ARK: Survival Ascended launched with issues on Steam. But is the game playable and fun months later? MyMMO editor Dariusz Müller will tell you.
I have played ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE) for several thousand hours and thought the idea of experiencing the game again in Unreal Engine 5 was a good one from the start. After all, I am a fan of the title.
However, my mood darkened quickly when the UE5 upgrade suddenly was supposed to cost the price of a full game, there was no trailer for a long time, and the exclusive partnership with Nitrado was announced. Additionally, only a fraction of the ASE content is included in the game at launch.
Nevertheless, I bought ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) right at launch and have now formed an opinion on whether the purchase was worth it. You will find out my conclusion in the following lines.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
ARK Survival Ascended has some strengths, like its predecessor, that encounter a lot of problems. In my opinion, the greatest strength of the game is the new graphics. ARK has never looked so beautiful. Sure, there are still much prettier games, but the quality of the water and the dinosaurs is really good.
However, this is also where the biggest problem of the game lies, as the beauty comes at a high price: performance. The game runs slightly better now than at launch, but there is definitely more room for improvement.
You can increase the FPS with the right settings, but if I have to lower the graphics so much that the game loses its beautiful appearance and looks ugly again, I might as well continue playing ASE. That currently has more content and mods anyway.
The performance is still far from the level one would wish for, even on mid to high-end PCs. My PC reaches about 60-70 FPS on medium settings. I cannot imagine having fun with the game on an older system. I also played ASA on the default settings and already got a headache after 2-3 minutes with just under 20 FPS.
Aside from Performance, a Good Game with Meaningful Improvements
I believe that most people have now picked up on the tedious topic of performance. Therefore, I want to talk about how good ASA is aside from the technical side.
The survival game has received some nice quality-of-life improvements compared to ASE. Sometimes they are just little things, like the Dung Beetle can now collect dung on its own and is no longer dependent on you placing it in its inventory.
But it is exactly these little things, these inconspicuous changes to old creatures, devices, or actions, that make the game so much better. Additionally, ASA finally allows console players to play with mods. I have already raved about this in an older article, and I still believe that every console player should try mods.
Conclusion: Is ARK: Survival Ascended Recommendable?
Yes and no. I really enjoy the game and can recommend it to ARK fans – if you can live with some compromises. The server exclusivity of Nitrado is probably the decisive factor, but also that some content like maps, creatures, or mods are not yet available.
Moreover, for some, it is certainly also a financial decision, as many of you have probably already spent money on ARK: Survival Evolved and its DLC. I can understand that the sense of buying ASA is being questioned – especially since I myself am the biggest cheapskate.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you how well or poorly the console version runs. If you can share your own experiences, feel free to leave a comment. On PC, you should definitely only buy ASA if you have the necessary hardware.
As much fun as I have and how much I would love to recommend it unreservedly, the enjoyment of the game depends too much on whether you have a maximum of 20 or up to 60 FPS. If you are unsure whether your PC is strong enough, you at least have 2 hours to test ASA on Steam and return it if necessary.
If you decide to give ARK: Survival Ascended a chance after this text, we have a list of creatures for you that are very useful:
