There are few games that capture the essence of playing online with strangers. Helldivers 2 recruited players for a common goal, and the more recent Battlefield 6 emphasized the importance of squads in a squad-based online shooter. Free-to-play battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG have attracted huge player bases with their ever-changing offerings. But attracting players in a saturated field requires more than a few checklist features.
Arc Raiders, Embark Studios’ upcoming third-person extraction shooter, stands out by combining some of the genre’s best ideas with an online experience that’s hard to pin down. The developer held an open playtest server slam for the game on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X from October 17th to 19th, opening up limited game features to all players. The game test on Steam alone has nearly 200,000 simultaneous players. I poured a few hours into an extraction shooter over the weekend, but came out wanting more.
The small portion of Arc Raiders I experienced reminded me of some of the best multiplayer experiences I’ve had in recent years. It also embodies the same multiplayer magic of Helldivers 2, where the game allows players to find their own experiences online rather than crafting them for them. Arc Raiders are what you make them. It’s an extraction shooter where you scavenge for supplies, find what you’re looking for, and then evacuate. This is a multiplayer shooter where you play against other players in search of valuable items. This is a compelling post-apocalyptic survival game where you join other attackers against deadly robots.
“Arc Raiders” is a PvPvE extraction shooter set in a future Earth where civilization has gradually declined after robots took over the Earth. Humanity has gone underground, living in cities buried deep beneath the earth’s surface. You play as a raider who is tasked with traveling to the upper levels and scavenging for necessary resources. Every time you travel to the surface, you’re likely to encounter killer robots and other attackers. You have 30 minutes to search the map for items that can help you craft or upgrade weapons, equipment, and medicines, then return to the dungeon of Speranza with your loot.
However, like other extraction shooters, you lose your inventory if you die on the ground. There are many ways to die on the surface, from deadly drones and giant spider robots to other online players. The Server Slam playtest features one of the five maps available when Arc Raiders launches on October 30th. But it’s enough to give us a taste of something bigger. Each time you travel to the surface, you can accept quests from Speranza merchants, asking you to find specific items and resources on the surface.
Loot as much as you can and leave
Photo Credit: Embark Studios/Screenshot – Manas Mitul
You can form a team of three or two, or go it alone, scanning the map for points of interest containing loot and traversing dangerous terrain against other players and bots. Where things get interesting, however, is your interactions with other teams on the ground looking for loot. While the PvP part means you can defeat other players and steal their loot for yourself, the game almost encourages you to avoid confrontation and work with them to mutual benefit. In addition to close range voice chat, you can also choose to broadcast emotes like “Don’t shoot” and “Team up” to other players near you. While not everyone will choose the path of nonviolence and cooperation, many will.
I met a few players online who were willing to work together to find and trade loot and get out of Hell before time ran out. I also participated in some PvP shootouts that were interrupted by Arc bots, forcing players to pause shooting each other and instead shoot at a common enemy. Moments like these elevate Arc Raiders above standard extraction shooters and multiplayer shooters in general. Every player interacts with the game world differently, and if you stumble upon someone who is as willing to interact with the game as you are, it can be a very rewarding experience.
Stick with your team, or find a new one
Photo Credit: Embark Studios/Screenshot – Manas Mitul
It helps that Arc Raiders’ fundamentals are solid, even if they’re not without flaws. Perhaps its greatest strength is the immersion and intensity of the upper level. Sound design is at the heart of this immersion. Every bullet fired will ring and echo across the map, and every metal container you open will scream. Other players can easily hear you engaging the Dronebot and may run to your location. The animation across the board is also convincing. Embark Studios has included a ton of detail in even the simplest of player actions, whether you’re sprinting or jumping over obstacles.
The atmosphere at the top is also very depressing. Arc Raiders is also one of the most intense multiplayer experiences I’ve had in a while. Every encounter, whether with other online players or with AI-controlled Arc bots, can be deadly, and you could end up losing all your hard-earned loot. Survival is satisfying when you return to Speranza with limbs and loot intact. The map is dotted with locations where you can call an elevator or train to take you back underground. As the 30-minute timer counts down, the number of infiltration points on the map will decrease. Therefore, the longer you stay on the surface looking for more loot, the more likely you are to encounter other players looking to evacuate.
Every encounter in Arc Raiders is tense and potentially deadly
Image source: Embark Studios
Above-ground gameplay is supported by underground trade and upgrade cycles. Different levels of loot have different values for traders – the rarer, the better. Components you find on the surface can also help you craft the gear you need to launch a raid. You’ll die a few times, and each time you die, you’ll lose your weapons, ammo, health packs, shield chargers, and all other inventory items. Therefore, it is necessary to complete a few successful runs and bring back crafting materials so that you have at least a gun in your backpack the next time you set out.
You can also buy weapons, ammunition, and other gear from Speranza merchants, but you’ll have to bring back high-value items that can be sold for cash to build your shopping habit. Across multiple runs, you can also level up and upgrade your character by investing points in three separate skill tree feats that affect your conditioning, survival skills, and athleticism. Arc Raiders also lets you install more workbenches to unlock various gear upgrades and enable wider crafting, but most of them weren’t available during the weekend’s Server Slam playtest.
You can exchange your loot for better equipment at the merchants in Speranza
Photo Credit: Embark Studios/Screenshot – Manas Mitul
Arc Raiders’ complex gameplay loop of underground upgrades, above-ground exploration, and combat keeps motivating me to play another game, even though I’m not a big fan of extraction shooters—I’ve never played Escape from Tarkov. It reminds me of the tense risk and reward systems of early battle royale games. Extraction shooters remain a niche and somewhat hardcore niche for casual players, but Arc Raiders seems to have the potential to be an accessible and fun entry point for those new to the genre.
The Server Slam playtest did raise some concerns about the game. Arc Raiders’ character customization is rather superficial, especially for an online shooter. Server Slam also doesn’t offer dedicated queues for two- and three-person squads, but that can be easily added when the full game launches on October 30. While the playtest only showed off a limited early portion of the game, with only one map, Arc Raiders’ progression system seems limited. The full game will definitely bring a larger quest line, but it remains to be seen how it will expand beyond Trader’s fetch quests, which is largely the case during Server Slam.
Arc Raiders’ Server Slam Only Includes Limited Early Game Part
Image source: Embark Studios
However, playtesting established Arc Raider’s visual credentials. The game is built using Unreal Engine 5 but runs very well on PC. We tested the game on a device provided by CyberpowerPC India, equipped with a 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13400F processor, 16GB DDR5 RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, and a 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD (PCIe Gen4). At “Epic” settings at 2K resolution and DLSS frame generation, I easily averaged over 80fps. Lowering the graphics preset to “High” consistently returns over 100 fps.
The environments in Arc Raiders are atmospheric and ominous. Abandoned outposts and facilities, overgrown vegetation, and desolate landscapes evoke a convincing post-apocalyptic setting that is immersive, tense, and enjoyable. Server Slam only comes with one map – Dam Battlefield – while the other four maps at launch will add much-needed visual variety. The character models also look detailed, but desperately need more options in terms of customization and appearance.
Arc Raiders has a convincing post-apocalyptic setting
Photo Credit: Embark Studios/Screenshot – Manas Mitul
This playtest was an impressive preview of the game, and I’m now looking forward to playing it when it releases on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X on October 30th. With its strong gameplay loop, intense online matches, and rewarding player interaction, Arc Raiders could be the next big online shooter. It could also provide much-needed assistance in evacuating shooters. The genre is largely dominated by one game whose punishing mechanics put off mainstream audiences. If Arc Raiders plays its cards right, it could change that.
