I’ve been wanting to play a game with this concept (but taking it serious) for a while; breaking into vehicles / buildings that have had all sorts of disasters happen to them, and trying to repair them enough to delay their destruction and cut a safe passage out for survivors, while not dying in the process. Fighting wind and rain, fire and flood and rising seas as the environment does its best to kill you.
I’ll never get past the Dangerous Hunts games since some management somewhere at Cabela’s had to approve a hunting game with deep lore about a literal shapeshifting demon and chimpanzee supersoldiers.
It’s a good game, but at least in RtwP, it could be a real endurance test. Most of my combats that went wrong did so because I had decision fatigue from having to march through so many enemy mobs.
This is a massive free content update for a 5 year old game and a $5 update for Switch 2 owners who want higher resolutions and more online features. No reason to try and find something to complain about just because it’s Nintendo.
A small list of inclusions:
-Zelda/Lego/Splatoon crossover characters, items
-A hotel for villagers to stay in while they come visit
-Slumber Island - ability to create new islands (up to 3) without getting rid of your main island. Accessed by going to sleep
-Crafting multiple items at once
I played a few rounds during the playtest but I’ve been keeping my eye on it for some time. I don’t know what reviews you’ve read but the extraction shooter crowd is excited because ARC raiders gets so much right and is arguably better than the king of the genre, Escape from Tarkov. Tarkov goes for a different experience so people who enjoy Tarkov might not necessarily enjoy ARC, but there are objective things that make ARC better than Tarkov. For example the PvE enemies are not bullshit. They’re hard but you don’t need to pixel peek through a doorway to kill them. The audio is far better because you can actually use audio to locate people. Less useless loot due to the ability to recycle loot. The performance is more uniform (in Tarkov streets is still somewhat unplayable for some people). The only clear negative people have had with ARC raiders is the third person view but I would say that’s hardly a deal-breaker. The rest of the game is fantastic. I dig the art style. I dig the audio. I dig the ARC and I dig core gameplay loop. I’m seriously considering finding time to invest into playing ARC raiders because that’s how much I enjoyed the playtest.
But with all this praise it’s worth remembering that at the end of the day it is an extraction shooter and extraction shooters are not for everyone. If the entire concept of risking your gear to get loot doesn’t sound appealing then not amount of praise is going to make you enjoy ARC raiders.
I never played Tarkov, but it always seemed a little too heavy for me. And the cheating issues everyone seems to be complaining about, and the issues people have been having with the devs, it all put me off from playing it.
The reviews I’ve seen for ARC Raiders said that the game was doing a lot of things right, but everything could be a little better. One of them called it something like “pleasantly mediocre” which isn’t awful, but also doesm’t sound like a resounding endorsement.
If I find some people to play with, I may pick it up. It’s not the kind of game I want to grind solo or play with randos, but it looks like a good time.
It’s an interesting concept, but the pvp was a huge turnoff. Maybe it’d be different if there was an option to form an alliance or truce while above ground, but then it’s just PvE with one massive team.
It’s an extraction shooter. Not a game for everyone. For those that like that genre, it’s incredibly well-designed and a welcomed take on the genre. For those that don’t like it, won’t care for it.
The recent Server Slam had very limited progression enabled, which stunted many people’s first-time experience. The greatest thrill of extraction shooters is the moment you find loot your really want to keep and do whatever you can to extract safely. When majority of the loot was mediocre, there was no thrill.
I personally only play PvE. Played the hell out of Killing Floor, Deep Rock Galactic, and Helldivers 2. I was turned off by the PvP aspect of Arc and do wish they kept the game as PvE, but the more I played and listened to their design philosophy, I now acknowledge why they added PvP to their PvE game, the pure fact that it will keep players more engaged.
PvE alone can get very casual, which is what many dad-gamers want: something predictable to relax to. But by adding PvP, it removes the comfort and replaces with some of the most stressful experiences in gaming. It will lead to much stronger experiences at the cost of not targeting the casual market. It is definitely a deliberate decision and one that we shall see if it pays off.
Definitely check out the first Darkwood! It’s story, atmosphere, and sound design are all amazing (here’s a good video essay if you don’t plan on playing). The lore stays fascinating if you want to do an even deeper dive. Zero jumpscares. I don’t want to say what the game’s about because it’s best going in not knowing anything.
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Aktywne