ARK: Survival Evolved Review!
“Dive into the ultimate mobile dino-adventure with ARK: Survival Evolved! A massive game world combines with 80+ unique dinosaurs and primal creatures for you to capture and tame – making for a survival experience bar-none. Meet up with other players and friends in this Jurassic-era world, to form tribes and work together to build colonies of survivors.
Based on the genre-defining adventure from PC and consoles, ARK: Survival Evolved challenges you to survive and thrive on a mysterious island, where you start out alone and unarmed. Gather resources and craft tools to build shelter and hunt. Expand your domain while capturing and taming dinosaurs to do your bidding. Make new friends online, form tribes, and build mighty structures to defend against man and mega-predators alike!”
ARK: Survival Evolved Links:
iOS Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ark-survival-evolved/id1280480538?mt=8
Android Link: Currently unavailable
Company: Studio Wildcard
Genre: Adventure, Simulation
Rated: 12+
Offers in-app Purchases
ARK: Survival Evolved, originally a game available on consoles, comes to your smartphone. But is it any good?
Gameplay
When you’re thrown into the game, you’re told to design yourself a character. I really liked this because it lets you get really in-depth with how you want your character to look, from neck size to arm length. Once you’ve created your character and chosen a name, you wake up on a prehistoric island riddled with dinosaurs and there is some kind of device in your arm. You’re able to pick which mode you want to play in, whether that be single player or online mode, although it is recommended to try single player first to get a feel of the controls and know exactly what you’re doing. You’re instructed to eat, drink water and then build your own campfire. Once you figure that out (I struggled as you can see from the video), you will be able to build a shack, join a tribe, and get yourself a mate.
Graphics
The 3D graphics remind me of something of console-quality, but obviously not quite there yet. However, this game especially drains your battery so I wouldn’t play it if you have somewhere to be. But that’s the price we have to pay to have such a high-quality game in the palm of our hands. It definitely seems like Studio Wildcard has paid attention to detail when it comes to the visuals. Way to go!
Music
Probably for the first time ever on The Casual App gamer, I can say that the music is fab. When you first enter the game, you’re entered with music that sounds very Game of Thrones-y and it definitely gets you hyped up to press play. Once you’re in the gameplay, the music disappears and you’re left with the sounds of the sea, the dinosaurs, and your own footsteps moving. Although I loved the music featured in the menu, I do think that it would’ve been a bit too much in the actual gameplay. The no music, only sounds around you really ads to the “lost” vibe about it. It really does feel like it’s just you and the prehistoric creatures.
Controls
To move around, swipe the left side of the screen and swipe the right side to look up and down, but the controls lack precision in my opinion. I did find it hard to look and move at the same time. That meant I got attacked by a dinosaur a few times. The auto-aim feature helps with fast-moving targets that might be hard to hit. Again, there is still a large lack of precision available, making this feature harder than it needs to be. As predicted, ARK: Survival Evolved is much slower than the console and PC versions, although it plays pretty well on a touchscreen phone.
The Power of in-app Purchases
When it comes to the store, there are separate items you can purchase like:
- A Pterandon Statue
- God Console
- ARKetypes
- Accessories
- Collars
- Cuddle Bears
- Pheromones
- Soothing Balm
- Intense Focus
- Thick Skin
and more… But there’s also a subscription called Primal Pass which seems to be pretty good for the money. Primal Pass is £3.49 a month or £29.99 a year (making it £2.49 a month) and with that, you get 50% more tames, removal of ads, receive a permanent 2x XP boost, 10% more amber, monthly free loot drops and exclusive items and servers!
The Verdict
ARK: Survival Evolved definitely surprised me when it came to all aspects of the game. After reviewing Game of Thrones: Conquest, I really lost hope for any game that is based on something else – whether that be a TV series, movie or a PlayStation game.
The aspect that really impressed me the most was the graphics and how they were able to run so well on a device. Although I did read online that someone with an iPhone X did struggle with their phone overheating when playing ARK: Survival but it didn’t happen with me (and I have an iPhone XS).
A downside was definitely how inaccurate the controls were, it took a while to get used to but I don’t know what I expected with a touchscreen game. I guess, if you’re hardcore, you could purchase a controller attachment for your phone!
Overall, I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys the original games. If you do decide to download this game, let us know what you think and if you agree or disagree with any of the things we said. Happy gaming!
ARK: Survival Evolved Overall Rating: 4/5
iOS Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ark-survival-evolved/id1280480538?mt=8
Android Link: Currently unavailable
Company: Studio Wildcard
Genre: Adventure
Rated: 12+
Offers in-app Purchases
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