, as I moved too quickly, alerted a wild boar to my location, and was quickly gored to death. No hardened mercenary, no devious trap, just a disgruntled pig.

(Image credit: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

A survivor in a forest in ZERO Sievert.

That humbling helped me appreciate more of what ZERO Sievert is about, though. Death is a teaching tool—every mistake you make has consequences, but they’re opportunities for betterment. Though that positive perspective doesn’t make me feel any less terrified when I’m sneaking between trees and buildings, listening out for the telltale sound of an enemy up ahead.

In one run I snuck up on one bandit and eliminated him, only for another trio of bad guys to turn and chase me away, calling me names as I fled with my tail between my legs. Foes will follow as best they can, meaning the initial sprint of fleeing the scene needs to become hushed footsteps as you sneak to hide behind a tree or rock.

In that example, I certainly wish I’d spent some money on a sniper rifle with a scope back at the game’s safe zone, so I could have scouted the area more thoroughly and maybe even picked an enemy or two off without others knowing. Equipment plays a huge role in ZERO Sievert, helping you tailor your playstyle, whether you’re trying to sneak more effectively, put down more hurt at close range, or, indeed, snipe from a distance.

(Image credit: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

The trading screen in ZERO Sievert.

It all contributes to making ZERO Sievert a much deeper experience than it may appear on the surface. There’s a real attention to detail throughout, and the more you learn the game’s nuances, the better your odds of survival grow—an incremental process of improvement that makes even the smallest win feel like an accomplishment.

Just extracting successfully is its own victory, even if all you’ve Tetris’d into your inventory is some extra ammo and some random junk—and you soon find yourself ready for another go. In fact, despite being an extraction shooter, one of the most enjoyable parts of ZERO Sievert is gettingin.

(Image credit: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

The map screen in ZERO Sievert.

That’s because each time you head back out, the world is newly procedurally generated. Maps aren’t huge, but strike a perfect balance of being manageable yet packed with possibilities.

With a fresh environment every time, a key moment of each run is checking your map once you hop off of the train that drops you into the level, and using pins to mark points of interest and the extraction point. It’s welcome variety for a formula that could otherwise grow stale. But it does also causes arguably the biggest issue with the roguelike formula here—the awkwardness of finding quest items.

Many of the game’s NPCs have quests that require killing a certain enemy type or grabbing a series of items, and that can be tricky when they’re constantly respawning in new locations. For example if you’re looking for a propane tank, in one run it might be found near the arrival point, while the next it could be on the opposite end of the map. It’s a relatively minor problem, but an annoying one—on your latest of half a dozen attempts to find the one item or enemy type that’s eluded you, you certainly feel the frustration.

(Image credit: CABO Studio, Modern Wolf)

The difficulty settings in ZERO Sievert.

Switching these in your favour is a neat way to ease yourself in, but there are also presets for easier, hard, and very hard difficulties, too. It makes it feel like there’s always a pull to jump in for just one more run whatever your mood—whether you’re looking for a new challenge, or just want the satisfaction of quickly snatching up some junk and making an easy profit at the vendors.

If you’re looking for an extraction shooter that takes the hassle of PvP out of the equation and boils the subgenre down to its barest essentials, ZERO Sievert is well worth a look. Every bit as tense as Tarkov, it’s a very promising debut from a new studio that has me planning additional runs even as I finish typing this review.

The Verdict85Read our review policyZERO SievertA tense and taxing but wonderfully engaging hybrid of singleplayer roguelike and extraction shooter.

The Verdict

85Read our review policyZERO SievertA tense and taxing but wonderfully engaging hybrid of singleplayer roguelike and extraction shooter.

85Read our review policy

ZERO SievertA tense and taxing but wonderfully engaging hybrid of singleplayer roguelike and extraction shooter.

ZERO Sievert

A tense and taxing but wonderfully engaging hybrid of singleplayer roguelike and extraction shooter.

LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilWorld of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enoughLords of the Fallen studio embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its gamesSee more latest►

Latest

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilWorld of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enoughLords of the Fallen studio embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games

the last of us season 2 trailer

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

Image for World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

Lords of the Fallen (2023) promotional image - very large man with a very large hammer on a very large horse charging a very small man with a very small magic sword

Lords of the Fallen studio embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games

See more latest►

Most PopularTurtle Beach Stealth Pivot reviewIkea Matchspel gaming chair reviewASRock DeskMini X600 reviewZotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C reviewMinisforum AtomMan G7 Ti reviewSamsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra reviewNoctua NH-D15 G2 reviewGulikit KK3 Max reviewBallionaire reviewMarvel Rivals reviewBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review

Most Popular

Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot review

Ikea Matchspel gaming chair review

ASRock DeskMini X600 review

Zotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C review

Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti review

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra review

Noctua NH-D15 G2 review

Gulikit KK3 Max review

Ballionaire review

Marvel Rivals review

Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Our Verdict#

Our Verdict