Oh, good gravy. I can see this game taking away the TROVE and Minecraft folks and putting them in an adventure that is going to last a long time. PixARK takes the very best of the crafting/building genre and adds in a few dangers for players to immerse themselves into, as well as some RPG elements to keep the experience going. It’s in early access right now, so this isn’t a review, but I will tell you what I have experienced so far.
First and foremost, PixARK isn’t something you want to take lightly. I went into it thinking I was just going to build, ride dinosaurs (it is a child of ARK), and be free to do what I want. All three are true, but the second and third part come with patience and practice. For my first 20 lives in the game, I pretty much spent them exploring the open world of PixARK, and dying from trying to mount/kill dinosaurs. I know, I know. Trying to climb up a large brontosaurus isn’t a wise idea, especially when your character doesn’t have any armor/weapons to back such actions up. But the game let’s you try and that is something positive to be said about PixARK. It’s an honest to God exploration game at its finest that will let you try to do anything you want. It will allow you to attempt anything, though there are consequences to one’s actions. For example, jumping off a large cliff onto the ground is a death sentence. Trying to kill a raptor without weapons, a raptor that isn’t bothering you, is a death sentence. Trying to build around dinosaurs and accidentally hitting one is a death sentence. So, yeah, the world is dangerous, but there is something special about being able to do these things, besides dying all the time.
Now, the game offers up a customizable system that allows you to be creative with your character, while at the same time offering role playing game components to keep you motivated. I know a lot of gamers that are going to be stuck at the start screen where you customize your characters looks right down to the eye color. The game isn’t as specific as a WWE character creation system, but it’s complicated enough to keep you occupied from the beginning. I like choices, even though I don’t lose myself in them, and I know a lot of people who demand them.
On the RPG side of the tracks, finding, building, accomplishing things inside the game to customize your character and habitat leads to leveling up and upgrading of attributes. There is a work/reward system installed in PixARK to make it more than just a building/crafting game. Plus, there are goals to be had and epic buildings to be built after improving those attributes and character elements. It’s complicated under the hood, but definitely presents itself with simplicity rivaled by Minecraft and TROVE. I think that I enjoy that about it so far, as it has a bit of everything for everyone. It feels like a well-thought out idea that takes from every type of open world experience and combines it together into something that is enjoyable. The RPG elements had me from the get-go, and the rest was just a bonus.
As it stands, the world of PixARK does a good job breaming with life and constantly beckons you to keep going. I’m not an enormous fan of Minecraft, just because I played with LEGOs as a kid, but I don’t mind the scavenging aspect of the game as much because it feels like there is more at stake than just building. For example, going out to retrieve elements means that you are exposed to the world’s environment and its residents. On top of this, going out during the nighttime is far more dangerous than the daytime, so you’re not in a comfort zone through out the experience, which is so odd. On top of this, you’re building to keep the elements out, while also building to upgrade one’s self. The building, crafting, hunting helps to extend the gameplay and offers up some intriguing RPG-type moments that make the effort worth it. Again, that work/reward element that makes RPGs famously good helps to make this more than just another Minecraft or TROVE clone.
PixARK looks to be on the right track to making some huge waves when it is finally released in the near future. Stay tuned with us to see more of PixARK as it continues to be built.
