ARC Raiders is one of the best, if not the best, extraction shooters ever made. It’s not exactly a bold claim, especially after months of hype and successful playtests, but it’s one that I’ve held off on really affirming until going hands-on with the full experience. Now that we’re here, dozens of hours after launch and suitably entrenched top-side, I’m more surprised to discover that Embark Studios has made me a believer. I’ve seen their vision for this extraction adventure, this part-meditative, part-chaotic traipse through a post-apocalyptic wonderland of dangerous robots and deceptive humans, and it’s pretty great.
The “Enlist, Resist” tagline from that trippy reveal trailer from all those years ago feels all the more fitting now. Despite not actually walking through the halls of Speranza, the last-surviving base of humanity (that we know of), I can feel the melting pot of humanity, reflected in the intriguing and non-overbearing entities that occupy it. And perhaps more than anything else, the danger that ARC presents, even when dealing with the most basic of drones.
“And that’s fine, for the most part, because ARC Raiders isn’t trying to bog down the pace. It wants you on expeditions, scrounging through the gorgeous world that remains, and collecting materials that can best advance your goals.”
ARC Raiders doesn’t waste much time with the setup. As a recently-mugged Raider on the surface (who may or may not have that guy on the Pizzeria’s roof), you barely make it to Speranza, garnering suspicion from Shani, the head of security. A few jumps and a room assignment later, and you’re officially part of the settlement. Such as it is, of course, because for all the hot meals and camaraderie, it’s desperately in need of resources. There’s also the strange phenomena that Shani has been observing lately, which fuels the various quests she doles out.
Some of them will get you up to speed on recycling, constructing workbenches, and whatnot, but they’ll also help familiarise you with activities like repairing signal towers in certain locations. There’s a fair bit of DIY involved between expeditions, but your dealings with each trader will be fairly straightforward. Much as I’d like to learn more about the sleek-looking Lance and his amnesia or Celeste’s politeness beneath the mountains of pressure felt as the Raiders leader, these are gleaned in snatches of conversation more than anything else.
And that’s fine, for the most part, because ARC Raiders isn’t trying to bog down the pace. It wants you on expeditions, scrounging through the gorgeous world that remains, and collecting materials that can best advance your goals. What goals? It’s ultimately up to you. Follow the various challenges, be it shotgunning different ARC or opening a certain number of containers to earn Cred to spend on the Raider Deck, Embark’s take on the Premium Warbond. Scrounge for materials to level up weapons.
“Each expedition is a mix of learning experiences, tragedies, failures, successes and leaps of faith in humanity. Make no mistake – the tension from wandering through corridors in a compound, wondering when ARC Ticks will pounce, or avoiding the gaze of a wandering Snitch, trying to destroy it when caught, is real.”
Seek out resources to train Scrappy, your rooster companion, so that he’ll scrounge better resources with each round end. Maximize XP gain and unlock new skills to build your ideal version of a Raider, be it a hooligan who can destroy drones with a single weapon swing, or a craftsman on the go. All of this, every single bit, is streamlined to perfection while making sense within the context of the game world…well, aside from how Scrappy can do what he does.
However, the real magic of ARC Raiders unfolds within the actual maps. You’ll only have access to Dam Battlegrounds, the first of four maps, at the start, but completing subsequent expeditions grants access to the others. Land at a random location, set a waypoint for where you’d like to scrounge, and away we go.
Or so you’d expect. Each expedition is a mix of learning experiences, tragedies, failures, successes and leaps of faith in humanity. Make no mistake – the tension from wandering through corridors in a compound, wondering when ARC Ticks will pounce, or avoiding the gaze of a wandering Snitch, trying to destroy it when caught, is real.
But those pale in comparison to the terror felt when a Leaper can be heard thumping around. Or when you enter a Night Raid and hear explosions ringing out as other Raiders desperately battle a Rocketeer. On one such expedition, I found some players doing their best to destroy a Bastion – it was all I could do to help from a distance with my Free Loadout before trying to dodge a stray Hornet that happened upon my position. Yet another experience saw my ammo depleted and my health reduced to almost nothing. Somehow, someway, I bolted towards an extraction zone which someone else had spun up, desperately hopping inside and barely escaping.
“Suffice it to say that having a multiplayer shooter, especially one with so many different factors and moving parts with so much changing over the course of a match, just coming out and feeling this extensively polished is a wonderful feeling.”
It’s enthralling, especially solo when happening upon other players. With the sheer overwhelming strength of the ARC and how easy it is to jump into a raid thanks to Free Loadouts, it isn’t strange for others to avoid conflict and simply go about their business. Then again, you can never truly be sure – sometimes, being taken out by a random Raider hiding in a corner felt preferable to simply hanging out with randoms, never 100 percent sure if they would attack or not.
Throughout all of this, almost every single aspect of ARC Raiders’ gameplay is impeccably polished. Stamina costs can feel restrictive until you acquire more skills, but it’s also a way to learn about leveraging your environment. Sliding down slopes, stowing weapons to run faster, and maybe even backwards ledge-grabbing for more seamlessly navigating multi-story buildings. The gunplay is similarly sublime, with each weapon having a realistic kick that feels as borderline unwieldy as it does powerful. Transitioning between all these functions – looting, shooting, movement, healing, shielding – is just so seamless that it begins to feel like second nature after a point.
And on top of everything else, I really can’t understate just how incredible the performance has been. On an Intel Core i5-11400 at 2.6 GHz with 32 GB of RAM and an RTX 4060 with 8 GB VRAM, I’m able to run it at 1440p and High settings with a fairly consistent 60 FPS frame rate, that too with DLAA enabled. No hiccups, hitches, stutters, anything – just reliably smooth and consistent performance throughout.
I’m aware that Embark released a hotfix to address a fair number of issues, including graphical errors on Epic settings, while also improving the lighting and material in some places. However, in terms of bugs, the only issue I’ve faced thus far is getting stuck in some rubble and being unable to jump out until the “Fix Stuck Player” function eventually emerges. Suffice it to say that having a multiplayer shooter, especially one with so many different factors and moving parts with so much changing over the course of a match, just coming out and feeling this extensively polished is a wonderful feeling.
“For a genre with such a simple purpose, laden with layers of complexity, ARC Raiders offers perhaps the most refined approach seen yet. It’s brimming with personality, as evidenced in its presentation and incredible music, but never threatens to overpower the extraction gameplay and topside tension.”
Everything I’ve talked about barely scratches the surface of ARC Raiders and why it’s so much fun. I can understand some criticism over the unusual generosity of it all, especially with the Free Loadouts, resources and ways to earn cash to buy things. But that’s only in the early going – further progression really requires refining your approach, crafting better equipment and then, after all the knowledge you’ve gained from previous runs, risking it all. And who knows how other players will factor in?
For a genre with such a simple purpose, laden with layers of complexity, ARC Raiders offers perhaps the most refined approach seen yet. It’s brimming with personality, as evidenced in its presentation and incredible music, but never threatens to overpower the extraction gameplay and topside tension. Approachable yet complex; forgiving yet just as unrelenting if you so choose, it’s one of the most enjoyable multiplayer shooters in years.
This game was reviewed on PC.
