Insurgency is a strange animal - a blend of various ideas characterized by other games like Counter-Strike, Red Orchestra, and the cult classic Firearms mod - that manages to do a very good job at providing a tactical, hardcore shooter experience.

On paper, Insurgency seems very normal - two teams, the classic push/conquest/objective style game types, and guns. However, that's pretty much all Insurgency has in common with its modern military shooter bretheren. Insurgency is mechanically a very different beast. Let's start with spawns - instead of having reinforcement pools like Battlefield or Red Orchestra, Insurgency uses spawn waves to regulate gameplay flow. It sounds weird, sure, but it works extremely well in practice.

Let's take a basic game mode, Skirmish. Five objective points, conquest style. Each team's closest points to defend are objectives that can be destroyed, which removes them from the map and tightens up the cap order. Each team starts with 2 spawn waves. These spawn waves kick in every 60 seconds or so. Anyone alive by then stays alive, anyone dead by the end of this timer comes back. Every time an objective is captured, another spawn wave is added to the capping team. This means that players are not only incentivized to do objectives in order to extend their own playtime, but it also increases the team's overall effectiveness. It also means that rounds can take a while or be over extremely quickly depending on the degree of teamwork and individual player ability to stay alive.

The other thing that this game does very well mechanically is its gunfights. In other tactical realism games like Red Orchestra or ARMA, an average engagement is a sniper fest - whoever sees 'em first ends it pretty much instantly. Now don't get me wrong, Insurgency has its share of ingloriously quick deaths and sniping corridors, but an average medium-range gunbattle can often devolve into a stand-up fight involving suppression, repositioning, and grenades, much like a real fight. Part of this is enabled by the fantastic sound design and particle effects - guns are spectacularly loud, a blinding amount of smoke and dust gets kicked up from fully automatic fire, and suppression effects seriously mess with a player's accuracy. Ducking away from a window to have a burst of automatic fire rip up where you were just seconds ago is quite unnerving. Insurgency also seems to be one of the few games that really understands that shooting a real firearm often results in a sort of almost-blindness from the muzzle blast and recoil, which makes attempting to shoot enemies less of a "line-up-and-click" moment and more of "frantically fire in their general direction and hope they don't shoot back". tl;dr: the guns feel realistic and meaty, and getting shot at is freaky.

With that said, however, I must be clear with you - Insurgency is NOT a game attempting infantry combat simulation like ARMA or Red Orchestra. The accuracy and damage dealt by the game's large selection of weapons is on par with those kinds of games, but this is also a game tuned for balance and fun. There isn't any superflous mechanics like changing the zeroing on your ironsights or wounding (like RO2 does), but it does make thematic concessions, like fully animated fire selector switches. The inventory and loadout system also emphasizes that it's still very much a game . The end of rounds gives your team Supply Points, which you can then use to build your character's weapons kit. You can equip armor to hopefully increase your survivability by a shot or two, attach a 4x scope to your SKS to plink at range with it, or shunt your points into a slow-handling rocket launcher, which is good for objectives and heavy suppression. There is no grindy metagame progression system like Call of Duty. It's just the loadout and inventory - all based on your team's performance in and out of rounds. Kind of like Counter-Strike!

As someone who cut their teeth on games like Red Orchestra, I can say this about Insurgency: it is NOT the most hardcore, realistic shooter I've played, but it is most definitely the most FUN I've had with a realistic team-based shooter! For an early access game, they have a very good product released as of this date (12/29/13). I haven't had a single crash yet, it looks amazing, and runs like a dream! They also have quite a selection of maps and well-balanced gameplay to top it all off. If what I've said sounds good at all to you, go on and get this game, even if it isn't on sale. It's worth it.

I decided to hold off on writing a review until there were a few more updates and for me to have at least 500+ hours invested into the game. I am going to keep this straight up what i think about it as a whole with no fluff. Short and sweet.

Should you get it? It depends on what type of fps's you like. Many CS players have fell in love with it because they like the realism and they've grown tired of the arcade feel that most other shooters have. Don't doubt it for a second, this game is hard to pick up on but once you do, you realize how well reflexes really help if you're rushing but don't expect to be 360 no-scoping people because there is almost no chance in hell that that will happen. Those with good aim that are looking down sight as you turn a corner will get you every time so this is a game best played instinctively and safe (just don't be one of those snipers that sit at spawn and let the enemy capture everything). There are few grenade, C4, or launcher spots that few people know of and use at the start of some maps which can be frustrating, so that is why I'm really hoping that much larger maps will be released in the future that are more open and don't feel as constrained/guided (Heights and Buhriz are like that but i still love them). Maps that were easy to spawn camp have been updated heavily to prevent that which is great. The devs are absolutely brilliant at balancing and opening new areas of maps, always on top of it so kudos to them.

Community engagement is stronger than i've ever seen it, there was a public playtest of player submitted maps that were voted on in hopes of them being added to the game and the rise of The Digital Gaming League is starting their first official Insurgency competitive season with a multitude of teams signed up.

The Nightfall update just added so much more to the game, it feels totally different than it used to in every good way possible. Noises are made when crossing though brush and leaning, leaning mechanic feels more 'stiff' (meaning not fluidly unnatural), the night vision is spot on and well-balanced, flares look awesome in the night sky, but my only complaint is that the running animations with weapons look kinda wonky now, i preffered it the way it was before but i won't nit-pick things for the sake of the length of this review. Also the new co-op survival is an amazing idea, i could see myself spending hours on that alone with friends.

I could write a list of 10,000 reasons to get this game but none of that could possibly describe the feeling that it would give you if you were playing it yourself. It needs to be experienced, the feelings it gives never dies and that in itself says something. Kills are rewarding, objectives are highly valued, teamwork is vital. You need this game in your life if you are looking for a realistic shooter!

*12/20/14 edited formatting*

NEW UPDATE! 5/3/16

1,290 hours logged, i just can't seem to get enough. New maps, improvements, feautures, etc. OH and a new Insurgency game is coming out soon hell yea! Community is growing steadily, a lot more Pick Up Games (PUG's) than there used to be when i wrote this review for those interested in competitive. My only wish is for ranked competitive matchmaking to exist instead of the typical unranked. The future of Insurgency is looking very healthy!

Note: Each field is weighted differently, and thus affects the overall score differently.

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This game looks so awesome and challanging.
NO SPOTTING, NO HIP-FIRE CROSHAIR NO MINIMAP, NO KILLCAM, NO HEALTH METER, NO HIT /KILL NOTIFICATION, NOT EVEN AN AMMO COUNTER.
it really forces you to trust your instincts and your teamates due to the lack of information.
It feels so rewarding to confirm a kill or win a game.

300 hours in and haven't written a review? Well, guess it's time for one.

What do you get when you buy Insurgency?

• 24 Maps across 10 different game modes
  
• A large and active community of players
  
• Thousands of workshop mods to customise your game to your liking
  
• Regular free updates that bring new maps, weapons, modes, etc.
  
• Possibility for competitive 5v5 play
  
• An extremely based development team who actively partake in the community and listen to their fans
  
• High speed, high lethality close quarter combat

Combined with realistic weapon handling, hipfire freeaim, minimalistic hud and lack of hit markers and hit indicators, you'll be in for a sweet white knuckle grip ride. And all at a moderate price of $15

So what are you waiting for?

No paid dlcs
No paid weapon skins
No paid gloves
No paid underwear
No Filthy Online Gambling App where you have to pay real money
No artificial scarcity of in-game cosmetics

One of the best FPS game I have ever played. It's more realistic than Counter Strike, but not as hardcore as Arma. By default, there are no health bars, no ammo indicators, no crosshairs and no kill messages. Kill messages can be toggled on by the server.

Enemies drop quick in this game if you're using AP rounds; usually in 1-2 shots. The 'sniper guns' (M14,FAL, M40A1, Mosin) will kill in one shot with AP ammo, even if the target has heavy armor. All guns will kill with one shot to the head. Most bullets that are able to pass through a wall, will retain enough energy to kill someone in one shot to the head. Guns shoot straight, you don't get an unrealistic spread cone like Counter Strike and shotguns are still lethal long range using slugs. Suppressive fire exists and it's tactical. However, there is no bullet drop at all. Teamwork, heavy armor and being tactical wins the game.

This game also has a better community and less 12 year olds than most FPS games such as Counter Strike and Call of Duty.

The best gamemode and the one I play most often is Ambush.

Even though I got this game for 25 cents ($1 for a 4 pack in a humble bundle). It is worth the $15 in its entirety.

I highly recommend this game.

Best tactical FPS game on the market.
its a dream come true!

PROS:

-Tactical gameplay
-No Micro-Transactions
-No Chests/other ♥♥♥♥

-No Dlc
-No Hackers
-No Spawn Traps
-Friendly Community
-Lots Of Depth
-Value For Money
-Totally Fine Single Player Content
-Hardcore Gameplay
-large Fields with Large Scale Battles
-Fine weapon Customization
-Balanced Gameplay

CONS:

-Low Population Sometimes
-Not Rewarding For Casual Gamers
-Few Classic Gameplay Modes not Present

in short this is probably one of the best fps games you could play, and i am glad i got it when it is at its very best.

Extremely fun CO-OP mode! Very unique and challenging!

You get shot once, You're dead, If you don't have a faster reaction time than the bots, You're... more likely to die pretty fast in the game.
Graphics are okay, Wouldn't say they're the best, Gameplay is challenging and sometimes rage inducing.

Honest Rating: 7.5/10

Recommendable? Yes, This game could be a bit better though. But worth playing.

+ Agreeable balance in multiplayer
+ The game's audio is superb and offers some of the better sound effects I've ever heard in a multiplayer FPS
+ Weapon-kit customization is excellent, intuitive and well-rounded
+ The game boasts a healthy variety of firearms, peripherals and equipment
+ Movement feels largely fluid and realistic (save for some hit-detection issues when entering doorways, but to this, one quickly adapts)
+ Menu interface is very minimalist and aesthetically pleasing
+ Multiplayer places an overwhelming emphasis on vocal communication and team synergy; while this can be problematic in a new server, it makes for an incredibly rewarding experience when you insert yourself into a competent group of individuals
+ Variety of entertaining game-modes (despite many large and glaring similarities between them, though this does not take much away from the game in my experience)
+ Seemingly realistic hit-detection and bullet-spread
+ There is no microtransaction or pay-to-win mechanic in this game, and the unforgiving gameplay makes the multiplayer entirely skill-dependent
+ All weapons and equipment are, for all intents and purposes, 'unlocked' from the outset; weapon selection is based upon selected class and available weight distribution, which appears to be more lax as your account accrues experience
+ Detail put into firearms is impressive
+ Very, very high replayability
+ Healthy, competitive player-base
+ No HUD, which lends a feeling of maturity to the experience
+ Night maps serve to give the existing map selection a greater measure of replayability, and add significantly to the level of challenge

- Quite a few bugs and glitches; this includes a handful of CTDs
- Environmental textures and visuals are lacking (though not drastically)
- Learning curve is initially a bit steep, and may deter more casual gamers
- In regard to night maps, night-vision is near mandatory (flashlights make you a prime target in a game that distinctly punishes such behavior), yet it sucks up a massive portion of your weight limit, severely hampering the usefulness of the rest of your kit; it seems to me that the weight of the item is unbalanced and punishes newer players to an inordinate degree


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