Recent reviews by Shalisande

With the recent misinformation released and the actions from the company developing and publishing this game, I can no longer recommend this game, despite devoting a lot of free time to playing it and running 3 server clusters. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, and I really wanted to continue playing with the release of ARK II, but I cannot condone spending another penny on this game out of principal. If you are looking at buying this game in its current state, DO NOT. I will leave my original review of the game below, but this is going to become more of a single player game rather than a coop game.

In August, the official servers will be shut down and all your official progress will be lost. Many unofficial server clusters will also be shutting down in preparation for the new ARK: Survival Ascended remaster project (that will cost the same as this game practically but with no real update to game play or story to make it worth it).

Save yourself some money and look for a different game that may offer similar gameplay but with less of the hassle. This will be my last (and only) purchase from this company.



I've been playing this game for a long time on unofficial and still find things to do. I also run several clusters for my community, and although the admin side of things isn't as fun, at least as far as the player experience goes, there is a lot that ARK offers.

The game is a sandbox game. You can decide what to do with your time.

Do you want to spend hours building a gigantic structure with all the bells and whistles?
Of course you can, it's ARK.

Do you want to run around taming everything in site and create a vast and unhealthy collection of pure obsessive compulsiveness?
That's an option, too!

Do you like destroying other peoples' hard work and feel equal parts full of pride, and equal parts toxic for doing so?
Yes! ARK has you covered!!!!

Do you like hopping from map to map looking for materials, storyline breadcrumb clues, or different unique creatures until you have caught them all?
Well, ARK also offers this experience!

Do you like fighting bosses and experiencing loss in this game on a frequent basis?
You can do this here, too. Everything in this game tries to kill you and your precious tames, and the bosses are no exception.

There is so much to explore, so much to see, so much to feel, so much to do, and so much frustration that you will feel in the game that it may consume all your time. Pretty soon you may realize that you have spent the last 2 years running around in this game doing everything there is to do, while also sacrificing what little social life you once had.

BUGS!!!
It's buggy at times, especially when updates come out. As a cluster admin, updates can be a real nightmare.

Want mods?
Don't even think about the amount of work you will be pouring into fixing each map as the mod updates come in and break things. From the player perspective this can also be an issue, especially when getting the dreaded mod mismatch error (either the server or the client has an outdated mod).

Snapping Issues. -_-
Ever wondered what it's like to try to place a foundation or wall down, especially one that you spent a lot of time gathering resources for, only to watch it dissipate in front of your eyes? Be prepared, this does happen from time to time.

Random Deaths.
Sometimes the game just kills you and/or your tame, and that's it. No explanation, no log entry, just death, plain and simple.

This game can be absolutely amazing, and absolutely a nightmare, but I wouldn't change it for a thing. I love this silly, ridiculous little dinosaur game, and I will continue spending gratuitous amounts of time both enjoying and hating my time in this game.

If you are a complicated person that wants a love/hate relationship with a game that you can sink all the hours of your life into, ARK is perfect for you! :)