EXFIL

About

EXFIL is a single player and multiplayer strategy game. It was developed by Tiny Leviathan and was released on December 11, 2024. It received neutral reviews from players.

EXFIL delivers a distilled, authentic tactical experience where every match challenges your decision-making, teamwork and situational awareness. Built for players who value realism, EXFIL strips away grinding, magical perks and ‘gear fear’ to focus on pure tactical combat at infantry level. The Early Access release includes two intense extraction game modes: • Classic Extraction: Comp…

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54%

Audience ScoreBased on 533 reviews

gameplay26 positive mentions

optimization10 negative mentions

The game offers excellent graphics and immersive environments, enhancing the overall experience.
Gameplay is engaging with a focus on tactical team-based mechanics, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate strategy.
The developers are actively involved with the community, listening to feedback and making improvements based on player suggestions.

The game is currently overpriced for its state, lacking sufficient content and polish to justify the cost.
There are significant technical issues, including poor optimization and bugs that hinder gameplay.
The player base is low, making it difficult to find matches, which detracts from the overall experience.

gameplay
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
66%
8%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its tactical depth, immersive environments, and solid mechanics, while others criticize clunky controls, shallow gameplay loops, and a lack of polish. Many appreciate the emphasis on teamwork and realism, but note that the game feels bare-bones compared to other titles in the genre, with issues like long wait times and limited features detracting from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the core gameplay is engaging and has potential for growth, especially with ongoing updates and community feedback.
- “Exfil is a hardcore tactical shooter that strips away the excess of modern shooters in favor of raw, grounded gameplay that prioritizes realism, communication, and teamwork.”
- “The gameplay is really engaging and combined with the solid community, the game is a pleasure to play.”
- “Exfil masterfully combines the intense strategy of tactical gameplay with adrenaline-pumping action, creating an experience that feels as rewarding as it is challenging.”
- “When you're trying to fire from cover and get too close to the cover with your gun, instead of pulling back the gun and then putting you back into aim down sights (ADS) when you aim away from the cover like every other shooter game, this game just puts you out of ADS and you need to ADS again by yourself. This makes the game literally unplayable for me; some basic cover mechanics or just doing what literally every other shooter game is doing would go a long way.”
- “The whole gameplay loop is essentially just load in, grab intel, maybe see a group or two of bots, extract, and boom. Maps feel lifeless, the gameplay loop is shallow, and the promised 'sandbox possibilities' are nowhere to be seen.”
- “Everything from the menus through the core gameplay and gunfighting is clunky and feels awful from the start of your first match.”
graphics
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
35%
16%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the immersive visuals, stunning environments, and dynamic weather effects. However, some players report performance issues, including low frame rates and graphical glitches, suggesting a need for optimization. Overall, while the graphics show potential and are better than some competitors, they also exhibit signs of being unfinished or lacking polish, particularly in early access.
- “The graphics are excellent and absolutely immersive.”
- “The graphics are amazing and the maps are very stunning, especially with the different weather systems.”
- “The visuals are stunning, with hyper-detailed environments that immerse you in the tension of combat.”
- “A lot of this game lacks polish, graphics, assets, sounds, overall design. The tutorial sucks and doesn't explain much except how objectives and exfil work. It's a super rough game; some people have complained about the bad terrain hitboxes. I personally have never encountered this problem, but I wouldn't doubt its existence.”
- “Graphics definitely need optimization as frame rates are very low and requirements for the game practically require you to have the latest CPU on the market and a very high graphics card; unacceptable if you want a real player base.”
- “The bad: the map and graphics look good for a 2014 game on the Xbox 360 but do not hold up well in 2024/2025. For some reason, my graphics don't look nearly as good as they do in the pictures and footage of the game on Steam, despite the game automatically setting everything to ultra. The animations are wonky, and my character looks a little... 'special' when he runs, but that's not even scratching the surface.”
story
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
83%
7%
The game's story aspect is criticized for its repetitive mission structure, with players noting a lack of variety and depth in objectives, which detracts from the overall experience. While the potential for customization and future content is acknowledged, many feel that the current missions are bland and uninspired, leading to a sense of monotony. However, some players appreciate the realism and tactical elements, expressing hope for improvements and more engaging narratives in future updates.
- “The game nails realism with tight gunplay, realistic ballistics, and unpredictable weather, making every mission feel unique.”
- “For me, this game revives much of the feel of the early days of squad in more bite-sized pieces where an entire mission can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes instead of one or two hours as with other popular games.”
- “There are a lot of options to customize the missions to your liking (i.e. time to extract, if there are enemy bots, when the mortar fire starts, blah blah blah), and I'm really looking forward to how much more configurable the missions will be in the future.”
- “The game has potential for sure, but in its current state it's not worth it. I only played the solo mission mode since I don't want my friends to waste money on this game.”
- “There are just three types of missions that are always the same and get repetitive real fast. It would be nice if the missions had some variety to them, like the intel being in different spots, or the VIP not always running towards you with the other soldiers.”
- “The missions are bland, with very little content.”
optimization
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
52%
32%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, including low frame rates and stuttering, particularly on high settings. While some users report that adjusting settings can improve performance, others highlight that the game still feels unoptimized and requires further development to meet player expectations. Overall, while there are signs of progress in optimization, the current state is deemed inadequate for a stable gaming experience.
- “Post-match debriefs give players a comprehensive breakdown of performance, showing hit percentages, movement trails, and critical moments.”
- “In the 4 days I've been playing, I've seen several good optimizations.”
- “Well done, can't wait to see this grow; performance is fantastic, everything is well thought out.”
- “The game is definitely still in beta, lots of missing content and stuff that needs to be optimized but has potential.”
- “Graphics definitely need optimization as frame rates are very low and requirements for the game practically require you to have the latest CPU on the market and a very high graphics card; unacceptable if you want a real player base.”
- “Just another one of the usual unoptimized slop we get to call a game nowadays.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its intensity and immersion, enhanced by excellent map design and dynamic environmental conditions such as varying times of day and weather effects. Players appreciate the tactical depth and sound design, which contribute to a high-stakes experience, although some find the gameplay can become repetitive over time. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature that significantly enhances the overall experience.
- “Incredibly immersive and atmospheric.”
- “The atmosphere is intense, the extraction-based design keeps the stakes high, and when it clicks, it really clicks.”
- “The sound design is equally impressive—every footstep, gunshot, and whispered command adds to the high-stakes atmosphere.”
- “A cool feature is that players blend into the environment quite well, and they have many maps with different environments (midday, evening, late evening, pitch black night, changing weather, sandstorm, thunderstorm, fog, etc.) that enhance the atmosphere and change the gameplay.”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for feeling like a cash grab, with many users expressing frustration over its lack of originality and substance. Additionally, gameplay mechanics, particularly related to aiming and sensitivity, are described as poorly implemented, detracting from the overall experience and making the game feel unplayable for some.
- “A cash grabber game, dead af.”
- “Most of these games are copy and paste and reimagined cash grabs that have no substance or originality.”
- “For some reason, mouse sensitivity and ads sensitivity were really different numbers to be the same sensitivity, making it difficult to configure.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
71%
Players appreciate that the game eliminates traditional grinding mechanics, allowing for a more straightforward and immersive experience focused on realism and teamwork. The absence of loot grinding and other typical game gimmicks enables quick engagement in matches without the need for extensive preparation or time investment. Overall, the game is praised for prioritizing authentic tactical gameplay over grind-heavy elements.
- “One of the things I appreciate about this game is that there is no grinding, no skill-based matchmaking, no pay-to-win mechanics, no experience points, no kill streaks, no participation trophies, and no real scorekeeping other than whether you survived the round and how many enemies you took down.”
- “Think of it like Tarkov, but without the bad AI, tedious loot quests, and with fair gear.”
- “Getting into a match is already tedious as it is.”
- “Exfil aims to deliver an authentic, no-frills tactical shooter that prioritizes realism, teamwork, and decision-making over grinding and arcade-style mechanics.”
- “The amount of growth and change in this past month prior to launch has been insane; I have full faith the dev team will be pushing and grinding to keep growing and changing this game to be one of my favorites in 2025!”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is experiencing significant stability issues, with numerous bugs and glitches reported by users, some of which can severely impact gameplay. While players acknowledge that it is an early access title, the overall sentiment suggests that the current state is frustratingly unstable and in need of substantial fixes.
- “Still buggy here and there, but hey, it's an early access title.”
- “There are some glitches that are breaking the game, but barely anyone knows about it, so for now it's fine.”
- “Recoil is iffy at best, and the game is so buggy it's damn near unplayable.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game offers significant replayability in its single-player mode, featuring seven diverse maps with varying weather events and a day/night cycle that enhance navigation and gameplay experience. However, some players feel that the lack of community-driven content, such as a mission editor, limits its potential for extended replayability, particularly in its PvP-focused aspects. Overall, while the game has more replayability than some competitors, there is room for improvement.
- “The single player has a lot of replayability as there are 7 maps with different weather events that can change how you navigate through the maps.”
- “The day/night cycle also adds some variation, and the biomes and various weather effects help with replayability.”
- “While I understand this is a PvP-focused game, incorporating a workshop or mission editor could allow communities to create their own PvP scenarios, adding more depth and replayability.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express deep appreciation for the supportive and wholesome community surrounding the game, highlighting the camaraderie and mentorship experienced within it. The emotional connection fostered by both fellow players and developers enhances the overall gaming experience, making it feel reminiscent of cherished past gaming communities.
- “In closing, I want to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone in the >>>exfil community, such as {h}ladyhawk, {h}nighthawk, and the other {h}hawks that took me under their wing when I first started playing this game. I appreciate all the players and groups that have hosted dedicated servers to bolster the community, as well as the other players who remain active and continue to participate in the weekly community playtests, and the devs who not only build but also play the game with us, such as irontaxi and f.a.”
- “OMG, this game could be so good! The community is one of the most wholesome communities I've come across in a long time - it reminds me of America's Army.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by players finding it amusing that they are charged for it, despite encountering only minor bugs. Additionally, interactions with the developers and the fun experiences in multiplayer lobbies contribute to a lighthearted and enjoyable atmosphere, making the game feel worth the investment.
- “It's funny that they charge money for this.”
- “I found 2 bugs in 11 hours, but nothing game-breaking. I had the chance to play with the devs, who are super nice and open about the game. They are willing to help you with tricks and settings for your PC. The game is so lifelike; it's crazy! It's worth getting. I'm going to keep streaming it and can't wait to see the game grow more. I waited a year for the game, and it's worth the fun. There was a time when we had a 32-player lobby, and we even formed 2 teams—it was super funny and fun!”