ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders. I hadn't heard anything about this title before the beginning of October this year, when a long-time gaming veteran recommended it and raved about it. My taste in games often coincides with that guy's, so I waited eagerly for the release date to arrive.

It didn't take long for a group of interested friends to gather around too, as good multiplayer games have been few and far between this year. The team can only have three members, but after about 20 hours of play, this seems very appropriate, especially considering the size of the maps. You can also go on adventures solo, which, perhaps surprisingly, has proven to be a player-friendly option. You don't have to be constantly on your toes and fear for your life, because based on our experience so far, groups encounter other groups and solo players encounter individual adventurers. The main focus seems to be more on collecting than on mindless slaughter, or maybe I've just been lucky to meet like-minded players. This is most evident when fighting a larger ARC enemy in good team spirit.

Another positive aspect of teamwork is that the achievements of teammates are also credited to your own character, which reduces unnecessary competitiveness. One positive aspect worth mentioning is that if you are concerned about the adequacy of your supplies, for example after death, when all your belongings have been lost, you can always choose a supply kit at your base, which will provide you with reasonable equipment free of charge. This definitely adds to the playability.

The spirit of the game naturally includes a little excitement about how you can predict other people's behaviour and what attitude you yourself will approach them with. My regular team has always been on the move in search of big prey, and we usually just greet any players we encounter with ready-made commands. There is also a pre-set command for "don't shoot," which is a sign of friendliness, or is it just a bluff before pulling the trigger? You can never be sure, and the excitement is always there as an interesting element.

Each round has a maximum time limit of 30 minutes, after which a huge meteorite destroys all the most passionate adventurers who have lingered in the area for too long, unless they have managed to reach the exit zone. Instant destruction seems like a good solution, rather than having the danger zone shrink, as in PUBG, Fortnite, or Vigor, where the radioactive zone rapidly sweeps across the map when time runs out. Half an hour may seem like a long time for a single round at first glance, but time often flies by as you explore locations, fight ARC machines, and complete missions for the creatures that inhabit the home base. You can also leave the area at any time if you wish.

I want to highlight one thing: I have rarely encountered such familiar controls in a game. The light tutorial certainly lowered the threshold for the basics before jumping into the action, but even so, almost all of the functions were easy to figure out. The only thing that deserves a little criticism is the navigation of the inventory, as it doesn't feel instantly natural and requires more repetition.

The DualSense has all kinds of handy shortcuts programmed into it, but I still find myself moving everything into my backpack one item at a time too often. Greed also causes problems, as sometimes danger appears just when you have to unpack your belongings into smaller piles. Fortunately, players have access to compartments called "safe pockets." At best, there can be up to three of these, and they act as a "lifesaver" for the most important finds when danger is around the corner.

I have never before given a game a perfect score in my Gamereactor reviews, but based on my experience so far, ARC Raiders deserves it. Technically, I've only encountered game-breaking bugs on extremely rare occasions, and presumably those minor teething problems have already been fixed in the few updates that have been released. It's not often that you get the feeling that you want to descend into the "realm of loot" again and again, survive all the dangers once more, and return to your home planet with your pockets full. It has been a pleasure to play such a polished release, and I don't think the excitement will fade anytime soon.

In the latter half of October, the game developers said they weren't afraid of their release coinciding with Battlefield 6 or the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. At that time, ARC Raiders was 10 days away from release, and after seeing it, it's easy to understand those words.

The rating is also influenced by a kind of surprise factor, as it's a release that seems to have come out of nowhere makes a better impression than a game that has been hyped up for a long time. If you enjoy collecting, shooting, and team play, this is an excellent purchase to satisfy those desires.