Arc Raiders Made Me Feel Like The Main Character

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I love those moments in open-world games where something unexpected feels perfectly planned – when a random event plays out like a carefully designed scene. Games like State of Decay, Sea of Thieves, and PUBG do this really well. I recently played Arc Raiders for four hours and it seems like it has that same special quality – those surprising moments that feel both natural and intentional.

Arc Raiders is a type of game called an extraction shooter. What’s interesting about this genre is how diverse it’s become, especially compared to battle royale games like Fortnite, Warzone, and PUBG. Those games all feel pretty similar under the surface, but extraction shooters like Wildgate, Hunt: Showdown, and Escape from Tarkov are all quite different from each other. They all create a constant tension for players: do you risk everything for better loot, or play it safe and escape with what you have? It’s a decision based on instinct and feeling, more than careful planning.

Most extraction shooters understand how to create a feeling of risk, but Arc Raiders stood out. Its art style, sound design, and well-timed gameplay made even my failures feel meaningful. When I died quickly at the start, it felt like I was just a nameless enemy, existing to give other players a challenge. However, when my team and I successfully completed missions lasting over 20 minutes, those felt like our victories – we were the heroes of the story.

The game creates compelling stories through its mix of player-versus-player and player-versus-environment combat. The world, set after a climate disaster and AI uprising, is patrolled by various robots. I encountered everything from huge, imposing walkers – similar to the AT-ATs from Star Wars – to small, fast drones. These drones weren’t armed themselves, but could quickly summon three heavily armed reinforcements.

Man, those robots felt straight out of a sci-fi novel! My teammate, Tom Caswell, and I were constantly having to duck and weave, rolling for cover or sprinting through windows just to avoid their patrols – it felt like we were sneaking around an enemy base! We’d risk long, exposed treks across the desert, always worried about snipers, only to finally reach a potential loot spot and find it had already been cleaned out. With our time running out and nowhere to go, we’d have to head back into the scorching heat, knowing more enemies were probably lurking nearby. It was intense!

The game often felt like we were living through a classic adventure story, constantly facing challenges and tests. One time, while just chatting, we were suddenly attacked by three enemies in a surprisingly coordinated ambush. It felt like a movie scene where the heroes briefly relax only to be thrown into a tough fight – we barely escaped with our lives, let alone any useful gear like better weapons or tools. Each of these moments on its own wasn’t a big deal, but the way they happened repeatedly throughout the game made Arc Raiders incredibly memorable. It felt like we were building a story of both our successes and failures with every encounter.

I’ve intentionally compared this game to Star Wars because its mix of advanced robots and a rugged, pilot-focused style feels like a more realistic take on that universe. It doesn’t have Jedi or lightsabers, but it shares a lot with shows like Rogue One or Andor. Players control characters who are resourceful and underpowered, relying on their determination to get by. They’re quick and agile, but need time to recover, emphasizing their human vulnerability. Combat feels like a constant struggle for survival, where you strike quickly and retreat when things get too dangerous.

Quick calculations during player battles are challenging because everyone plays differently, making situations more complex. Luckily, the game’s sound design is fantastic and really helps – I can often avoid fights or surprise opponents thanks to what I hear. Created by a team with experience from the Battlefield series, it’s no surprise this is already considered one of the best-sounding games available. Distant gunfire, nearby loot, and the sound of enemies sneaking up all feel incredibly realistic and detailed.

When I play Battlefield, I’m always struck by how amazing the sound design is – no other multiplayer game quite compares. Arc Raiders might not have as much constant action, but it’s just as good at using sound to help you make smart choices during fights or while moving around. The optional voice chat – and it’s really easy to turn on and off, even on consoles, which is great – makes every interaction even better. You’ll constantly be wondering if the players you meet are going to be helpful, dangerous, or untrustworthy, and that sense of mystery is a big part of what makes the game so engaging, at least based on my first four hours playing.

According to executive producer Aleksander Grondal, we’re creating the environment and giving players the resources they need, along with objectives to work towards. However, we’re not dictating how they achieve those goals. The game is designed to be flexible. If you enjoy socializing and making friends, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so, like using voice chat to introduce yourself. But if you prefer to avoid other players or focus on action-packed gameplay, that’s perfectly viable too. Ultimately, we want to empower players to experience the game in a way that suits them.

I realized that, in principle, players could choose to cooperate and focus solely on battling the ARC robots if everyone agreed to stop fighting each other. However, the game feels like a fascinating, but potentially frustrating, test of how people interact. Someone will inevitably disrupt the peace and ruin the cooperative experience for others. As Grondal put it, “It really makes you think about human nature, doesn’t it?”

The preview version of Arc Raiders went offline permanently just three minutes after our demo ended, but the full game will be available to everyone on October 30th. I didn’t know much about Arc Raiders going in, but after playing for four hours, I had a great time – I felt like I’d been through a real battle and I’m already excited to play again when the game launches.

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2025-10-29 18:43