Ark's shiny new remake has put it right back where it started: in Early Access facing mixed reviews and performance complaints

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Ark Survival Ascended
(Image credit: Studio Wildcard)

Ark: Survival Ascended, the Unreal Engine 5 remake of 2017's Ark: Survival Evolved, surprise launched on Wednesday, and its Early Access release very much mirrors that of the original game, mired by mixed reviews and performance complaints.

If you'll remember back in 2014, the original Ark game launched to an enthusiastic crowd and quickly became one of the most played games on Steam despite lukewarm reviews and a host of technical issues. Nine years later, the remake faces a weirdly similar situation.

Just 24 hours after it launched into Steam Early Access, Ark: Survival Ascended is the 11th most played game on Steam and has racked up 4,400 reviews totaling a "mixed" response. Just 41% of reviews are positive, and the vast majority of the negative reviews have to do with the game's performance.

I am curious what exactly, uh, the point of Ark: Survival Ascended is. The original game has been nicely polished up and fine-tuned over the years, is widely considered one of the best survival games ever, and is still massively popular. And with Ark 2 launching next year, it does make you wonder: why not just play the first game some more until the sequel comes out? It's an even more compelling option now that we know Ascended runs like crap, but to be fair, it is in Early Access and could improve a lot in the coming weeks.

There's still a few days left of the spooky season to play some of the best horror games ever made.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.