ARK: Survival Evolved

 Xbox One
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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  1. TheXboxHub
    Sep 2, 2017
    80
    I felt like I have grown along with the game, however, the constant graphical issues and glitches do pull it down to a point of annoyance that couldn’t be ignored.
  2. MondoXbox
    Sep 8, 2017
    73
    A highly deep, varied and compelling survival game, but after two years in Game Preview this final version still feels like an early access game, with several technical problems and requesting gamers to pay for DLC even if it's now more than three times original price.
  3. Generación Xbox
    Aug 29, 2017
    73
    After a long time, Ark Survival Evolved arrives as one of the best survival games. Its a pity that developers have not fixed the performance problems, because it affects the experience quite a bit, but if you like dinosaurs and you don't care about performance, you will love it.
  5. M3
    Oct 17, 2017
    70
    Ark: Survivor Evolved is not a game for everyone. But if you have patience, and are willing to learn the basics the hard way the payoff is huge. A bit clumsy control on the consoles aside, this is one of the most addictive games this year.
  6. TrueAchievements
    Sep 8, 2017
    70
    Amazing things are possible in the ARK — the gun-wielding soldier set high atop the most badass predator of all time comes to mind — but the experience is clouded by the best ones being locked behind excessive grinding, boring farming and the need for a large group. System commands and customizable settings can ease some of the pain, but the base concept remains a chore. A messy UI and the lack of a tutorial leave you alone in the dark, forced to spend hours researching on your own in order to figure out what's what. But there's no denying that if you're willing to put in the time, you will be rewarded with some incredible gameplay moments, especially if your friends join you on the ARK.
  7. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Oct 21, 2017
    60
    Performance issues and progression complaints compromise this survival fantasy. [Nov 2017, p.86]
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User Reviews

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User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 120 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 120
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 120
  3. Negative: 36 out of 120
  1. hgoon
    Apr 8, 2018
    10
    The low score for this game was done when it was an early access title full of bugs. Its an exceptionally ambitious title and understandable aThe low score for this game was done when it was an early access title full of bugs. Its an exceptionally ambitious title and understandable a difficult one to get right, the sheer freedom in this game is unmatched from the building to the combat to pvp diplomacy and the interactions with the fauna it is all amazing. The warning I do have however is that it is an anarchy simulator! some people will be crushed and will not be able to handle it, but for those that can rise to alpha status they will have a blast with the freedom that Ark provides.… Full Review »
  2. JackBolt
    Oct 9, 2017
    8
    Ark: survival evolved is an upcoming game as it has just come out of early access and released as a full game. It is a game about surviving onArk: survival evolved is an upcoming game as it has just come out of early access and released as a full game. It is a game about surviving on an island with a choice of 4 maps, including 1 DLC, in addition to creating your own map with certain settings, known as procedural generated maps, however these ones can involve some small bugs as it is not ‘officially’ made by the developers. This game is also all about dinosaurs, as there are over 150 creatures in the game, some are, the developers like to call them ‘creatures’ as it can broaden their view of what to add so it doesn’t give them any boundaries because the creature may not be a dinosaur.

    The reason this game does not have as big of a title as it should, is because of the amount of bugs. Although the developers add in new content at least once a month, instead of focusing on bugs, they add more creatures which can occasionally add more bugs making the game feel worse than it is. However sometimes the bugs can be fun and experimental, it can sometimes be frustrating as it could possibly waste a lot of time. Although the game has many bugs, it hardly ever crashes, it may lag or freeze for a few seconds, but that is not as bad as it crashing, as the game crashing will reset a lot of time (if you are on a private server).

    The games visuals and audio will almost make you feel as if you are in the world as they are stunning. The visuals are extremely realistic as the game has multiple biomes, all which are suited by the surroundings, the trees, the plants, the structures (e.g. skeletons, fallen trees), as well as waterfalls. In addition to the visuals, the audio also makes you feel part of it as it shows the way that some creatures would sound, loud or quiet, this is also taken into the fact of depth, the distance that you are from a creature.

    Before the game was officially released, the developers had released a free game on the side of it, which was called survival of the fittest (only on PC), which the name made sense as it is, the best survive. This game was only made for a short game where the players in it would have a short time to get ‘set up’ and ready to battle others in this player vs player game mode. In this time you could tame creatures, get loot, craft loot. After a certain amount of time the ‘borders’ would close in, to stop people from ‘camping’ or staying in an area. This would manage to get the players closer and closer together, until they could either not fit in the circle, or everyone was dead (if you die you are out).

    Some people will not like the game as it doesn’t have a very big story line to it, however this can allow you to create your own story line for it. To sum the game up, you appear on a mysterious island where in your left forearm there is something called and implant, this leads people to think that the survivor is a test subject. As the game goes on there are bosses to defeat which can unlock you later maps.

    To conclude my review, I will give this game a 8/10 as the game is almost perfect for you if you like dinosaurs, but the game has too many bugs which can ruin the game as it does not flow as well as it could.    … Full Review »
  3. BigBear94
    Sep 24, 2017
    1
    I tried really hard to enjoy this game, but after a week its ultimate fate is to go back to the retail shelf it came from. Why? Well unlikeI tried really hard to enjoy this game, but after a week its ultimate fate is to go back to the retail shelf it came from. Why? Well unlike most people, I don't care about the bugs. Logging in and being stuck in your floor for a few minutes? Okay, whatever, I can deal. Good dinos take literally 4+ hours to tame? Okay, whatever, I can deal. What ultimately made me give up on this potentially great game is the pure unoptimized performance. This is highlighted most when a small, fast dinosaur attacks. In more than one instance I was ambushed by raptors, and found myself unable to even fight back due to the serious framerate drops from the raptor attacks. Not only was this utterly pointless, but the lag inherent on all servers means you'll fire an arrow and get a sweet headshot on your screen and.... no hit marker, because the raptor is actually 12 feet away and you're attacking the air. To test this out, I managed to get more than 20 arrows stuck in a Dodo without it actually registering ANY damage.

    On top of all this, it feels entirely unfinished and NOT ready for retail audiences given the fact there is no intro whatsoever. Even the single player mode just drops you into the world without so much as a quick rundown of your UI, or how to do anything. Wanna tame a dino? Good luck figuring out what you're meant to do within the confines of the game. It doesn't tell you ANYWHERE! Sure, the game has been in early access for a considerable amount of time so many people know what they're doing. But this isn't the target audience of having your product on retail shelves.

    At the end of the day, this game is utterly unplayable in my opinion. Framerates drop the moment anything happens, the bugs will constantly bring down your experience, and you should probably expect to spend more time on Google and Youtube finding out what the hell you're doing than actually playing the game.

    Disclaimer: I know unofficial servers and player dedicated servers are out there. With that said, I paid the full retail price for this game, so I expect that the developers have their game complete enough and with enough tweaks that it's not utter crap on their servers. I was VERY wrong. Sadly, if you want to enjoy this game, you must abandon the official servers for unofficial, and that's not something I think should be expected of a game that is selling at full retail as a "complete game".

    And don't even get me started on all the tribes that treat this game like a job, and will literally turn it from a video game into a scheduled part time job. Sheesh guys.    … Full Review »
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