I have over 2,000 hours in this game, and I would recommend it to any of my friends who enjoy a Mad Max–style, build-your-own death car PvP or PvE third-person shooter. Crossout is a free-to-play game with a small campaign, a player-vs-player mode, and a raid-style player-vs-environment mode (which I play a lot) where you can craft items and earn in-game currency.

A word of warning: this game has a lot of purchasable content, just like any other free-to-play title. But you don’t need to buy everything to enjoy Crossout. It will take many hours to build or craft items that you could just throw money at to get instantly, but honestly, that’s part of the fun. I’ve had (and am still having) a great time building all kinds of crazy creations—fast cars, hovercrafts, tanks, and whatever random ideas I can come up with. That said, it definitely didn’t start out that way.

When you begin, you’ll only have a handful of panels, wheels, guns, cabins, and other basic parts to build with. Over time, you’ll earn reputation with different factions, unlocking more pieces. I think this progression is a good thing, because Crossout has so many parts to learn. Being introduced to them gradually makes it easier to understand how they all work. Some parts come free as you level up, while others need to be crafted, purchased with real money, or traded using in-game badges.

There’s also an in-game marketplace where you can sell crafted items for profit. If you play the market well, you can earn coins and buy whatever you want without spending real money. It’s not easy, but that challenge is part of what makes the game fun for me.

Every build you make has a Power Score. The number depends on the types and amount of parts you use. Your Power Score determines matchmaking, so you’ll be paired against others with similar builds in PvP.

Events and Seasons can be hit or miss. I’ve even seen two events running at the same time. These often introduce new weapons, parts, or even factions. Events are also a great way to earn in-game money. For example, in a recent event I spent about $20 and ended up making around 9,000 in-game coins (roughly $60 worth).

Tips:

Buy packs, not coins. Packs give you more value than just buying Crosscoin directly.

Flip items. Buy new or limited-time items and sell them later. For example, when the “Miller” gun came out, it cost 475–600 coins to craft during the event. Once it was no longer craftable, demand shot up, and I sold mine for around 1,000 coins each—making 3–4× profit.

Study the Crafting Tech Tree. Everything’s there—cabins, wheels, weapons, modules. Learn it well so you know what combos work for your builds and what materials you’ll need for future crafting.

This is one of my first long-winded reviews, so forgive any rough spots. If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment—I’ll actively try to respond.