Craig from Studio Wildcard here, and I’m super excited to be talking about Ark: Genesis Part 1, our newest expansion to Ark: Survival Evolved. We’re adding a whole bunch of new gameplay elements, and giving each survivor their own personal companion: AI construct HLN-A.
We’re always exploring different ways to convey the story of the Ark universe and we think HLN-A is a great step in a new direction. The fantastically talented Amber Lee Connors reprises her role (sort of) as Helena and brings her wonderful charisma and snark to the role. She acts as a vessel for us to deliver story more directly to the player and as the catalyst for the all-new mission system. HLN-A stays with survivors every step of the way, helping them explore the new biomes and guiding them through missions with cheeky hints.
Speaking of missions, these are new ways for survivors to experience the Ark universe. In addition to the traditional Ark gameplay, missions give players a way to experience Ark in a more directed and objective-focused way. No spoilers on what those missions are, though. You’ll find them in the Genesis simulation.
Ok, one spoiler… my personal favorites are probably the races. They may not be the truest test of a survivor’s Ark skills, but the dev team’s races got pretty heated whenever we played them, and there were more than a few rematches demanded.
It’s not just the gameplay that we’re pushing the boundaries on. The creatures found in the Genesis simulation are like nothing survivors have seen before. I have a soft spot for the Spooder, I mean BogStrider… I mean Bloodstalker. We have like 30 names for it (good luck finding out how to unlock them!). Most of the new creatures bring something crazy and new to the game, from the Bloodstalker’s ability to webswing across terrain to the Space Whale’s warp jump.
All these abilities will help survivors explore the crazy new environments in Ark: Genesis Part 1. Because the Genesis simulation is supposed to prepare survivors for the most extreme possibilities, each biome is incredibly different from the others, and requires considerable preparation. The Arctic and Swamp biomes ease players into this, and the Volcanic and Ocean biomes really start testing survivors. By the time survivors make it to the Lunar environment, they must deal with radiation, lower gravity, and an almost complete lack of food and water!
As much as I’d love to talk about where the Ark story is going, I have a bad habit of dropping spoilers. Nobody wants that, but what I can say is that once you finally get to the end of ARK: Genesis – Part 1, you won’t be able to wait for the next chapter!
ARK: Genesis Season Pass
Studio Wildcard
☆☆☆☆☆152
★★★★★
Continue your quest for ultimate survival and unlock a whole new chapter in the saga of ARK: Survival Evolved with the ARK: Genesis Season Pass! This Season Pass gives you access to two new huge expansion packs, and one exclusive in-game robotic AI companion called ‘HLN-A’. In ARK: Genesis, further the ARK storyline while adventuring through exotic new worlds with all-new mission-based gameplay. Discover, utilize and master new creatures, new craftable items, weapons, and structures unlike anything you have seen yet! The Genesis Season Pass includes: – ARK: Genesis Part 1 (available February 2020) – ARK: Genesis Part 2 (available Winter 2020) – Exclusive HLN-A cosmetic pet (available right now!) The massive “ARK: Genesis Part 1” expansion includes: Waking up within a virtual simulation, you must survive in a world unlike anything you’ve seen before! ARK: Genesis represents a new, story-oriented beginning in ARK’s epic saga of survival. With a strangely familiar companion, you must overcome the simulation’s rigorous tests. Only by fighting, building, taming, and exploring will you uncover the secrets behind this forbidding place. CONQUER EVERY MISSION A holographic guide to the simulation, HLN-A, offers a wide array of missions at varying difficulty levels, for you to tackle at your own pace — everything from gunning down waves of enemies with the aid of power-ups, escorting vulnerable baby creatures to their parents, tracking and hunting down powerful bosses, competing in Dino Races, even playing a round of Dodo-Basketball, and much more. The simulation itself isn’t perfect, so you can earn extra credit (and experience) by fixing the glitches scattered all throughout the world. Completing missions earns you Hexagons, which you can spend for extra resources, TEK items, travel between environments, and more. EXPLORE LETHAL LANDSCAPES ARK: Genesis features beautiful biomes ripe for exploration — but they all want you dead. The simulator tests your mettle across fetid alien bogs, deep undersea trenches, frigid mountain peaks, dangerous volcanic hellscapes… and even the wild low-gravity surface of an alien moon. Conquering each area requires preparation, smarts, and the ability to improvise so that when a volcano rains fire from the sky, an avalanche buries you, or a whirlpool pulls you into the briny deep, you’re ready to meet the challenge! HUNT AND TAME NEW CREATURES The environments may be dangerous, but they’re nothing compared to the new creatures who call ARK: Genesis home: web-spinning spiderlike beasts, cute-but-deadly shapeshifters, sea turtles the size of islands, and lava lizards that act as living forges. Plus, who doesn’t want to fly around on an immense hyperspace-capable space whale? Master the simulation, and you can test yourself against a mysterious new boss… the likes of which ARK has never seen before. GEAR UP AND BUILD UP As you brave the many dangers of ARK: Genesis, take some time to craft new gear. Wield weapons like combo-capable plasma claws and remote-guided cruise missiles. Make tools from fishing nets to mining drills, or new vehicles such as hover-skiffs. Build interactive structural elements such as pressure plates, alarm systems, jump pads, ocean platforms and more. Whether you’re a go-it-alone survivalist, a weapon-making warmonger, or a base-building architect, this expansion has a crafting project suited for you. WILL YOU PASS THE TEST? ARK: Genesis takes your story in an all-new direction — and your skill determines your success. Everything is turned up to the highest setting: the challenges, the dangers…and the vast rewards. Only the toughest and smartest survivors will pass all of the simulation’s many tests. Will you be one of them?
