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PC survival game in a prehistoric setting with tameable dinosaurs and other extinct beasts

PC survival game in a prehistoric setting with tameable dinosaurs and other extinct beasts

Vote: (1,200 votes)

Program license: Paid

Developer: Studio Wildcard

Version: 338

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac Android

Vote:

Program license

(1,200 votes)

Paid

Developer

Version

Studio Wildcard

338

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac Android

Pros

  • Rich and beautiful world
  • Engaging system for taming animals
  • Can be played alone or online

Cons

  • Tribal warfare can be frustrating
  • Steep learning curve

Ark: Survival Evolved is an open-world game that places you on an unusual island that is filled with mysteries and dangers.

In the months leading up to the release of Ark: Survival Evolved, the developers did an excellent job of marketing the game. The team at Studio Wildcard would regularly release eye-catching trailers that showed a beautiful world filled with dinosaurs, unusual technology, and dangerous opponents. Even though Ark has a few distinct drawbacks, this open-world game did live up to the hype.

The overall premise of Ark is quite simple, but you will need quite a bit of skill if you want to survive. Each game starts with a single castaway in the middle of a large island. Unfortunately, you are going to be hungry, cold, and without any type of weapon. To survive, you must quickly find food, water, weapons, clothing, and shelter. The open-world nature of this game gives you an incredible amount of freedom, and there are many different paths that you can take.

Just like many of the other survival games that have been released over the last few years, the start of this game is going to require quite a bit of exploring so that you can find a good supply of raw materials. In those first few days, you must be very careful if you want to avoid vicious dinosaurs, huge sea monsters, and towering woolly mammoths. While you might need to interact with those animals later in the game, you won’t stand a chance against them until you have weapons, armor, and a few skills under your belt.

One of the biggest challenges of this game is simply meeting your basic human needs, and you could spend countless hours looking for food, water, and fire. Whenever you perform any type of strenuous activity, your energy levels are going to dip. To bring those levels back up, you must eat nutritious foods and stay well-hydrated. As soon as the sun sets, you will need to find shelter or a source of warmth as well. Some players prefer to sleep in protected huts while others make large fires to keep themselves warm.

While all of those actions might sound tedious, you are going to become much more efficient at them as the game progresses. Eventually, you will be able to build fences, and that will allow you to grow your own food. You can also build your settlement near a source of water so that you don’t have to worry about dehydration. Taming wild animals is another option that you have, and that unique feature adds a whole new dynamic to the game.

There are over 175 unique creatures in Ark, and each animal has different qualities and stats. Some animals are perfect for quickly getting you around the island while others can harvest materials. Well before you begin using those animals for work, you will need to go through the taming process. Taming animals in Ark isn’t a complex task, but it is going to take a little bit of time. The first thing that you must do is collect some type of food that the particular animal likes. You must also find a narcotic that is going to make the animal more docile until it recognizes you as its master.

The multiplayer aspect of Ark is incredibly complex, and you might find the game to be much more fun if you play with a group of friends. When you join a new server, there could be one or more people playing on that same island. Some of those people might want to join up with you and create a tribe while others could attack you right away. Many players also simply wish to be left alone so that they can unravel the secrets of Ark on their own.

The campaign is very rich and there quite a few twists and turns in the storyline, but most players are eventually going to head to an online server to play with others. On those multiplayer islands, tribes must band together to gather resources, protect their tamed animals, and build settlements. When tribal warring occurs, the winning tribe is going to become much stronger with the influx of weapons, animals, and materials.

One of the biggest drawbacks of playing multiplayer Ark is the fact that the game continues to plod along even when you aren’t logged in. If you aren’t careful, then another player could steal all of your resources or even kill your character while they are sleeping. That is one of the reasons why it is so essential to work with others or find a safe place to hide when it is time to log off.

Ark: Survival Evolved has some major flaws and it can be frustrating at times, but the pros outweigh the cons. From the spectacular graphics to the complex crafting system, this game has quite a bit to offer.

Pros

  • Rich and beautiful world
  • Engaging system for taming animals
  • Can be played alone or online

Cons

  • Tribal warfare can be frustrating
  • Steep learning curve