A Tense and Rewarding Extraction Shooter
Extraction shooters are not particularly common on console.
The incredible Helldivers 2 is a notable exception to that rule, but besides Hunt Showdown, there really aren’t any well-known PVP games in the genre for Xbox players to enjoy. And both of those games are a much different experience, which just goes to show how varied the extraction shooter genre can be.
That’s part of what makes ARC Raiders such a welcome addition. And fortunately for console players, it’s not just a game that’s filling a roster, but excelling at what it does.
Trust, Betrayal, and High-Value Loot
In ARC Raiders, players take control of raiders that are sent out to the surface to collect materials and fight ARC. These are robotic enemies that patrol the surface and attack humans on sight. Of course, these robots aren’t the only enemies. Other players that don’t want to put in the work of searching the abandoned and decaying ruins of the surface, may instead opt to ambush other unsuspecting raiders to claim their loot for themselves.
This makes encounters tense, as you never know if a player will be friendly or hostile. Others may feign being an ally simply to shoot you in the back as soon as the opportunity presents itself. But there are also several players that are also just trying to survive and don’t want to risk their loot in a shootout with a random passerby.
Night Raids and Narrow Escapes
There were many games I played where everyone I came across was just trying to loot and fight ARC enemies in peace. There were also plenty of games where I would be gunned down as soon as I walked around a corner. While this can be frustrating, it’s also part of what makes the experience challenging and rewarding. Risk and reward are two sides of the same coin, and ARC Raiders leans into that with some special map conditions.
Not only are there several maps available to fight and loot through, but there are also special conditions that can modify map conditions and loot availability. Night Raids are one of the more common ones, where the vibrant world is instead wrapped in the cloak of night. On these maps, ARC activity is increased and their searchlights dot the sky on the lookout for unprepared raiders. Night Raids feature higher value loot, but this entices other raiders to ambush players more frequently.
Playing slower is an option, but each map is timed to a max of 30 minutes. If any player is unable to extract by that time, an ARC orbiter will crash into the ground and down anyone left standing.
Down But Not Out
Extraction varies based on the map, but it involves going to predetermined areas on the map where either an elevator or a train can be called to pick you up. These areas will slowly shut down and become more limited over the course of each run, and those timers are easily readable on the in-game map. Extraction point shutdowns are also announced when 90 seconds remain on them.
At extraction locations, both ARC and raiders will be alerted to the sirens that the extraction point blares as they are called in. But thankfully, being downed doesn’t automatically mean all hope is lost. There is a down-but-not-out state which can be remedied with the use of a defibrillator. So if you are raiding with friends, keeping one or two on hand can be a lifesaver. Even random raiders can be magnanimous and choose to save players that they aren’t partied up with. However, one of the best features ARC Raiders introduces is that while a player is downed, they can still operate the extraction terminals.
This means it’s possible to crawl into the extraction elevator and use the terminal to escape, even while bleeding out. There are no penalties to doing this and it is a wonderful feature that means one random shot from a rocket in the last seconds of a run doesn’t automatically spell doom for a player. It also means solo players aren’t at as huge of a disadvantage as those playing in groups.
The Underground Economy
Back in the underground city of Speranza, players can use the loot they scavenged to improve their base of operations, trade for items, and complete missions. Each player has access to a workshop, which starts pretty bare bones.
With the exception of your friendly rooster, Scrappy, players only have a workbench at their disposal. This allows the crafting of augments, which can increase backpack slots or combat item slots, which will assist with different playtimes. It also allows for some basic weapon crafting, as well as ammo and bandage production to restock before the next raid. More benches can be built, which allow for specialized crafting of weapons, medicines, materials and more. And each of these stations can be upgraded to unlock more advanced recipes.
Not all recipes are unlocked here though; many blueprints have to be found during raids, and these can be lost before extracting if one isn’t careful. Although, players are given a safe pocket where they can stash a single item that they will keep even if they die during a run. Upgraded augments can also be equipped for more safe pockets.
Stealth, Sound, and Strategy
Skills can also be unlocked as raiders gain experience. These focus on conditioning, mobility, and survival. Most of these abilities are focused on increasing how fast raiders perform actions, how loudly they do them, and certain resistances. It allows players to focus on specific traits that suit their play style best.
It doesn’t take much time to realise how important speed and stealth are during raids, though. The movement and sound design are great. Actions feel heavy and deliberate, while sound also carries a weight to it with how it echoes around the player in the world. The crunch of footsteps on the grass, the reverb of metal as a pry bar strains it, and the heavy breathing of an exhausted raider are just some of the sounds that players will be aware of. Players and ARC alike will respond to these noises, so while sprinting around and yanking open doors may be the fastest way to navigate, it certainly isn’t the safest.
The gunplay also feels satisfying. Each weapon has a distinct feel to it, and they are broken into light, medium, and heavy categories – as well as some specialty types. Each weapon category uses a universal ammo, which means players don’t need to juggle a ton of ammo types. Light weapons do good damage against raiders and offer faster rates of fire. Heavy weapons penetrate ARC armor more efficiently, but will be slow against raiders using a light gun. Two weapons can be equipped at a time, allowing players to balance how they want to approach combat, and there are special items like grenades, mines, barriers, and door blockers which can be used to engage or escape from dangerous situations.
There are a ton of different items and weapons to use, and plenty of resources that need to be collected to progress, all of which get added to a player’s inventory. Here they can be recycled for more basic components, turned into quest givers, or used in building new items and workbenches. The UI itself is by no means bad, but there are times when certain prompts can be easily missed, and the inventory doesn’t always sort itself perfectly. Some menu options also can cycle awkwardly, but these issues are incredibly minor when compared to the rest of the game.
Satisfying and Rewarding
Overall, ARC Raiders does a great job delivering on a satisfying and fun extraction shooter. Encounters with other players will range from exciting to frustrating, and ARC enemies often have their own set of challenges to overcome, but these things are what make the experience unique and rewarding.
More content is planned for the game and certain features aren’t yet defined, so the game can always change for the better or for the worse. But that’s the nature of live service games, and so far ARC Raiders has a strong enough foundation in place.
Important Links
Enlist. Resist. ARC Raiders Deploys on Xbox, PS5 & PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/enlist-resist-arc-raiders-deploys-on-xbox-ps5-pc/
Free-to-play ARC Raiders revealed for Xbox, PlayStation and PC | Release Date Confirmed – https://www.thexboxhub.com/free-to-play-arc-raiders-revealed-for-xbox-playstation-and-pc/
Purchase ARC Raiders from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/arc-raiders/9NDF1F263RZ4/0010
Grab a Deluxe Edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/arc-raiders-deluxe-edition/9P1188TSPWL1/0010
