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ARK: Survival Ascended
Action
Adventure
Indie
Massively Multiplayer
RPG
Early Access
Single-player
Multi-player
MMO
PvP
Online PvP
LAN PvP
Co-op
Online Co-op
LAN Co-op
Shared/Split Screen Co-op
Shared/Split Screen
Cross-Platform Multiplayer
Steam Achievements
Full controller support
Includes level editor
Remote Play Together
Family Sharing

ARK is reimagined from the ground-up into the next-generation of video game technology with Unreal Engine 5! Form a tribe, tame & breed hundreds of unique dinosaurs and primeval creatures, explore, craft, build, and fight your way to the top of the food-chain. Your new world awaits!

Developers: Studio Wildcard Grove Street Games Instinct Games
Publishers: Studio Wildcard Snail Games USA
Release Date: Oct 25, 2023
Price (USD): $22.49
Current Players: 19k

Links:  Steam Store  SteamDB

Mixed(59%)
beautiful graphics
dinosaur taming
engaging survival
mod support
multiplayer fun
performance issues
frequent updates
nostalgic elements
poor optimization
frequent crashes
large updates
pay-to-win
monetization issues
The reviews of ARK: Survival Ascended reveal a perception of this game, balancing between immersive prehistoric survival elements, and issues with performance and monetization. Players enjoy the engaging exploration and dinosaur taming but express frustration at the game's unoptimized performance, frequent crashes, and excessive update demands. Many are drawn to the game's beautiful graphics and opportunities for crafting and multiplayer adventures, yet remain critical of the developer's approach to monetization and lack of attention to debugging. The game captures a nostalgic element for many long-term players, but newcomers and veterans alike are looking for improvements in stability and consumer respect moving forward.

Positive Points

  • The game offers an engaging survival experience with a strong emphasis on dinosaur taming and exploration, capturing the essence of prehistoric chaos.
  • Players appreciate the beautiful Unreal Engine 5 graphics and the updated building systems that enhance gameplay immersion.
  • Custom servers and mods add significant value and diversity, allowing players to tailor the game to their preferences, making it consistently engaging.
  • Multiplayer experiences with friends or on private servers can be highly entertaining and addictive, offering limitless adventures.

    • Negative Points

  • Significant performance issues plague the game, including frequent crashes, poor optimization for even high-end PCs, and an excessive update size that requires extensive storage.
  • The game retains many bugs from its predecessor, such as server crashes and inconsistency in mechanics, making the experience frustrating and unstable.
  • Monetization is criticized, with many players perceiving the game as a cash grab due to mandatory paid DLCs, pay-to-win elements, and a push for in-game purchases.
  • Community feedback suggests a lack of developer responsiveness to critical game issues and concerns over priorities focused on revenue generation over game quality.

    • Mixed Points

  • The advanced graphics and improved visuals are noted, but they come at the cost of performance issues for many players.
  • ASA’s updates and frequent patches bring regular changes and new content, but these updates are often seen as disruptive due to their size and frequency.

    • Common Themes

  • The contrast between the game's addictive and entertaining survival elements with dinosaurs and the technical challenges such as poor optimization and frequent crashes.
  • There is a shared frustration over the size and frequency of updates, which are often seen as unnecessary and burdensome.
  • The combination of nostalgic love for the original ARK and disappointment with ARK: Survival Ascended’s continued technical and monetization issues.
    • Updated 11/9/2025, 12:01:05 AM UTC
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