Preview: Arc Raiders Could Be the Definitive Extraction Shooter on PS5

Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter that demands your focus. It encourages you to observe your surroundings carefully and truly engage with its audio atmosphere, making it one of the most thrilling multiplayer games coming to PS5 this year.

We’ve been monitoring Arc Raiders since it was first unveiled in 2021. However, our excitement intensified when developer Embark Studios launched The Finals, a refreshing take on the first-person shooter genre.

You can explore this preview, along with gameplay footage of Arc Raiders, on our YouTube channel.

We’ve devoted over seven hours to the game on PC, getting acquainted with its gameplay dynamics, its progression systems, and the overall essence of its experience. While it felt like we only skimmed the surface, we relished every moment spent playing.

Arc Raiders presents a sprawling extraction shooter experience, featuring expansive maps, vendors offering quests, several Helldivers 2-style battle passes, a challenging skill tree, and an extensive crafting system that requires enhancements. We will delve into these elements, but let’s first establish Arc’s fundamental concept.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Arc Raiders portrays a scenario where humanity has retreated underground due to the Arc machines. Players, known as Raiders, venture to the surface of the Rust Belt to gather resources for the underground city of Speranza. The objective is simple: reach the surface, collect loot, and escape while confronting or evading AI Arc machines and other players.

If you’re acquainted with the extraction genre, this might sound familiar. It’s a formula we’ve seen in titles like Hunt: Showdown, Escape From Tarkov, and even Helldivers 2 — albeit without the PvP elements. However, Arc Raiders distinguishes itself with an exceptional audio and visual presentation.

Embracing a cassette-futurism style, Embark has crafted a visually stunning shooter, characterized by bright lighting, brutalist design, and eclectic sci-fi aesthetics reminiscent of Star Wars: A New Hope. There’s a palpable authenticity that captivated us about its environment, with each corridor, alley, or rooftop feeling vibrantly alive.

The maps exude a genuine atmosphere; we frequently recalled our initial explorations within the walls of the Cosmodrone in Destiny. It’s colossal and weathered, with its history palpable even in its structure.

A significant part of this immersion stems from the outstanding sound design, which is superbly crafted. The audio evokes a rawness, filled with echo and distortion, avoiding the polished Hollywood soundscapes typical in titles like Call of Duty, seamlessly blending with the aesthetic and making it one of the most immersive extraction shooters we’ve encountered.

Every engagement, movement, surface, and enemy produces a unique sound signature. We often found ourselves simply listening intently to become aware of nearby threats, whether it was the menacing hum of a close Arc drone or the rustling footsteps of rival Raiders.

This focus emphasizes the stealth components of the gameplay, with some of our favorite experiences revolving around our team quietly maneuvering and stalking unsuspecting foes, relying solely on sound. It bears a similarity to Hunt: Showdown in this regard.

This game excels at embedding crucial information in the environment rather than relying on HUD or menus. We are confident that with enough playtime, you could identify nearby Arc machines just by their distinct bleeps and bloops.

Gunfire, distress signals from defeated foes, extractions announced through speakers, and flashing lights. Not everything is overtly signposted, but it’s there if you know where to look, which showcases exceptional game design.

The game places the responsibility on players to familiarize themselves with its universe. Even after a few hours, our team became much more mindful of the sounds we generated and contemplated our paths more strategically. The contents of its maps, like locked doors and Arc-guarded loot, gradually unfold as you grow accustomed to the environment.

In this way, it leans towards a more hardcore experience, where supplies are scarce, and you cannot merely fire your way through all situations. We encountered scenarios where being detected by a single Arc machine triggered a cascade of misfortunes, surviving by mere luck and exhaling relief upon discovering a few precious SMG rounds or a solitary shield recharger. Teaming up with other groups of Raiders is also an option.

The third-person mechanics are responsive and fluid, though completely influenced by your stamina and weight limits during the initial hours. Each weapon offers a unique sensation, especially through the DualSense controller, which we utilized for our preview sessions. The game is well-optimized for gamepads, but loot management feels more intuitive with a mouse and keyboard.

With dwindling resources, taking cover and making every shot intentional becomes crucial. Engagements can often resemble a dance, as you seek cover while trying to gain the upper hand. We especially appreciate a smooth video game slide, and Arc Raiders delivers on that front. Excellent work.

It’s also very easy to fail, whether due to Arc machines or…

In contrast to other competitors, we faced more defeats than victories in extractions. This is the duality of the extraction genre, and if you have an interest in Arc Raiders, you likely understand whether that punishing gameplay loop appeals to you or not.

Extraction in Arc Raiders is undeniably crucial. Successfully extracting not only enriches your vault with loot for future endeavors but also earns you XP and the in-game currency. Gaining XP enables you to level up and allocate skill points into the Mobility, Conditioning, and Survival skill trees — which enhance stamina, mounting speeds, loot revealing capabilities, and so forth.

You can use currency to acquire equipment from different vendors. Additionally, you can sell your loot to these vendors to accumulate currency, and complete quests for extra XP and currency. However, resources can be exceedingly costly at vendors, which is where crafting becomes essential.

Collecting various materials is vital to the crafting system in the game. Beginning with a basic crafting bench, you’ll need materials to create specific crafting stations and subsequently upgrade them. This enables you to manufacture higher-tier items, such as ammunition, healing supplies, and weapon add-ons.

A significant portion of this hinges on your ability to successfully extract, which, as we mentioned, isn’t always achievable. Nevertheless, Arc Raiders incorporates features to prevent players from feeling stuck.

To begin with, you will still earn XP from unsuccessful extractions, albeit much less than if you managed to escape. Upon returning to Speranza, you’ll receive a regular assortment of basic materials from your crafting bench inventory (yes, inventory), so you should be able to produce some items.

If you lack weapons, you can still embark on a run with a complimentary loadout, which is randomized with various low-tier weapons and gear in the game. Surviving with one of these can be challenging, however, and that’s when stealth re-emerges as a key factor. There are also secure slots, meaning even if you perish, you’ll still extract with items contained within them.

While we appreciate many aspects of this game, we find the cosmetic customization somewhat disappointing in Arc Raiders. This may stem from our extensive hours in The Finals — a game known for its exceptional cosmetic options in the multiplayer arena. Every skin you unlock via the battle pass in The Finals is categorized by tops, trousers, hats, glasses, gloves, and footwear, allowing for combinations with other unlocked items.

In Arc Raiders, however, the battle passes, purchasable through in-game currency, contain complete outfits. Each outfit has minor tweaks, such as the option to wear the headpiece or not, but the only other cosmetic items you can mix and match are the backpacks. Don’t misunderstand, the designs are impressive, but it feels like a regression compared to Embark’s earlier title.

Arc Raiders is a title we eagerly anticipate exploring further. We’re keen to delve deeper into its progression systems to determine their true value, but it’s reassuring to know it offers reasons for grinding beyond just loot. Ultimately, the standout feature is the immersive field experience.

This game provides a cinematic journey. Gunfights are intense and strategic, stealth is captivating, and the audiovisual experience is top-notch. There’s a unique sense to each game that turned every session into its own narrative, which is essential for a remarkable multiplayer experience. We’re just curious about its performance on PS5 — but we believe Embark is set to deliver another successful title here.

Is Arc Raiders on your radar? Assemble a team and attempt to extract from the comments section below.