Recent reviews by Dred1

This is currently one of the best survival/crafting-type games out there, IMO. Especially considering it's free to play and has zero pay2win aspects. You get quite a lot of content completely for free. This game plays like how I wished Fallout 76 had felt back when I first tried that on release. The Scenario/Seasons aspect might turn some people off. Still, as of this writing, I am almost done with my 3rd consecutive season (Way of Winter currently), and I am looking forward to continuing to grow my character as I collect and improve mods and armor/weapon blueprints.

I haven't yet tried either of the PvP scenarios. Prismverse's Clash might hold some interest for me, but these days, I tend to avoid PvP in any game where my base and items could possibly be stolen or destroyed by other players, so if you're big into PvP I suppose you should take this review with a grain of salt.

As for the downsides, I'd say the most glaring would be the current loot-crate system for acquiring some of the rarer cosmetic items (item and vehicle skins, building/decor skins, emotes etc). Of course, no one is obligated to buy any of it, but the FOMO can run strong, as I'm sure the game developers are aware. My budget is way too small to be considered a whale, but I have dropped a few hundred $ on cosmetics so far. I feel the game has earned it.

The servers could get laggy in the past at times, but lag/latency has not been an issue for me during this 3rd latest season I've been playing.
There are a number of noticeable translation errors and inconsistencies. Sometimes the spoken dialog and corresponding text are completely different, and sometimes even character names are completely different.

There have also been quite a lot of complaints from some players regarding the weather/temperature mechanics in the newer Way of Winter scenario. I hate to say it, but I think it's a bit of a skill issue. I've died to the heat/cold maybe a total of 3 times so far (currently nearing the start of phase 4), but with a little preparation and planning, this is easily avoidable. The game gives you plenty of ways to combat the extreme temps, and I haven't even needed to bother with the portable heater/cooler or thermal tower settings so far, in order to survive.

I love the Lovecraft-inspired cosmic horror setting, the combat and controls feel great, the building system is pretty solid (despite some snapping issues now and then), and I've been enjoying the variety of weapons/builds currently in the game. I'm looking forward to seeing what other sorts of Scenarios might be released in the future.

If you liked Ark SE, you will probably enjoy this as much if not more. The new dino pathing that avoids structures is very annoying, but you can work around it. It me it feels like a more polished Ark experience overall. Yes, there are still tons of bugs leftover from SE, but this is Ark. You either enjoy it enough to look past it's flaws or you don't.

I only play on unofficial PvE, modded servers, so I can't speak for anything on official or PvP. I salute those that can play those, but I just don't enjoy suffering that much!
I also seem to be one of the rare few that don't have any major issues running it, despite not having a NASA PC. The only major performance issue that I experienced so far turned out to be 100% mod-related.

I used to plan my room rearranging using graph paper, a pencil, a ruler, and some scissors. I'd cut out the individual pieces that represented the furniture, and "laminate" them with clear scotch tape. Then it was just a matter of figuring out how to best arrange them on the floor plan I had made. Well, I needed to figure out a brand-new arrangement, and I was curious if there was any such program out there that would let me accomplish this more conveniently. Lo and behold, a quick search turned up this! It's exactly what I was looking for! It took me a little bit to figure out how to use the wall creation and sizing (my room isn't a perfect square or rectangle), but once I got the hang of it, I was easily able to create a model of my room. Overall I found the UI and Tools to be easy to get the hang of and understand. I would love to be able to directly input the size/dimensions of the various elements using text input, rather than simply clicking and dragging, but it's a minor thing. Definitely recommended!

I rarely bother giving reviews for games these days, but I really have to go out of my way to say how much I have been enjoying this map! Hands down my new favorite. It's got nearly everything you could want. That Lightning Wyvern trench though...the pain.

This game is deceptively fun and addictive once you get into the groove of things. It's great as a solo game, but I think where it really shines is in co-op mode with a friend or three. The ease of being able to host your own session for others to join is a welcome addition. It also has a terrific building system that is again, easy to use. Once you get the hang of how structural integrity works. My partner and I both have played through all 5 current bosses, and now with Hearth and Home out, we are playing through it again with a fresh start.
In conclusion, it's great, get it! I look forward to future updates.

It's ok.

Disclaimer: this is completely from a PvE viewpoint, I don't plan to ever PvP in this game as I feel it would be too frustrating given the ammount of time things take (even with increased rates). I also play exculsively on unofficial servers as I feel the official rates are too long to be very enjoyable. I highly recommend doing the same and try to find a decently moderated unoffical server, there are plenty of them out there.

Well it's becoming the most played game in my library, they must be doing something right. It certainly has it's flaws but Ark has become one of my favorite games, a fun blend of survival, building and exploring. More to come.