Following up their massively innovative debut title “The Finals,” Embark Studios has once again given the gaming industry a breath of fresh air with “ARC Raiders.”

Set about 150 years in the future, “ARC Raiders” takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans were driven underground by mysterious machines known as the ARC. Humans, stubborn as we are, make do in vast subterranean settlements with the help of raiders. These daring souls brave the surface, known as “topside,” gather resources, avoid or kill other raiders and return to safety through designated extraction locations.

That’s essentially the gameplay loop. It’s the basic extraction shooter formula, but “ARC Raiders” sets itself apart in some important ways.

Between the arcade-y arenas of “Hunt: Showdown 1896” and the hardcore military-simulation hellscape found in “Escape from Tarkov,” “ARC Raiders” is comfortably situated as an option for those who want challenge and convenience.

“ARC Raiders” will make your heart race, but it won’t make your blood boil. 

This is partly thanks to the surprisingly successful push to encourage cooperation among players. With genuinely lethal robots lurking around any corner, fights are picked much more carefully and deliberately. Instead of shooting an unsuspecting player and potentially attracting nearby ARC, maybe sneaking by is a better option. 

For the stronger ARC, such as the spider-like leaper or missile-firing rocketeer, teaming up with random raiders to take them on could be the play. 

Somehow, “ARC Raiders” pulled it off. They made gamers, some of the most toxic people to walk the Earth, actually work together.

At the same time, fighting fellow raiders isn’t discouraged. Great rewards await those who take advantage of the environment, nearby ARC or numbers to overpower unsuspecting players. 

This isn’t all that makes the game unique, though.

Embark Studios has taken something that many extraction shooters ignore, the story, and made it a focus. This, coupled with truly exceptional sound design, consistent design philosophy and gorgeous visuals, results in environments that are a treat to explore. 

Of course, it’s still an extraction shooter. You’ll be spending plenty of time sifting through randomly generated loot, managing encumbrance and praying a raider isn’t camping an extraction, waiting to send you home empty-handed.

These elements are annoying, but expected from the genre. 

What’s not expected, but unfortunately present nonetheless, are a few cumbersome menus (particularly the quick-use wheel), a laughably small inventory size, vague item descriptions and dull quests.

Even so, none of these weaknesses outshine the awe generated from its many strengths. 

Every time I go topside, alone or with a friend, it’s pure cinematic bliss. Seemingly simple moments, like hiding behind a car to avoid a patrolling drone, become cinematic marvels once I remember I’m playing a multiplayer game with zero scripted encounters. 

“ARC Raiders” supplies the striking set pieces, bombastic action sequences and tense stealth gameplay of singleplayer games like “The Last of Us,” all the while providing emergent mechanics and a satisfying level progression, in a positively unforgettable multiplayer experience.

As with all media, the allure will eventually fade. Getting jumpscared by a leaper will stop being (as) scary. Making uneasy alliances with fellow raiders will stop being as unique. The adrenaline from fleeing a fight on your last legs will fade.

That’s why right now, while fascination and curiosity still drive player interactions, is the best time to kit up and head topside in “ARC Raiders.”

Categories: Arts & Entertainment