Game Review--ARK: Survival Evolved (Android)

"Watch out for sand.  It's course and it gets everywhere."
--Loading screen, ARK: Survival Evolved


ARK: Survival Evolved is one of the most ambitious mobile games thus far, showcasing how smartphone gaming is truly capable of delivering console-sized experiences (yes, the loading screens in ARK do reference Star Wars quotes).  It is a port of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game of the same name, and a free one at that, albeit one that requires the viewing of ads in order to access certain content (one can pay to have ads removed).  While the game is a very significant technical accomplishment, ARK: Survival Evolved's severe difficulty could easily drive players away out of frustration.  In other words, it is very challenging.

Production Values

As far as production values are concerned, the game is a very impressive achievement by default because, as mentioned above, it was not ported over from the era of the GameCube or PlayStation 2, as some previous mobile games have been (such as Prince of Persia: Warrior Within); it is a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game that has been almost entirely moved to the Android, with some expected differences in the visuals.  Despite the obvious reduction in the quality of the graphics, ARK: Survival Evolved looks great on smartphones given that it is literally a current generation console game running on a smartphone, and the frame rate remains consistent the vast majority of the time.

The audio is of a more mixed quality.  Various sounds might randomly cut out, only to resume at fairly unpredictable intervals.  This can happen at any time: during combat, foraging expeditions, or inventory analysis.  When audio glitches are not present, though, the sound is clear and complements the visuals well.  There is no dialogue during the hours of grinding in single player, as the survivor must traverse an isolated island alone.


Gameplay

The single player side of ARK is designed to serve as a sort of tutorial that slowly teaches the precise mechanics of the game, but competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes are also available for people who want variety or quicker progression.  In either case, players must gather miscellaneous items for survival purposes, earning experience points and unlocking engram points upon completing certain objectives.  Engram points can be spent on engrams, permanent crafting blueprints that allow for the creation of new objects (weapons, huts, and so on).  One can even obtain the ability to ride tamed dinosaurs and design firearms.

For the most part, the controls are set up very well, considering that ARK is a console game relocated to a device used almost entirely via a touch screen.  Still, there are still times where the controls are not adequately explained, and trial and error might be called for to merely discover how to perform a particular task (when I first switched to from first person to third person by accident, I had no idea how to switch back).  Even when someone knows which virtual buttons are supposed to trigger which activities, sometimes the touch screen won't consistently register the inputs.  This can result in unnecessary deaths when you can't run away from a predatory creature.

Whenever a player dies, his or her items (except crafted or gifted items if certain settings are chosen) are dropped in a small satchel-like bag that expires after a fixed period of time.  Fortunately, a blatant green beam marks every location where one has died.  As the screenshot below evidences, dying can be a very common experience.  Players might die repeatedly in the same area as they simply try to recover their inventory from the initial death.  Perhaps the biggest problem with the mobile and console versions of ARK is the gratuitous difficulty even when playing on easy mode.

Yes, ARK has some fairly realistic elements, with vulnerability being one of them.  Meat will spoil, playable characters will suffer from exposure to heat and to the cold, and the characters will even defecate.  However, the looming possibility of rapid or numerous, consecutive deaths will almost certainly frustrate even committed players.  Even when playing on easy mode, the player's survivor respawns almost naked, which means all protective clothing must be re-equipped or, on higher difficulties, crafted all over again.  This, of course, only makes the survivor susceptible to quicker deaths.

Story

There is not much of an explicit narrative to ARK, but there is a general sequence of events as far as objectives go.  An unnamed man or woman wakes up on a strange island populated by dinosaurs and other ancient or exotic creatures, and he or she collects items and builds structures, clothes, and weapons while trying to endure the elements.  Players complete objectives that entail hunting a specific number and type of creatures, building structures using different materials, and equipping complete sets of crafted clothing.


Intellectual Content

Premeditated strategy is very necessary if one wants to intentionally survive for long in ARK.  Progress must often be made in incremental steps, and players ideally need to be willing to exercise caution and perform risky tasks at the right times.


Conclusion

That ARK is a free-to-play mobile version of a massive console game is definitely a sufficient reason for many people to play it.  However, since ARK's depth is unfortunately rivaled by its difficulty, each player will have to decide for himself or herself if the former makes enduring the latter worthwhile.  If one can tolerate bursts of repeated deaths and can put up with prolonged grinding, then the mobile version of ARK: Survival Evolved can offer a rewarding experience, but anyone looking for a casual game is better off settling for something else.


Content:
1. Violence:  Hacking away at creatures can removed portions of their skin and leave bloody wounds.  Some creatures, especially raptors, are highly dangerous and must be evaded or killed lest they viciously attack the player's survivor.