ARC Raiders

Almost never review games, but this one deserves a review. I know the developers are kind of hesitant about making the game PvE because they originally sold it as a PvPvE experience. But, to be honest, I played for almost an entire month when the game was released, and the main reason I stopped playing was the campers and the really bad experiences that came with them. I would spend hours farming, fighting, and preparing just to take down a big ARC, only for some guy with a free loadout to take everything from me—or, more often than not, kill me while I was extracting. I also remember reading for months about the really bad hacker problem the game was dealing with. I never personally played during that period, so I can't speak from experience about how bad it actually was, but seeing all the reports and discussions about hackers definitely made the situation look even worse. I get it. PvP is part of the experience, and for some people, that's what makes the game fun. At first, I was like that too. I think that's how most people feel when a cool and innovative game like ARC Raiders first comes out. There's something exciting about the constant risk of losing everything and getting into fights with other players. But at some point, I realized that wasn't what I wanted anymore. I just wanted to experience the game for what I personally found most enjoyable: fighting ARCs, exploring the world, completing quests, and enjoying the vibrant world that Embark Studios created—a world that, in some aspects, feels more alive than our own. I actually downloaded the game again after deleting it many months ago, simply because they announced a PvE experience test that will last for a week. They have said that it isn't a permanent update, but honestly, all I want to say is that, for that week, I'm going back to dust off my Raider gear and spend as much time as I can killing ARCs and enjoying the world without having to worry about another player waiting around the corner. Whatever happens after that week, I'm just glad I get to experience ARC Raiders this way again, even if it's only temporary.