$14.99ARK: Survival Evolved Tame the island's dinosaurs
Hunt, craft and build a home on a hostile island, then tame and ride the creatures that once hunted you.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved worth it?
ARK: Survival Evolved is worth it if…
- you want to tame, ride, and breed dinosaurs and other primeval creatures
- you like harsh survival where hunger, thirst, cold, and predators set the pace
- you like exploring a large open world and piecing together its backstory from notes
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Tame, ride, and breed dinosaurs
Taming is the heart of the game. Taming takes patience: a wild creature has to be knocked cold first, then nursed with food until it joins you. More than 100 creatures can be tamed this way, and large ones can be ridden and steered directly, from raptor packs to a pterodactyl crossing snowy peaks.
Pairing your tames produces babies that carry on traits from their parents. Wild encounters stay tense and dangerous, since you are small prey in a land of predators. For anyone who wanted dinosaurs since childhood, the game answers a long-held dream.
Cold, hungry first days
You wash up naked, freezing, and starving. Survival means hunting, gathering resources, and crafting clothes, fire, shelter, and tools before hunger, thirst, or the weather wear you down. Days turn to nights. Random weather with rain, fog, and snow rolls through, shifting the temperature around you.
Food and water run down with physical actions, so you plant seeds, tend crops, and cook fruit and tonics to keep a steady supply. Death is permanent, so each trip for wood, meat, or water carries weight.
A large island to wander
The island is large and worth wandering for its own sake, with forests, mountains, caves, and ocean depths holding better resources the further you push. Hyper-real visuals bring dynamic light and shifting rain, fog, and snow, and the sound and music are a praised part of the vibe.
As you travel, collectible Explorer Notes left by earlier survivors fill in what this place is and why it exists.
Build a base and share it with a tribe
Bases go up piece by piece from parts like ramps, beams, pillars, doors, and ladders, but destroy enough of the supports and the rest can come down. Playing with friends makes the game more fun, and forming a tribe lets members command each other's tames and respawn at shared home spawn points.
On multiplayer servers, other players often raid and destroy bases, so building up, teaming up, and having tames guard your stash matter.
What else should you know?
Can you survive without eating meat?
Yes. You can live off what you grow, turning planted seeds into fruit for meals and tonics, so meat-free play works. You still need to manage water, temperature, and inventory weight on long trips.
What can tamed dinosaurs do for you?
Tamed creatures can carry inventory and equipment, haul prey, and guard your settlement. You can climb onto the big ones and guide them yourself, which changes how you travel and fight.
How do you play with friends?
Play alone or with others on your own terms: run a local game, join multiplayer, set up a server tuned how you like, and carry characters and items between solo and shared worlds. Tribes, proximity voice and text, and long-distance radio help you coordinate.
