ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition Review

After its release for Switch, ARK Survival Evolved, was considered one of the worst ports of the Nintendo hybrid. Now, four years after that event, Wild Card Games has done something unusual, a relaunch called ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition.

For this review, I will take into account the new aspects implemented in ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition. If you want more details on the game, you can read our original review HERE.

Survivor Edition

Ark: Survival Evolved is a very survival-focused action video game released for PC in 2017, at least officially since it was in Early Access. The game runs on Unreal Engine 4 and due to this it was released on other platforms including the one at hand.

Now, the developers had all that time to improve the game in various areas including graphics, performance improvements, and game quality of life. Additionally, all DLC released for the game so far are included. But let’s not get excited either, the thing is barely noticeable, especially those of us who own an original Switch.

While it is true that things like loading times were reduced, things like between 2 and 3 long minutes to just a few 30 seconds, the graphics still have many deficiencies. Yes, the graphics have been improved, but the difference is barely noticeable. A little more definition, and that feeling of Blur when moving is gone.

Also some textures were improved, although some camera movements reveal some issues. But when night comes, the problem comes, the game is very dark and if we don’t have a torch we will see very little.

As for the Frames per second, the standard is supposed to be 60fps, but on Switch it’s a bit difficult to reach, however, 30fps is not a bad thing. Well, the game makes a huge effort to reach 30fps. In fact they go down quite a bit between 20 and 15fps, it’s like watching a Stop Motion movie. However, this depends on the area in which we are and the graphic stress that the game is going through at that moment.

ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition comes with the original game and 3 expansion packs plus Scorched Earth. These expansions are Aberration, Extinction and Ragnarok. Each map offers a new zone with new biomes, new crafting recipes and many challenges. The problem is that at the moment they are not available or at least, the time I played, only the Scorched Earth expansion can be accessed. The other expansions will be released gradually.

ARK: Dinosaur Discovery

It is a new educational experience for children, full of interesting information in which we explore the island without violence and we can learn about the fascinating prehistoric creatures that inspired the game.

We can explore the island by land, sea, and air, and discover 64 kinds of dinosaurs, all of them based on their real-life prehistoric counterparts. It allows us to ride a Tyrannosaurus Rex or fly on a Pteranodon and even glide through the oceans while riding an ancient Megalodon Shark.

Verdict

ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition is still a good survival game, and in this edition the developers have put a lot of effort into improving the experience. Yes, they succeeded but partly as loading times reduction and texture improvements, but the frame drops are still present. As for the expansions, some are not available at the moment and we will only be able to access them when they are enabled in the future. Otherwise it retains all the gameplay of the original version.

Note: This review was made thanks to the copy provided by Snail Games.