Studio Wildcard’s ARK Survival Evolved might not be the best fit for VR. That’s probably why Ark Park exists.
This spin-off of the popular survival game is on the way to the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR (PSVR) later this year. This week, Wildcard and Ark Park developer Snail Games posted the first look at gameplay for the title, played on the Vive, shot in mixed reality (though released a little too soon to take advantage of Google’s new face-rendering software) and complete with comments from the developer.
As the name suggests, Ark Park is a mix of the original game, in which players would build bases and tame dinosaurs, and Jurassic Park, resulting in an experience that removes the survival action and lets you get up close and personal with the long lost beasts. At one point in the trailer we even see a player riding in a buggy to approach some creatures. It’s safe to say the game wears its inspirations on its sleeves, then.
Based on the footage, the game looks impressive from a visual perspective, perhaps even more so than the original game it’s based off of. It promises a mix of the scary and sensational; at one point we see a massive t-rex lumber past one of the developers, before the trailer cuts to another player feeding dodos. The game will let you lean about each of these creatures at a central hub where you can also view holograms of them.
It’s not just an educational experience, though. You’ll have to capture some dinosaurs using items and weapons, and there will be puzzles to solve too. Exactly how much content is on offer remains to be seen, but we’re hoping for a meaty experience out of this one.
A full release date for Ark Park hasn’t been set yet but we’ll let you know as soon as we have one.
