At first glance Ark: Survival Evolved emits a "been there, done that feel." You begin the game naked on a mysterious beach, and quickly must find food, water and supplies in order to survive.
Games like this are a dime a dozen on Steam. You have Rust, Day Z, Stranded Deep, Beasts of Prey and countless other survival simulations, each with their own unique twists but with the same basic premise.
What sets Ark: Survival Evolved apart is not its inclusion of awesome looking dinosaurs, but the fact that already the game looks more beautiful and more fully realized than the vast majority of "Early Access" survival titles currently available. Oh, and it's also coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
The game features all the survival gameplay elements you would expect. Players must hunt to survive, and can craft weapons and shelter to make life easier. From there players can team up with friends or strangers to form tribes as they attempt to discover the "ARK's true purpose." Taken from the press release announcing the game, it sounds like players will be able to construct villages and cities, as the game includes the ability to craft technology from the Stone Age all the way to the modern day.
You can see glimpses of that in the trailer at the bottom of this article, which includes footage of players using spears, bows and other primitive weapons alongside revolvers and other firearms. You'll just have to survive long enough to learn how to make all that sweet modern day technology.
That might be difficult, as other player tribes will likely want your resources. It should make for some interesting player vs. player scenarios, and it sounds like Ark: Survival Evolved will give players plenty of methods for customizing their character through skills and items.
It also has dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Lots and lots of awesome looking dinosaurs - 60 to be exact. Lots of awesome-looking dinosaurs that you can tame and then ride, just like Chris Pratt and his raptor pals in Jurassic World. Let me repeat: you can ride into battle with your own pack of Velociraptors. Or, if you prefer to travel by air, fly on the back of a Pterodactyl.
Okay, this seriously looks really cool. Check out the trailer below for more. Ark: Survival Evolved will arrive on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in early 2016, but players on Steam will be able to take an Early Access version of the title for a spin on June 2, 2015.
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