If you haven't played Ark before, I don't think you'll be disappointed when picking it up now. For fans of the original like myself, the biggest downside about Ark: Survival Ascended may be that buying this game is basically becoming a required investment if you want to keep enjoying Ark. Because as I understand it, Studio Wildcard is working actively to phase out the original game, having already shut down its official servers. This leaves players with no option but to upgrade. However, after overcoming the hurdle of paying again for a rework, there's not much holding you back from enjoying a prettier and better version of an already highly likeable game.