ARK: Survival Ascended

ARK: Survival Ascended is a visually enhanced remake of the original ARK: Survival Evolved, built on Unreal Engine 5, promising improved graphics and new content. However, despite the graphical upgrade, players report severe performance issues including frequent crashes, microstuttering, and poor optimization even on high-end PCs. The game retains many of the original bugs and exploits, such as meshing and hacking, frustrating the community.

Monetization practices have drawn significant criticism, with many players labeling it a cash grab due to expensive paid DLCs, mod marketplace charges, and forced use of costly Nitrado servers. Official servers are often unstable, and many recommend unofficial servers for better gameplay. The UI and inventory management are described as clunky and unintuitive, further detracting from the experience. Despite these issues, the core gameplay and diversity of maps and creatures still attract dedicated fans, though many advise waiting for major fixes before investing. Overall, the game struggles with balancing ambition and execution.

Highlights

Players praise the impressive graphics upgrade powered by Unreal Engine 5, noting the game's beautiful environments and detailed creature designs. The diversity of maps and creatures offers unique survival experiences, and the sound design is well-received. The core gameplay mechanics of taming, base-building, and exploration remain engaging for fans of the series. The inclusion of all original maps and new content like Bob's Tall Tales adds depth. Many enjoy the game more with mods, enhancing replayability.

For those who overcome technical hurdles, the game provides a rich survival experience with potential for growth as development continues.

Criticisms

The most common criticisms focus on poor optimization and stability, with frequent crashes, stuttering, and low FPS reported even on powerful hardware. Players highlight persistent bugs and exploits unchanged from the original, including base meshing and hacking, severely impacting PvP. The UI and inventory systems are described as confusing and cumbersome.

Monetization is heavily criticized as aggressive and exploitative, with expensive paid DLCs, mod marketplace fees, and server hosting restrictions frustrating the community. Official servers are often laggy or unstable, and forced use of premium hosting limits player choice. Many feel the game is a cash grab with little focus on quality or fixing foundational problems.