ARK: Survival Evolved (2017)

Developer: Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, Virtual Basement LLC
Publisher: Studio Wildcard, Snail Games USA
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Genres: Action, Adventure, Indie, Massively Multiplayer, RPG
Rating: 4.2 of 5, 772,495 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 128 hours
Where to get it: Steam

How it feels

You start naked on a beach, desperately gathering sticks and rocks while dinosaurs roar in the distance, gradually building a base and taming prehistoric beasts with tense cooperation or competition.

survivalgrindyopen worldcooperativetenseimmersivechallengingsandbox

What players say

Players describe Ark as a deeply addictive but buggy and poorly optimized game with an enormous install size. Many feel development has stalled, especially after developers reneged on a free UE5 upgrade promise. The game is a massive time sink that can dominate players' lives, though mods and private servers can improve the experience for those still willing to dive in.

Trailer

Screenshots

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