Everyone at Studio Wildcard is super stoked to finally get Ark’s second massive expansion pack, Ark: Aberration, into player’s hands tomorrow December 12.
This new world puts players on a malfunctioning Ark drifting in space, with a harsh sun-baked radioactive surface, and a massive internal underground network encompassing varied biomes and fantastical creatures.
A large stockpile of new items gives players powerful new options for traversing environments, such as wingsuits, zip lines, and climbing picks. And across Aberration, fantastical new creatures such as Rock Drakes and Basilisks make their home among the ruins of damaged Ark technology.
While unique environmental hazards including earthquakes, radiation sickness, and dangerous flora pose new challenges, an ever-present concern is the infestation of the Nameless. These mutated humanoids dig their way out of the porous ground and are relentless unless held at bay with Charge Energy — which survivors can store in battery packs and emit via powerful blasters or organic Lantern Pets. But perhaps the greatest threat comes from the Reapers, massive alien monstrosities which can impregnate foes to spawn offspring, and their horrifying master lurking in the deepest depths of Aberration.
Clearly, Ark: Aberration is a different kind of experience. This new expansion presents more mythos and world-building that we’ve done in the past, including its ending sequence which directly points the way to Ark’s future.
Aberration’s theme is more of a “hard sci-fi fantasy” than the Earth-like jungles and grasslands of The Island. And we think that’s fun, because a key goal for the dev team at Wildcard is to keep players on their toes. With each of Ark’s expansions, the intent is not simply “more content”, but also, “different content.”
Ever since we first conceived of Ark, we knew its universe was about more than simply living with Dinosaurs and extinct creatures. In a grander sense, Ark is about what it means to be a true survivor, as an individual, and as a species — and how far humanity might be willing to go to secure its ultimate future among the cosmos. These sci-fi elements, which you’ve probably noticed if you’ve progressed deep into Ark: Survival Evolved, is brought to the forefront in Aberration. We’re excited to see what players make of some of the crazy surprises we have in store for them, tomorrow in Aberration, and beyond!
And if you’re not interested in high-minded philosophical pretensions, you can always just tame a trusty Rock Drake, cloak yourself upon a wall, and pounce onto some unsuspecting noob as they take their first steps onto this new Ark. Welcome to Aberration, survivors!
See the rest of the story on Xbox Wire
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