I've always had a bit of a penchant for survival games, they seem to be a genre of game that I get quite addicted too. While going through all of the titles that I own on Steam, I have discovered that the top 3 games in my collection are all survival-based and that I have sunk over a thousand hours collectively into them. Alongside Rust and 7 Days to Die, there is Ark: Survival Evolved - but we certainly didn't get off to the greatest of starts. I bought Ark as soon as I could after seeing the announcement trailer, this looked to be a Rust clone with an additional element of PVE against Dinosaurs!! I mean, who in their right mind could ignore that. If you want to check out the trailer then click here to see it in all its glory. I got the game on release back in June 2015 and loaded in, excited at the prospect of learning to survive on 'The Island'. But... it ran like absolute crap on my PC, which at the time was still a fair beast of a machine. So, it got turned off (Steam didn't do refunds back then) and I forgot about it, until about 2017. 2017, I get a brand new rig with a high-end GPU meaning that it didn't run like ants through syrup and I could actually play the game. This time, it was the grind that got me. Playing on official servers meant that everything was set to default, including the speed of your XP gain, the amount you harvest and how long it took to tame a dino. To get anywhere near being technologically ready to take on a 'Boss' would take thousands of hours! Thousands of hours of smashing down trees and running the two stacks of wood you had to a safe place. Oh... my... lord... I couldn't take it anymore and I once again switched it off. Jump forward to 2020, a friend of mine picks up a server and customises some of the features. Great respect to Studio Wildcard here, as the amount of things you can tweak serverside, is mind-boggling. But we have an increased harvest rate, faster XP levelling and much, much more. What I like though is that we the players still don't feel OP in comparison to the wildlife. The game has progressed and we are working diligently towards the endgame. At the time of writing this, I'm about 80 hours into this particular game and am still trying to get myself to a standard where I can take on the End Bosses and stand a chance. I don't think I'm anywhere near that yet. The way the game works is simple... and I'll try and break it down into a typical fresh session: • Spawn at the South of the island. The easier side. • Collect resources in the form of wood, thatch, fibre, stone, flint and berries. • Begin to level up. Each level allows you to learn new Engrams (recipes of items) • Build a small hut, this is your starter home. • Work towards taming a Dino • Level up • Learn new Engrams • Build a bigger and more technological home (maybe stone) • Level up • Learn new Engrams • Tame bigger Dinos • ... well, you get it I think. The game is like a cookie clicker, it's addictive as hell and each level brings you new and exciting things to play with. So you just keep doing it... I'm still not ready to take on the bosses, and I've taken down a rainforest worth of wood. But, it still has me enthralled. Pros • Graphics aren't mind-blowing, but still great for a 5-year-old game. • Dinosaurs are cool AF. Seeing a Bronto or T-Rex for the first time is incredible (and scary). • Level progression means that there is always something else to aim for. • The Island is varied and vast • Bosses are hard as nails and means everyone has to work towards the end game. Cons • Not much character customisation. • Hearing the thwack of hitting trees, rocks etc. is driving me slowly mad. • Sometimes just need to turn it off because of how repetitive it is. ——— Original ratings: • Visual Design: 8/10 • Sound Design: 8/10 • Gameplay: 7/10 • Longevity: 8/10 • Fun: 7/10
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