Ark: Survival Evolved
Platform Played On: Steam / PC
Hours Played: 9,300+

📜 Story & Writing (5/5):
- The lore is immersive, especially during your first playthrough. It continues to draw you in as you take greater risks, uncover explorer notes, and piece together the mystery of the ARKs.

🔥 Challenge & Balance (5/5):
- I started playing Ark back in early access (2015) and quickly found official servers too time-consuming. Out of my 9,300+ hours, only around 60 were on official servers. The rest? Spent on unofficial servers where I finally discovered a fantastic, family-friendly community with SupremeGaming—and eventually joined their admin team to help other Ark fans get the most out of the experience.

🧭 Exploration & World Design (5/5):
- Exploration is always a thrill. Each time a new map or creature is released, it feels like an exciting new adventure. Whether you're tracking down explorer notes or taming the latest dino, it's always engaging. The official maps are great (Scorched Earth is my personal favorite 💖), and many of the fan-made maps—like Crystal Isles, Svartalfheim, and Valguero—are nothing short of phenomenal.

🌄 Graphics (3/5):
- The biggest letdown of Ark has always been the bugs. Even with the UE5 upgrade in *Ark: Survival Ascended*, visual glitches remain. Artistically, the game is stunning—but technical issues like floating rocks, fog that’s worse underwater than above, and mesh clipping (getting stuck in walls, loot crates, and creatures) hurt the overall experience.

🌐 Multiplayer (5/5):
- Ark shines brightest when played with others. Every aspect of the game—from building to boss fights—is better with a solid tribe or friendly players around you. I play PvE, personally. Nothing against PvP, but I found it too buggy and unbalanced, especially when it comes to shooting mechanics (don’t expect FPS-level polish here).

🏕️ Final Verdict:
Perfect for adventure seekers who love challenges—whether it’s taming a beast or taming the chaos of an entire server. Ark rewards persistence, teamwork, and creativity.

⭐ Final Score: 4.6 / 5
Rating Emoji: 🧭 Master Survivor