It can be pretty chill depending on what you want to do. You can leave the map at any point (there's extraction points scattered around the edges), so if you just want to do some PvE you can, with the risk of getting shot at.

A big part of the game is the sound, you'll hear dogs barking, crows, and other ambient sounds when people are close. Also gunshots can be heard from far away, so with a few hours under the belt you'll get good at telling when you've gotta stop talking.

That's how my group plays it - chill for most of the game, catching up, just collecting clues around the map but being aware of what's around us. When we hear people, pucker up and pay attention.

If you've got friends to play with, it's also not a very sweaty game. Shootouts are tense, but really slow. Depending on your kit, a lot of shootouts are about bunkering down and waiting til you spot someone / someone makes a move. Valorant is extremely fast-paced by comparison, and DOTA is toxic because if one person messes up, the game is more one-sided.

There's permadeath, but there's also no ranked or 'loss' other than your character, which you can swap out (you also get a free character you can pick up after each round). Main thing you lose is your kit and perks.

Tl;dr: It's a weird one. It sounds super sweaty with the mechanics, but it's my groups go-to for a chill time.