Ark: Survival Evolved on Switch is cut back to the absolute barebones

DF: "Ark Survival Evolved is noted for its super-high system requirements and choppy gameplay on the current generation consoles - but a Switch version? Just how is that going to pan out - especially in mobile form? Let's just say that it's very poor in many respects, but surprisingly better than expected in others."

[EddieNX]

Terrible lazy mess from crap Devs. I got ark on the Xbox one when it first launched and it was practically unplayable .

If you're not going to do it properly, then don't do it all. Some of the third party switch conversions have been amazing so there is no excuse.

[Nyxus]

It's true that the game runs bad on any console, but people should also just accept that not every game can be ported to Switch. This is an example of a game that shouldn't have been ported, just a bad idea.

[EddieNX]

I believe it could of been ported to aucb higher standard than this though. I mean we have evidence of third party games running well on the system. So if they're not going to put the effort in, don't do it all.

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

@Eddie If you are okay with it looking like Minecraft

[Shiken]

More demanding games have come to Switch with better results. No one is sauing all games can come to Switch, but if you think this games is one if them you clearly have no clue what uou are talking about.

[porkChop]

If Ark itself had been optimized at all from the get go, a Switch version would have been doable with better results than this. But Ark runs like crap on everything because the devs literally don't care. Porting a game that already runs like ass was stupid, but this isn't really a fault of the hardware.

RDR2? Sure, that can't run on Switch. Hitman 2 with its crowd simulation? That ain't running on a mobile SOC. But Ark? Nothing about the game is particularly crazy in scope. It should be able to run smoothly on any modern system. This is absolutely a case of laziness or incompetence, and that goes for all versions of Ark.

[Vegamyster]

Shiken

The game doesn't run good on any platform, it's a technical mess & one that should have avoided the platform, they should not be charging $50 for this.

[Shiken]

@vega

That is my point. The power of the console has nothing to do with it.

[DaDrunkenJester]

@Shiken

How does the power of the machine have nothing to do with it? Yes, the game is poorly optimized, but it certainly isn't running 170p on the other consoles...

[Shiken]

@Jester

Where did I say it had to run the same as other consoles? That is the trade off for portability. Also if it had been developed properly, the resolution would not be THAT low lol. I have a PS4 Pro yet I still got Wolfenstein on Switch instead because I otherwise did not have time to invest in that particular game. In no way did I ever feel like I was not getting the full experience.

ARK on Switch however I would not toich with a stolen 10 ft pole...but then again the game sucks so bad IMO that I can't say I would invest in the other versions either.

[nyu1]

"Some of the third party switch conversions have been amazing"

Were any of them comparable to Ark though ? There's a lot going on in Ark. It's not like Doom or Wolfenstein which is small levels with a lot of static geometry and lighting.

Ark is prettymuch your worst case scenario for performance in games. Open world, fully dynamic, quite a bit of simulation going on, lots of vegetation etc. I'm not saying it couldn't be better optimized or that the port couldn't have been better, but to me it seems like this game shouldn't have been ported, like Nyxus commented.

[Relientk77]

What a terrible port, wow.

[OMGitzThatGuy]

And somehow people expect something different is gonna happen when this trash ass team releases Atlas.

[conanlifts]

30fps with dips @216p in portable, that's different.

[DaDrunkenJester]

I remember playing on the super Nintendo.

[ChasingTheSun]

216p in portable LUL. In before the switch defense force.

[gravedigger]

304x170p

https://youtu.be/O6kN73Puyg...

DOCKED

[Profchaos]

Well has ark ever had a smooth launch on anything

[Chexs1990]

Is Ark even smooth on anything now?

[Deeeeznuuuts]

Shouldn't have been made for the switch, end of, it just can take run it

[Sgt_Slaughter]

For those piling on the Switch, yes, it has its limits (of course it does, it's a console that can be portable). This is more on the developer, though. These people have no idea how to optimize for any system, and now they're going to try and make another game at the same time? It'll be a trainwreck.

Give this game to Panic Button, and I bet they could make it run smoothly in each mode in way less time. Blaming the system directs the blame to the wrong party, and the devs won't fix it. This honestly should have never been approved for release by anyone.

[ChasingTheSun]

Its a portable that nintendo tries to pass off as a home console, every game i played on switch on the big screen comes off washed out and tons of jaggies. as decent as warframe, doom, look they still run below 30fps with bad textures,

[porkChop]

None of my games look washed out at all. I properly calibrated my TV myself, and my TV supports full RGB. None of my systems or games look washed out unless that's the actual art style of the game.

[michellelynn0976]

It's a home console. You don't get the last word on what the Switch is. I play lots of Switch games with no jaggies. XC2, Octopath, Bayo2, MO, MR, Pokken, Let's Go and Smash.

[ChasingTheSun]

Its better because its portable/s

[King_Noctis]

A game has to run good and play good first in order to be better in portable.

[michellelynn0976]

It's a hybrid.

[slavish0]

And now they are making atlas 😂.

[psuedo]

They need to fix the rubber banding for PS4. Every thing else I can deal with. Played PC games on a crappy PC before. Is their rubber banding on the Xbox?

[Nomes1]

This game is horrible gay hard I feel like should not Evan come out on ps4

[Sirk7x]

Tried playing on base Xbox One, and the frame rate gets so choppy that it's dizzying to look at. Not a very well optimized game.

[chris235]

what an abomination

[Elwenil]

"By ARK standards..." Lol, that is funny as hell. I play ARK on PC with most of the graphics maxed out and I feel like I am going blind looking at the Switch version. It's like putting on glasses smeared with bacon grease and trying to see though that. Not that the PC version runs great, but it does look a lot better. It's not a fair comparison, but one that needs to be made.

The loading times have always been an issue with ARK, even on PC. I typically play on a private server or single player on a local server and loading a local map can take forever from a cold boot. If I am swapping mods in and out and returning back to the menu without exiting the game, it will load in much quicker, but every load from the start takes a lot longer than just about any modern game. On PS4 it's much worse.

Wildcard has been blasted for the performance and poor optimization of ARK ever since it came out and in the past their method of dealing with this was banning the complainer from their Twitch streams and their forums, ignoring them on Twitter and the like. Lately they have been a bit better about it, but then again, ARK has improved a lot. It's just too bad it took 3 years to get to this point, which is still below par for a AAA game, in my opinion.

It's a pity, because ARK does offer gameplay you can't get anywhere else. I play it, even with all the bugs, crashes and random nonsense, simply because in this particular little niche, it's the only thing going. It has the potential to be so much more than it is, but it's held back by a lot of clunky mechanics, poor decisions and overall bad optimization. I fear for their new game, Atlas, because there have been a fair amount of decent quality multiplayer pirate games, so if they go down the same half-assed road they went with ARK, it's not going to end well.

[CaptainObvious878]

I could have really enjoyed ARK, but the taming time is beyond a joke.

Spend a couple hours or more taming a t-rex, try to get it to your base without getting eaten by other dinoes, then a lvl 250 griefer swoops in and one shots it...

When it takes that fking long to tame a dino, it should not be able to be lost in 2 seconds.

The only local servers are official servers.

[wheatley]

This looks like absolute shit. Why even bother...?

[Neonridr]

no surprise there. It was a buggy, unoptimized mess on the other consoles. Did we expect the Switch version to be better?

[lellkay]

Jesus christ its absolutely terrible.

[Blu3_Berry]

This is one game that simply should not even be on the switch. It's a complete utter blurry mess. How did Nintendo even allow this game on their console in the first place?

[jznrpg]

Not surprising . The Switch hardware is not very powerful and to try and make games made for higher specs isn’t easy. It’s not going to get better

[Donnie81]

The switch is a terrible home console. I know it’s a handheld but it’s also sold and marketed as a home console. The Xbox one was lambasted for not doing 1080 p all the time but the switch gets a pass when it can’t even really do 720p on the reg. I don’t even bother docking my switch because it’s a joke. I’m not hating on Nintendo I just think they could have did much better with a 9th gen system

[Nintendog]

I could watch this with drunk goggles and it would still look the same!

[windblowsagain]

The mobile version should have gone to switch.

[Protagonist]

"Ark Survival Evolved on Switch: Triumph or Tragedy?"

Mmm safe to say it looks like a tragedy. Lets face it the switch can´t run high end games.

[MetroidFREAK21]

Jesus, this is horrendous. Glad I cancelled my pre-order last second... they should be ashamed of this monstrosity

[Glak18]

That's what you get for trying to port a game to a mobile platform like the Switch.

[UltimateOwnage]

I’ve been enjoying the switch version. The gameplay is fully intact, the graphics are good to very good at times if you’re not offended by them being a bit softer. It plays well, which is saying something becuase it never ran good on most PC configs or other platforms. It’s ambitious, and they somehow made it work on a handheld. I’m pretty satisfied.

[Soybetaboy]

No one is surprised