Imagine waking up on a mysterious island, surrounded by prehistoric creatures that want to eat you. How would you survive? That’s the question that ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) asks you to answer. ASA is a remake of the popular dinosaur survival game ARK: Survival Evolved, using the latest Unreal Engine 5 technology. It is a game that will test your skills, creativity, and courage as you explore, craft, build, tame, breed, fight, and survive in a realistic and immersive world of dinosaurs. ASA is currently planned to launch in October 2023 as an early access title on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC, with DLC content released over time.

What is ARK: Survival Ascended?

ARK Survival Ascended is a complete overhaul of ARK: Survival Evolved, using the latest Unreal Engine 5 technology. It promises to deliver a stunning next-generation ARK experience with improved graphics, physics, UI, and gameplay features.

What’s New in ARK: Survival Ascended?

ARK Survival Ascended is not just a prettier version of ARK: Survival Evolved; it is a whole new experience that will take you to a more realistic and immersive world of dinosaurs. Some of the new features and improvements in ASA include:

• Unreal Engine 5 – ASA uses the latest version of Unreal Engine 5, which enables stunning visuals, dynamic lighting and shadows, realistic water and weather effects, and more. ASA also takes advantage of UE5’s Nanite and Lumen technologies, which allow for massive amounts of geometric detail and global illumination without sacrificing performance.
• Physics-Based Destruction – ASA introduces a new system of physics-based destruction, which allows players to interact with the environment in more ways than ever before. Players can break trees, rocks, buildings, and even dinosaurs with their weapons and tools, creating dynamic and emergent gameplay scenarios.
• Overhauled UI – ASA features a redesigned user interface that is more intuitive and user-friendly. The UI has been optimized for different platforms and screen sizes and supports various input methods such as keyboard, mouse, controller, and touch. The UI also provides more information and feedback to the players, such as health bars, damage numbers, status effects, and more.
• New Content – ASA will have its unique content roadmap in addition to the remade expansion pack content. The developers have hinted at new dinosaurs, items, biomes, game modes, and more that will be added to the game over time. The first map that will be available at launch is The Island, which has been remade from scratch with new landmarks, secrets, and challenges.

What’s the Status of ARK: Survival Ascended?

ARK Survival Ascended was announced on March 31, 2023, on survivetheark.com, and was originally planned to launch in July 2023 with The Island and Scorched Earth maps. However, on July 1st, the developers announced that they had decided to delay the launch of ASA to October 2023 due to the challenges of working with Unreal Engine 5. They also announced that they would separate the release date of The Island and Scorched Earth, with Scorched Earth coming in December 2023 and the rest of the maps following in 2024.

The developers have also stated that they will not support server transfers at the launch of ASA and that they will shut down the official network of ARK: Survival Evolved on September 30th. They have also promised to provide instructions on how players can access their saved files from ARK: Survival Evolved when they are available.

The developers have not shown any gameplay footage of ASA yet, but they have released some comparison screenshots between ARK: Survival Evolved and ASA, showing the difference in graphics quality and detail. They have also said that they plan to show gameplay close to the launch of ASA when it best represents the final product.

Why Should You Play ARK: Survival Ascended?

If you are a fan of ARK: Survival Evolved or dinosaur survival games in general, you should check out ASA when it launches. ASA is not just a prettier version of ARK: Survival Evolved; it is a whole new experience that will take you to a more realistic and immersive world of dinosaurs. You will be able to explore, craft, build, tame, breed, fight, and survive in a dynamic and interactive environment that will challenge you in new ways.

ARK Survival Ascended is also a fully cross-platform-moddable game ecosystem on consoles and PCs, which means that you will be able to play with your friends across different devices and platforms. You will also be able to customize your game with mods created by yourself or other players.

ARK Survival Ascended is an ambitious project that aims to deliver the ultimate dinosaur survival experience. It is still in development and may change further before it reaches its full release. However, if you are interested in playing ASA in its early access state, you can get instant access and start playing when it launches in October 2023. You can also follow the development updates on survivetheark.com or the official social media channels.