ARK: Survival Evolved cover art

ARK: Survival Evolved

A dinosaur survival game about taming, building, and tribal warfare on a hostile island.

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Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION4 /10READS4 /10VARIANCE4 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    4/10

    Shooting and kiting matter in raids

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    4/10

    Tribe warfare involves human deception and politics

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    4/10

    Taming rolls, spawns, and surprise raids

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    7/10

    Breeding lines, base design, and farming dominate

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2017
Developer
Studio Wildcard
Platforms
Stadia, Series X|S, PS4, Linux, Android, PC, iOS, Mac, XONE, Switch
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO), Battle Royale
IGDB critics
69/100
IGDB users
68/100
ShooterRole-playing (RPG)SimulatorAdventureIndieActionSurvivalSandboxOpen world