ARC Raiders supports various playstyles, as one would expect from a PvPvE extraction shooter. If one had believed the descriptions from some developers back then, it could be a completely different game today.
What was revealed about the development of ARC Raiders? The production manager of ARC Raiders, Caio Braga, shared in a talk at GDC (Game Developers Conference) what stages the extraction shooter has gone through – and they all sound like the developers were working on completely different games.
According to Braga, no one could really describe what ARC Raiders was actually about.
“When you asked someone, it was said to be a battle royale against ARCs, or a co-op game in the style of Shadow of the Colossus, or a hero looter shooter,” Braga recounts during his talk at GDC, “Our ARC developers thought of the game as a co-op soulslike” (Source: PC Gamer)
More adventure than typical shooter
What focus played an important role in development? Despite the different visions for ARC Raiders, Braga stated in an interview with PC Gamer that a special focus emerged. And it wasn’t, as one might assume, on the pure shooter aspect.
While it was meant to be an easily accessible extraction shooter, what ARC Raiders is known for today, a specific aspect was emphasized that differentiates the game from some other genre titles:
We saw more potential in giving players the opportunity to explore the world rather than just shoot.
Caio Braga in conversation with PC Gamer
How much adventure is in ARC Raiders? The PvPvE approach of ARC Raiders, along with the exploration opportunities, makes the game almost feel more like an adventure game with potential shootouts rather than a pure shooter.
Especially as a solo player, ARC Raiders feels more like a relaxing wandering simulator with robots, which many players would also underline. Freedoms and player choices contribute to shaping the game as one desires.
Even if almost every player prefers ARC Raiders to their own power and possibly a different playstyle than other raiders, the community agrees on one thing: A robot in ARC Raiders is so bad that it even unites rats and PvE players
