ARK: Survival of the Fittest

About

ARK: Survival of the Fittest is a single player and multiplayer open world role playing shooter game. It was developed by Instinct Games and was released on August 29, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

ARK: Survival of the Fittest is a Multiplayer Online Survival Arena (MOSA) game that pits as many as 72 combatants against one another in the struggle for survival in a harsh, changing environment packed with deadly creatures, “Evolution Events,” and other players.

Skip User Reviews

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 5,689 reviews

gameplay85 positive mentions

optimization73 negative mentions

Unique and fun battle royale gameplay with dinosaur taming and combat, offering a fast-paced and strategic survival experience.
Impressive graphics and immersive environments, capturing the prehistoric world and dinosaur action.
Variety of playstyles including solo and team modes, with intense PvP and the ability to tame and use dinosaurs as mounts and weapons.

The player base is very small and servers are mostly empty, leading to long queue times or inability to find games.
The game suffers from performance issues including lag, crashes, and poor optimization, especially on lower-end systems.
Recent updates removed core ARK mechanics like crafting and traditional taming, which disappointed many fans and made the gameplay less strategic and repetitive.

gameplay
286 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
64%
6%
Ark: Survival of the Fittest offers a unique, fast-paced battle royale experience that blends Ark's signature survival mechanics, dinosaur taming, and strategic PvP combat. While the gameplay is intense and engaging for fans familiar with Ark’s systems, it faces criticism for repetitive loops, lack of balance, technical issues, and simplified mechanics that may alienate newcomers and longtime players alike. Overall, it provides a thrilling yet sometimes frustrating experience, best suited for players who appreciate Ark’s core elements in a competitive arena format.
- “Originally conceived as a specialized competitive mode for Ark: Survival Evolved, the game eventually evolved into a standalone experience that transforms the familiar survival mechanics of the Ark universe into a high-intensity battle royale format.”
- “This standalone battle royale takes everything that makes Ark unique—dinosaur taming, survival mechanics, and intense PvP—and condenses it into a high-stakes, adrenaline-pumping fight for dominance.”
- “The gameplay in Ark: Survival of the Fittest is intense and fast-paced, with players constantly fighting for survival against each other and the environment.”
- “The game's mechanics and design choices often lead to repetitive and monotonous gameplay, with little variation or meaningful objectives.”
- “Its terrible, it strips away every mechanic that made SOTF unique. It's like the Ship of Theseus metaphor: when you take away every single mechanic from Ark SOTF and replace it with something new, is it even Ark anymore?”
- “The gameplay is extremely repetitive; after playing three rounds, you've played them all.”
optimization
223 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
51%
33%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, causing frequent frame rate drops, lag, and poor performance even on mid-to-high-end PCs, especially during large matches or complex environments. While occasional patches have improved performance somewhat, many players still find it poorly optimized compared to similar titles, requiring powerful hardware or low settings for a playable experience. Overall, optimization remains a major downside that detracts from the game's potential, though some believe future updates may address these problems.
- “The game has always had optimization problems but the game designers have always stated that it is very hard to optimize it and that they are working on a lot of fixes which many of them can already be found online and there are a lot of videos to help optimize the game and even with the minimum requirements for the game it is very fun and a unique experience.”
- “All complaints aside this is a good game with amazing potential, once (if) they get it well optimized this will be a very stronger recommendation, for now though 7/10.”
- “Performance optimization has occasionally been an issue, especially on systems that struggle with the complex environments and large creature models.”
- “Technical issues: as with Ark: Survival Evolved, Survival of the Fittest suffers from performance issues, such as frame rate drops, glitches, and other bugs, especially in large-scale battles.”
- “There is no reason that I should be using an R9 380 and have to play at medium settings at 720p, shader model 4 just to get 60fps, not to mention the lagging and stuttering.”
graphics
216 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
55%
8%
The graphics of "Ark: Survival of the Fittest" are detailed and visually impressive, especially with character models, creatures, and environments that create an immersive experience. However, they can feel somewhat dated compared to newer titles, and the game is notably demanding on hardware, requiring a high-end PC for smooth performance; optimization issues are common, leading to lag and low frame rates on many systems. Overall, while praised for quality visuals, performance bottlenecks and inconsistent optimization detract from the experience for many players.
- “The graphics in Ark: The Survival of the Fittest are impressive and detailed, with a large variety of creatures and environments to explore. The game's graphics are smooth and immersive, creating a believable and dangerous world.”
- “Amazing graphics, love the idea of PvP battles in Ark. I hope to see more content and some exclusive creatures added specifically for Survival of the Fittest!”
- “The graphics and sound design are top-notch, making it easy to get lost in the game's world.”
- “The trailer looks cool, the game looks cool but the graphics are garbage and the lag is just unreal; I couldn't last a minute playing with so much lag and horrible graphics.”
- “The graphics are boring and feel so dated.”
- “It's a graphicaly heavy game with random crashes.”
stability
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The game is widely criticized for severe stability issues, including frequent crashes, freezes, frame rate drops, and numerous game-breaking bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay. Despite being an early access title with ongoing patches, its optimization remains poor, causing frustration even on relatively powerful hardware. Players often find it unplayable or barely stable, with persistent technical problems detracting from the overall experience.
- “Unplayable, freezes and crashes constantly; it freezes before you can do anything and I have to restart my PC to fix this foul play.”
- “Random lag spikes, freezes and constant terror of crashing and minimizing.”
- “The performance optimization is terrible - tested on both mid-high end Intel and AMD CPUs with mid-high end AMD graphics cards and failed to maintain a stable 60fps on low graphics settings, combined with occasional freezes lasting about half a second each.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
67%
12%
The music in the game is polarizing, with some players praising its intense, adrenaline-pumping soundtrack and thematic immersion, while others strongly dislike the menu music, describing it as repetitive, annoying, or even unbearable. The in-game music and sound effects are generally well-received and add to excitement, but the fan-made or pop-style menu tracks have detracted from many players' experiences.
- “The heartbeat-inducing music intensifies as the match progresses, fueling your adrenaline and keeping you engaged.”
- “The soundtrack is fitting and adds to the overall immersion.”
- “The music is really good though; it entertains you and gets you hyped while you're waiting to play the game.”
- “To be honest, I stopped playing the day they introduced that horrid menu music that sounds like it came from a 90's pop band.”
- “Ok funny story: I haven't actually played the game because I can't stand the godawful music in the start menu and I can't find a way to turn it off.”
- “Also, the main menu pop music is really obnoxious, especially when you spend most of your time waiting in the menus.”
grinding
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
11%
82%
Grinding in this game is a divisive aspect: while some appreciate the reduced grind and faster-paced matches compared to the main ARK title, others find resource gathering and taming tedious and time-consuming. The game emphasizes quick action and strategic taming over traditional crafting and farming, yet progression often demands significant grinding, which can feel repetitive or frustrating, especially for solo players. Overall, grinding remains a core but polarizing element, balancing between engaging race-to-level gameplay and potential monotony.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “No hunger games start, no crafting, no grinding for stuff, no building.”
- “Really fun game.. it's a more fun version of Ark (no grinding and quick-paced), a worthy download.”
- “The mid game is either grinding to get the late game weapons or grinding dinosaurs.”
- “The progression system is deeply flawed, rewarding those who have the luxury of spending countless hours grinding for resources and taming powerful creatures.”
- “To unlock guns you must spend a majority of the match grinding.”
story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
75%
11%
The game offers minimal to no traditional story, emphasizing player-driven narratives through survival and emergent moments in gameplay rather than a structured plot. While there is an overarching lore involving prehistoric and mythical creatures, most players experience the story as self-created, shaped by tense encounters and survival challenges. This approach suits those seeking dynamic, emergent storytelling over scripted progression.
- “Every match feels like its own little story, full of tense standoffs, hilarious mistakes, and those clutch moments where you feel like a genius (or a total fool).”
- “The story of Ark: Survival Evolved actually bears some resemblance to the Godzilla anime trilogy in which an army of kaiju end up overrunning Earth causing humanity to abandon the planet—only to return attempting to kill the rest of the kaiju; similarly, the titans and element corruption wiped out Earth. The game is played from either third-person or first-person perspective and its open world is navigated on foot or by riding prehistoric animals.”
- “The story in Ark: Survival of the Fittest is minimal, with players having to create their own story as they explore and survive on the island.”
- “No story; if you want story, progression, or a chill experience, this isn’t that.”
- “The story in Ark: Survival of the Fittest is minimal, with players having to create their own story as they explore and survive on the island; the game focuses on survival rather than a narrative-driven story.”
- “The game's minimal story and repetitive nature can be a drawback.”
humor
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
3%
The game's humor is widely appreciated for its hilarious, unpredictable moments during intense PvP matches, amusing character customization, and the chaotic player interactions that often lead to laughter. Players find joy in the game's fast-paced, tense scenarios and the absurdity of in-game situations, though some negative or inappropriate player behavior can detract from the experience. Overall, humor adds a fun and entertaining layer to the gameplay, making survival both challenging and amusing.
- “Every match feels like its own little story, full of tense standoffs, hilarious mistakes, and those clutch moments where you feel like a genius (or a total fool).”
- “Add in some players who think they’re the island’s top predator (spoiler: they’re not), and suddenly, your quest to survive turns into an all-out, hilarious game of “who can mess with who first?” Trust me, it’s intense, but also surprisingly fun when you realize you’re a second away from being eaten by a T-Rex and you somehow make it out alive.”
- “Just let the audience listen to the tribe conversation for a while during the game for the great laugh (communication role and planning is so funny in this game xd).”
- “Not funny.”
monetization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
39%
38%
The monetization of this game is mixed, with some users criticizing recent updates as cash grabs and overly focused on quick profits, while others appreciate that it remains free-to-play without any microtransactions, including cosmetics. Overall, it is seen as a rare example of an early access game offering a fair experience without aggressive monetization.
- “A good free-to-play game with no microtransactions.”
- “So I give it a positive review for a free Ark without microtransactions like Payday and Overkill for an early access game!”
- “It's fun, free, and has no microtransactions.”
- “I wish they left this game alone. Every time they try to change something or make it new, re-mastering feels more like a cheap, heartless cash grab.”
- “This game is good for a few laughs and it can be fun, but if you want to rank up or get into the top 10 for the cash grab, prepare to give up your life/job/etc to do so.”
- “Yeah, everyone wants a battle royale like MOBA games a few years back. This is a quick and cheap cash grab, but only a fraction of games succeed since the genre is saturated. Why not focus on the main game instead and make it perfect?”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The atmosphere is praised for its immersive visual design, including dynamic weather and a day-night cycle, complemented by well-crafted ambient sounds and engaging sound effects. Overall, the combination of graphics and audio creates a compelling and engaging environment, though some find certain aspects limit enjoyment.
- “The visual design helps create an immersive experience, with dynamic weather effects and a day-night cycle contributing to the atmosphere.”
- “The sound in Ark: Survival of the Fittest is well done, with ambient sounds that add to the game's atmosphere and engaging sound effects for combat and exploration.”
- “It has awesome graphics, as well as an amazing atmosphere.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express deep disappointment and heartbreak over the developers' abandonment of the game, feeling it deserved more care and updates to realize its potential. Many advise against investing emotional energy in the game until it leaves early access, reflecting a strong emotional letdown among the community.
- “The developers are completely inactive and it is really heartbreaking to see the developers that actually cared about this at the start abandon it. This game, this idea deserves so much more justice than it was given. There is still potential to get new players on to this game and to give the game a much needed update, even an event to show the players that you still want this game to be played.”
- “And more heartbreaking.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers insane replayability, driven by a wide variety of creatures to tame and constantly changing loot drops that encourage dynamic strategy adjustments. This variety keeps each playthrough fresh and engaging.
- “Insane replayability with many different creatures to tame and build your strategy around, and the loot drops are always wildly different, causing you to change your tactics on the fly.”

Skip Game Offers

Buy ARK: Survival of the Fittest

ARK: Survival of the Fittest
See offer on Steam

8h Median play time

174h Average play time

2-20h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 16 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like ARK: Survival of the Fittest

56%10.7kreviews

The Culling

2017

Survival Shooter

75%9.8kreviews

Darwin Project

2020

Open World Shooter

55%57kreviews

Z1 Battle Royale

2018

Open World Shooter

43%1.7kreviews

Infestation: The New Z

2016

Open World Role Playing Shooter

68%3.9kreviews

PixARK

2019

Open World Role Playing Shooter

More games like ARK: Survival of the Fittest

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

ARK: Survival of the Fittest is a open world role playing shooter game.

ARK: Survival of the Fittest is available on PC, Mac OS, PlayStation 4, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 174 hours playing ARK: Survival of the Fittest.

ARK: Survival of the Fittest was released on August 29, 2017.

ARK: Survival of the Fittest was developed by Instinct Games.

ARK: Survival of the Fittest has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

ARK: Survival of the Fittest is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include The Culling, Darwin Project, Z1 Battle Royale, Infestation: The New Z, PixARK and others.

ARK: Survival of the Fittest

Platforms

About

Buy ARK: Survival of the Fittest