ARC Raiders is an action game for PC and consoles developed by Embark Studios. It’s a third-person, multiplayer extraction shooter that pits players in a battle-scarred landscape, to loot, scavenge, and kill each other — or talk their way out of unnecessary encounters to forge alliances and survive the chaos together.

In ARC Raiders, you are a raider living underground who is sent topside in a devastated world to scour for resources. Once on the surface, everything is fair game. You can be the hunter or the prey. The main objective is to return to base alive with all your loot.

Protect your loot with your life

ARC Raiders is a high-risk, high-reward game, wherein you’ll have to venture out in an unforgiving battleground to gather valuable loot and extract it back to base to sell for money or craft into better gear. It sounds simple, but there are other players out there who want to steal those hard-earned resources. If you get killed, you’ll lose all your items — except for items in the safety slots.

The stakes are even higher, as there is a time limit, in which you have to extract before it expires, or else you’ll also die. Back in base, there are quests that you can take before heading back out. These quests make your Raider stronger, as they reward you with gear, crafting materials, and skill points. You can also upgrade workshops and learn blueprints to acquire advanced items.

The game is built on Unreal Engine 5, boasting realistic graphics, but requires decent hardware to run without issues. There are four distinct maps, offering a different gritty experience for each one. The world is also inhabited by AI-controlled mechanisms, so it’s not only players you have to worry about while exploring. On the bright side, you can team up in parties of three to increase the odds of survival.

A thrilling multiplayer experience

All in all, ARC Raiders is the perfect shooter game for those who love the thrill of stealing loot from other players, while also gambling their own. It offers an extremely rewarding experience if you play well, but also punishes you hard for dying. It’s an enjoyable game with friends, but it’s also manageable as a solo player if you like a challenge.