I'll be the first to admit that I'm prone to a certain form of gaming hype – a form of mass-generated hype Arc Raiderone of the biggest multiplayer games of 2025. I was specifically drawn to the community elements Arc RaiderGreat reputation: it never felt like a game shoved down our throats by corporate marketing teams, but grew organically with real players, with real experiences to share.
With so many player chants Arc Raider' praises (including our own team at GR, who give it a perfect score), I was as ready for Embark Studios' lifeless ambition project as everyone else. When I first jumped into the game, I remember being captivated by its strong shooting and movement mechanics, as well as its unpredictable post-apocalypse world, which was unique despite having shades of Fallout, Mad Maxand the like. unfortunately, Arc Raider after a few starts it lost its luster for me and Steam told me I only played about 5 hours of gameplay. Sure, I'm busy, but that didn't stop me from putting more than 20 hours into it Battlefield 6 at start (or in 80 hours). Hades 2but that's another story). So what does it give? I feel left out of Arc Raider party and maybe you too.
Arc Raiders is cool, but it hasn't stuck with me yet
The game loop of an extraction shooter can be reduced to the following process: go to the enemy zone with other players, collect loot, return to the base with the loot without getting killed, otherwise you lose everything. Now, I love hard games, but the enormously high stakes of the extraction shooter genre have always been a little too punishing for me. I understand that's the point – high risk, high reward and all – but it's not a style of play I particularly enjoy.
There are a lot of possible reasons for this, but one that comes to mind is the skill gap between genre newcomers and veterans. As the old saying goes, “there's always going to be a sweatier player,” which means there's always going to be a more intense, dedicated shooter in the PvP lobby, ready to cut your run short just as you're learning the ropes. In other multiplayer shooters, you can just respawn and try again, but in an extraction shooter, death is much more impressive, sometimes negating several hours of work. And that's probably the main reason why I can't fully enjoy it Arc Raider: It feels like work. Looting and narrowly escaping a session is satisfying, but everything leading up to it feels shallow, routine and bland, with an unceremonious, devastating loss hanging over your head.
On Arc RaiderKudos, it's taking steps to make it more accessible to genre newcomers, with freeloading being a prime example. But such features seem too much of a compromise to me; they undermine the high-stakes satisfaction and progression between runs that the game is built on.
Besides all that Arc Raider is a live game designed to be played and developed indefinitely. But I want to play a game with a beginning, middle and end. I want an experience that I can look back on and smile. I don't want a game that feels like you go to work and find resources that could otherwise be bought with real money; At its core, the live service genre is designed to keep you coming back. To that end, live service games are typically not designed with lasting satisfaction in mind.
My experience with Arc Raider he was unexpectedly introspective. I hold no ill will towards the game and actually appreciate many aspects of its world, art design, and moment-to-moment gameplay, but I've come to realize that this kind of “playing forever” game just isn't my cup of tea. Sometimes it seems like it should be, as live service titles never go out of style despite gamers around the world declaring the business model dead, but that's the problem. Maybe one day I'll open my eyes to the shine Arc Raiderbut so far starting up feels like work.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
