PixArk

In its current state, PixARK on the Switch is a poorly optimized, unenjoyable, and otherwise weak approximation of the Minecraft experience that in no way delivers value equivalent to the money you’re paying for it.

A few months back I picked up Ark Survival Evolved on the Nintendo Switch. Before I could even pop the cartridge into my Switch, my twitter feed was flooded with posts on how awful the game was… and how poorly it was ported. I had already bought it at this point and wasn’t to be deterred by the posts. One of the things that drew me to this title was the ability to tame and ride dinosaurs, which I found such an exciting mechanic.

AWFUL - PixARK is a Minecraft clone that should be avoided. This game offers a lot of content that is tedious to play through. Everything that should be a simple feature is made far more complex than it needs to be. When just walking around feels like a chore, then you know you’re in for a bad time. This feels like an unpolished early access experience and not a finished $40 game.

Whether you are a fan of Ark, voxel-based construction games, or survival games in general, you will find something to hate about PixARK. A wild mess of a game, PixARK is one of the most off-putting experiences on PlayStation 4. Avoiding PixARK is imperative.

PixARK is a really poor Minecraft clone, and that's it.

I understand the interest in placing a game like this on the market, but it just seems too rushed and not really necessary.

PixARK realises a lot of things in a good way, some even better than ARK: Survival Evolved. Even, if the basic gameplay is nearly the same, the characters in PixARK are far more likable, atmosphere and soundtrack are more intense and the pixel-optic creates surprisingly detailed dinosaurs. Furthermore, PixARK deliveres some quests, that open the monotonous gameplay-routine at least a little bit.

PixARK is a very complicated game that allows almost complete freedom, but at a cost.

Unfortunately what I got was a bit of hit and miss, where some aspects of the game are great, some are not so great and others just left me scratching my head. Let me just say that PixArk has the potential to be a great game, it just needs a bit more time in the oven.

ARK mixed with Minecraft. It need better performance.