Arc Raiders Review: A Truly Consequential and Worthwhile Multiplayer Experience
In the ever-evolving landscape of online multiplayer gaming, a new contender has emerged that not only challenges the established norms but fundamentally redefines what it means to be an extraction shooter. Arc Raiders, developed by the talented team at Embark Studios, is a game that demands attention, offering a deeply engaging and remarkably rewarding experience that sets a new benchmark for the genre. From its stunning art direction and innovative gameplay mechanics to its surprisingly robust community features, Arc Raiders delivers on multiple fronts, solidifying its position as a must-play title for fans of tactical, high-stakes combat and cooperative endeavors. We have thoroughly explored the depths of this subterranean world and emerged with a profound appreciation for its design.
Embark Studios Delivers a Masterpiece of Extraction Shooter Design
Embark Studios, no strangers to crafting captivating multiplayer experiences, have truly outdone themselves with Arc Raiders. This title represents a significant leap forward, not just for the studio, but for the extraction shooter subgenre as a whole. The core premise is simple yet compelling: humanity has been driven underground by a relentless robotic force known as the Arc. Players, adopting the role of Raiders, operate from Speranza, a subterranean sanctuary aptly named for “hope.” This base of operations serves as a vital hub for preparation, progression, and interaction, setting the stage for daring expeditions into the hostile world above.
The level design within Arc Raiders is nothing short of exceptional. Each map, whether it be the mountainous Dam Battlegrounds with its treacherous laboratories and automated defenses, or the lore-rich Spaceport showcasing the terrifying scale of the Arc’s conquest, offers a dense tapestry of strategic opportunities. Verticality is not an afterthought but a fundamental element, encouraging exploration and rewarding players who take the time to scout every nook and cranny. These meticulously crafted environments are not just backdrops; they are active participants in the gameplay, influencing encounters and providing vital cover and strategic advantages.
A Deep Yet Accessible Crafting and Progression System
A critical component of any extraction shooter is its crafting system and player progression. Arc Raiders excels in this regard, presenting a system that is both deep and intuitive. Players can improve their Raiders through an expansive skill tree, unlocking new abilities and enhancing existing ones. Furthermore, the ability to upgrade bases within Speranza opens up new avenues for unlocking novel equipment blueprints, ensuring that players always have a tangible sense of advancement and new tools to experiment with.
The crafting system itself is a testament to thoughtful design. While the overarching goal of any given run can vary wildly, from eliminating specific Arc threats to gathering crucial resources, the ability to craft and enhance gear is paramount. This system allows players to tailor their loadouts to their preferred playstyle and the demands of each mission. Discovering new blueprints and the materials to bring them to life adds a significant layer of long-term engagement. However, it is worth noting that while the crafting experience is generally polished, inventory management can present a minor hurdle. The absence of a dedicated search function for items within your inventory, despite automatic categorization, can lead to extended time spent outside of excursions, meticulously sifting through your gathered resources. This is a small blemish on an otherwise stellar system, and one we hope Embark Studios will address in future updates.
Unpredictable Player Interactions: The Heart of Multiplayer Mayhem
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Arc Raiders is its ability to foster unpredictable player interactions. In a genre often characterized by clandestine betrayals and cutthroat competition, Arc Raiders manages to cultivate a surprisingly helpful community. This is facilitated in no small part by the game’s exceptional sound design.
The audio in Arc Raiders is a masterclass in immersion. When shields break, they erupt like fireworks, a satisfying auditory cue that signals danger and opportunity. Characters yelp whenever a projectile hits them, providing immediate feedback on incoming fire. But where the sound design truly shines is in its implementation of proximity chat. This feature allows players to taunt or negotiate with others on the fly, creating spontaneous moments of cooperation or calculated deception. We have witnessed firsthand how alliances are forged and broken through these fleeting conversations, adding an organic layer of social dynamics to the intense firefights.
These player interactions, coupled with the intelligent enemies that populate the world, create a dynamic and thrilling experience. The constant threat of both AI and human opposition ensures that no two raids are ever the same. The risk tolerance of a squad often shifts based on the loot acquired, as death results in losing everything in your inventory, save for a select few items carefully stowed in a character’s safe pouches. This high-stakes environment is what makes successful extractions so incredibly satisfying.
Strategic Extraction: Navigating the Gauntlet
The act of extraction in Arc Raiders is a tense, calculated dance. Elevators and train stations serve as public extraction zones, and initiating an exfiltration attempt triggers a countdown accompanied by loudspeakers and alarms, broadcasting your intentions to anyone within earshot. Friendly players may attempt to join your extraction, but the constant threat of ambush looms large.
The 30-minute timer is a constant pressure, slowly deactivating departure points and forcing squads to make difficult decisions. Even well-intentioned alliances can fracture due to miscommunication or the opportunistic intervention of third parties. This inherent unpredictability elevates every successful escape from mere gameplay to a hard-won victory. The potential for ambushes and backstabbings is always a consideration, adding a layer of paranoia that is expertly woven into the fabric of the gameplay loop.
A Diverse Arsenal of Weaponry and Gadgetry
Before embarking on any mission, players must arm themselves with a diverse array of old-world weaponry and experimental gadgetry. The arsenal ranges from schlocky marksman rifles and crudely-crafted shotguns to cutting-edge devices like photoelectric cloaks, portable barricades, laser weapons, and an assortment of explosives and traversal items.
The sheer variety of experimental gadgetry allows for immense player creativity. The ability to utilize these tools in conjunction with traditional firearms opens up a world of strategic possibilities. We have personally found immense satisfaction in outplaying a seemingly better-equipped squad through thoughtful strategy, such as deploying a Lure Grenade to provoke a nearby Rocketeer enemy to engage their position, creating a diversion that allows for a narrow escape with hard-earned spoils.
Each weapon distinguishes itself with distinct characteristics, including reload time, fire rate, range, and recoil pattern. This depth ensures that players can find weapons that perfectly complement their playstyle. Furthermore, many items possess multiple use cases, encouraging players to think outside the box and adapt to a wide range of challenging scenarios. The battles play out spectacularly, a testament to Embark’s mastery of both art and audio. The visual feedback of sparks flying as bullets penetrate shields and the glimmering particles and glitch sounds signaling electrical failure are not merely cosmetic; they provide crucial tactical information. The automatic deployment of flairs skyward whenever a raider is knocked out further enhances this, flagging vulnerability and whereabouts to allies and enemies alike.
Immersive Environments: More Than Just a Battlefield
The environments within Arc Raiders are not merely backdrops; they are integral to the gameplay experience, offering both strategic depth and a feast for the eyes. The mountains Dam Battlegrounds, for instance, features sprawling concrete laboratories teeming with hostile security systems that unleash swarms of rollerbots and formidable turret-like sentinels. These locations are rife with opportunities for cover, flanking maneuvers, and clever use of the environment to gain an advantage.
The Spaceport showcases the Arc’s immense scale, with deactivated machine husks draped over perimeter walls, guarding a colossal rocket launch site. The sheer size of these fallen titans dwarfs monuments to humanity’s past achievements, painting a grim yet awe-inspiring picture of the ongoing conflict.
These points of interest are designed to be more than just strategic strongholds. They naturally attract multiple teams vying for various categories of loot, creating inherent friction that keeps encounters tense and unpredictable. For players who prefer a less aggressive approach, common regions offer a slower pace, trading rarer discoveries for reduced opposition.
Furthermore, various weather systems and map modifiers, such as Electromagnetic Storms or Night Raid scenarios, significantly alter the gameplay. These modifiers can drastically impact the loot pool, enemy machine behavior, general visibility, and available extraction points, ensuring that each playthrough feels fresh and presents new challenges to overcome.
Exceptional AI: The Arc’s Intelligent Menace
The artificial intelligence powering the Arc’s behavior is nothing short of exceptional. Players will find themselves engaged in thrilling stealth sequences, carefully navigating foliage and shadows to avoid detection. The machines’ ability to react to subtle changes in their environment, and to check corners and change elevation while tracing your scent like a hunting dog, creates a palpable sense of danger and immersion.
Fighting the Arc is a consistently risky endeavor. Whether engaging with the more common grunt-like Wasps or attempting to evade larger and more formidable threats such as Bastions and Leapers, these enemies possess the capability to quickly dismantle even the most skilled teams. Each distinct enemy type demands serious consideration and a tailored approach to combat. This intelligent opposition elevates the threat level and ensures that players can never become complacent.
A Note on AI Voice Technology: A Nuanced Consideration
While the overall experience of Arc Raiders is overwhelmingly positive, we must address a specific design choice that, for us, slightly detracts from the final product: the continued reliance on AI-powered text-to-speech tools by developer Embark Studios, a practice also seen in their debut release, The Finals. This technology is employed in conjunction with the game’s ping system to highlight environmental objects with dialogue barks.
Setting aside personal ethical concerns regarding the advancement and implementation of such technologies, we struggle to see how text-to-speech generation demonstrably improves production, which is the company’s stated rationale. In an era where the democratization of audio recording processes has made capturing high-quality performances more accessible and affordable than ever, the flat acting and dialogue barks generated by AI stand in stark contrast to the beautiful human-generated art that defines the rest of the game.
However, this is a nuanced issue. Embark Studios has implemented a feature allowing players to mask their authentic voices with pre-recorded voice models generated by their text-to-speech technology. This offers a vital safeguard for vulnerable populations, enabling them to avoid harassment they might otherwise face in the often-toxic environment of online video games. We have personally witnessed the prevalence of misogynistic and toxic behavior directed towards women and other minorities in multiplayer lobbies. If this feature empowers such individuals to enjoy a title they might otherwise avoid, we consider it a significant silver lining.
Conclusion: A Formidable New Contender in the Multiplayer Arena
Despite our reservations regarding the use of AI voice technology, we hold the human-made experience of Arc Raiders in the highest regard. The developers at Embark Studios have meticulously crafted an intriguing world brimming with curiosities and payoffs. Nearly every single match yields a memorable sequence: an unexpected encounter, a dramatic escape, a hilariously awkward interaction, or a tragic but impactful end.
While casual gamers might find the harsh consequences of failure frustrating, Arc Raiders provides an impressive setting and format for multiplayer fans seeking excellent engagements and novel interactions. It successfully blends the high-stakes tension of extraction shooters with accessible yet deep progression systems, stunning visuals, and a dynamic approach to player interaction. This is a game that we believe will resonate with players for a long time to come, and it stands as a testament to what can be achieved when developers prioritize innovation and player experience.
Score: 9