ARK: Survival Evolved

Moderate overall intensity

Highest flag: Substances — player uses or trades

MMOSandboxSurvival

What's in it

Substances player uses or trades

High

Players craft and consume Beer Jars that produce an on-screen drunk effect, and brew narcotics used to sedate creatures during taming.

Violence realistic

Moderate

Real-time melee and firearm combat against dinosaurs, creatures, and other human players, with blood effects; no dismemberment or gore focus.

Nudity revealing/suggestive attire

Low

Survivors spawn with minimal cloth clothing and the character creator includes body sliders; no genital detail is shown.

Dark themes mild

Low

Persistent survival pressure (starvation, dehydration, cold) plus lore dossiers about a dying, experimental world.

Horror & psychological spooky

Low

Dark caves and aggressive predators create tense, occasionally frightening encounters, but there is no dedicated horror framing.

Animal combat combat mechanic

Low

Core loop of hunting, killing, and knock-out taming of dinosaurs and beasts for meat, hides, and mounts as ordinary survival gameplay.

Who can reach your kid

Voice chatChat with strangersUser-created contentGifting / trading

What it is

ARK: Survival Evolved drops the player naked onto a mysterious island populated by dinosaurs, prehistoric animals, and some fantasy creatures. Gameplay centers on gathering resources, crafting tools and weapons, building bases, and taming creatures to ride and fight alongside. Combat runs from primitive clubs and spears up to firearms, used against wildlife and, on player-versus-player servers, against other survivors; blood appears but there is no gore or dismemberment. Hunting and knocking out creatures is central, and players can brew and drink beer for a minor buff. On multiplayer servers players form tribes and interact through open text and proximity voice chat with strangers, and the game supports community-made mods.

How it's framed

The game frames survival as a struggle of skill, planning, and cooperation or competition rather than moral choice. Killing and taming creatures is presented as ordinary survival, and player-versus-player raiding is a server option rather than a rewarded storyline; the tone is adventurous and challenge-driven rather than dark or transgressive.

Details

Developer: Studio Wildcard
Publisher: Studio Wildcard
Released: Aug 27, 2017

Metacritic 70critic score (third-party) · out of 100

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