Insurgency: Sandstorm
Insurgency: Sandstorm screenshot 1Insurgency: Sandstorm screenshot 2
ActionFPSRealisticShooterMilitaryTactical

654 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 1,082

Peak in the last 7 days: 1,415

Insurgency: Sandstorm Steam store

Game description

Insurgency: Sandstorm is a hardcore tactical FPS built on lethal close-quarters combat and ruthless intensity. Every bullet count, every step matters, and teamwork is your only path to survival in the brutality of modern warfare.

Basic info

DeveloperNew World Interactive
PublisherFocus Entertainment
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateDec 12, 2018
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10/11 (64 bits)
ProcessorIntel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz)/AMD FX-6300 (3.50GHz)
Memory8 GB
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GTX 760/AMD Radeon HD 7970
Storage40 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 385 reviews from the past 1 year

75.5/ 100
Bottom 40%

Steam rating: Very Positive (85%)

Metacritic: 78 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

Tactical gunfights that sit between realism and arcade action define Insurgency: Sandstorm, which scores 75.5 across 385 analyzed reviews.

👍 Strengths

60 reviews say it is fun, and some praise a balance of realism and arcade pace that few shooters strike. 33 praise the gunplay, with lethal, satisfying weapons, smooth movement and realistic ballistics. 31 single out the sound design, from the snap of bullets and loud gunfire to footsteps and radio chatter that help players read the fight. Gameplay ranks 221st of 1396, and Visuals & Sound ranks 433rd of 1249.

👎 Where it falls short

Multiplayer appears in 51% of analyzed reviews and ranks 432nd of 642. 37 reviews raise concerns about the community, and many point to the player base, with some describing a shrinking population and others toxic players in matches. 35 feel the developers have neglected it, and some say an update broke community servers and mod downloads while new content is mostly paid cosmetics. 29 report server and connection problems, such as high ping in regions with few local servers. Tech & Support ranks 1015th of 1399, and Pricing & Fairness ranks 1036th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“perfect blend between realism and arcade, leagues more fun than current FPS games” · 60 reviews
“single update broke community servers and mod downloading, game neglected” · 35 reviews
“snap of bullets and loud gunfire create satisfying gunplay” · 33 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 46% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Controls & feel +2.72 · Responsiveness, precision, and how the menus handle
Positive “snap of bullets and loud gunfire create satisfying gunplay” · 33 reviews
Negative “sights feel strange, especially collimators” · 4 reviews

Progression 4% · Difficulty 16% · Onboarding 9% · Freedom 3% · Strategy 18%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 15% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.07 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “immersive experience with impactful voice chat moments” · 14 reviews
Negative “game setting based on real tragedy feels insensitive” · 2 reviews

Story 0% · Characters 1%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 18% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +0.96 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “tons of weapons and modifications” · 3 reviews
Negative “컨텐츠가 부실하고 오래 할만한 게임이 아니다” · 1 review

Variety 11% · Replayability 1%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 24% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +4.05 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “weapons have great sound design and solid methodical shooter mechanics” · 31 reviews
Negative “no background music and no kill feedback reduces satisfaction” · 1 review

Visuals 13%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 51% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +2.44 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 26% · Servers & Connection 13%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 27% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Matchmaking -0.21 · Skill gaps, team balance, and queue times
Negative “zero team balancing, rank 1-20 vs 200-2000 players” · 17 reviews
Positive “matchmaking is fast on Asian servers” · 1 review

Anti-cheat 5% · Pricing 12% · Balance 11%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 33% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -0.46 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “single update broke community servers and mod downloading, game neglected” · 35 reviews

Stability 11% · Performance 13%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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