Is 'Arc Raiders' worth buying? I played the new extraction shooter to find out.
The latest game capturing the imagination of the gaming community — and bleeding into wider gaming culture — is Arc Raiders. The newly released multiplayer extraction shooter from Embark Studios, the team behind the slick and chaotic The Finals, has seemingly struck gold with Arc Raiders despite the game living in one of the most niche corners of the shooter genre.
Boasting more than 300,000 players in its opening week, Arc Raiders warrants some context. It’s a PvPvE extraction shooter — a format popularized by Escape from Tarkov — and, traditionally, not exactly friendly to casual players. Yet somehow, Embark has pulled off something rare: a game that’s visually stunning, mechanically tight, and challenging without feeling punishing. It’s approachable, but not watered down.
So whether you’re a dad of two trying to make the most of a few hard-earned hours, or a solo gamer looking for one title worth your time and money, here’s the rundown on whether Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders deserves a spot in your library.
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What is Arc Raiders?
Arc Raiders is the latest release from Embark Studios — a third-person extraction shooter set in a post-apocalyptic version of Italy. Humanity has been driven underground after a mysterious AI force and its mechanical army, known as the “ARC,” took control of the surface. In the underground settlement of Speranza, brave scavengers known as “Raiders” venture topside in search of resources to trade, craft, and sell — all in an effort to keep their fragile community alive.
That’s the core setup, and it’s really all you need to know before diving in. As an extraction shooter, each session gives players a limited window — around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how far into the waves you go — to scavenge as much as possible before extracting. Simple enough, except the surface isn’t exactly welcoming. ARC robots roam the landscape in a variety of deadly forms: flying Wasps that harass from above, hulking Bombardiers that rain destruction from afar, and the nightmarish, spider-like Leapers that can ruin a run in seconds.
And then there are the humans. Other players are out there too, fighting for the same loot — and whether they become allies or threats is entirely up to you. You can drop in solo or with a squad of three, and the game’s proximity chat lets you communicate (or deceive) fellow Raiders in real-time. Just be careful who you trust.
Once you’ve filled your pack with enough salvage, it’s time to extract back to Speranza using one of several evacuation elevators scattered across the map. Make it out alive, and your hard-earned loot turns into the resources needed to keep going — and, hopefully, to survive another trip topside. Die, and well, you lose everything.
What's fun about Arc Raiders?
Part of the fun of Arc Raiders — and what separates it from traditional PvP shooters like Battlefield or Call of Duty — is that when you die, you lose everything. This "wipe" mechanic is what gives every encounter, whether against ARC machines or other players, its razor-edge tension.
Many players will go entire rounds without firing a single shot simply because they don’t want to risk it. If the loot they’ve collected is too valuable to lose, every shadow becomes a threat, every sound a reason to panic. That high-stakes, heart-in-your-throat feeling is what makes extraction shooters so beloved by hardcore fans — and equally why most casual gamers avoid them. Dying and losing everything can be deflating, especially in games like Escape from Tarkov, where the mechanical complexity borders on full-blown military simulation.
That’s where Arc Raiders strikes a smart balance. Embark has streamlined the extraction shooter formula without watering it down. Before each round, players can build loadouts based on four augments: Loot, Tactical, Combat, and Free. Each one changes your playstyle — Loot increases inventory space for scavenging, Tactical adds more Quick Slots for items like grenades or bandages, and Combat boosts survivability for players looking to fight instead of flee. You can carry two weapons and stash one item in a “Safe Pocket,” which guarantees you won’t lose it if you die.
Unlike Tarkov, gear in Arc Raiders doesn’t define your survivability. Armor and cosmetics are largely aesthetic, serving more as a monetization hook for Embark than a gameplay factor. The result is a simpler, faster-paced experience that retains the intensity of extraction shooters while lowering the barrier to entry.
On top of the fun, kinetic combat loop, Arc Raiders absolutely nails its sound design. It’s one of the game’s cornerstones, according to Embark, and it shows. The spatial audio is incredible — every creak, echo, and explosion matters as it can alert ARC machines and other players to your position. The flutter of birds overhead, the clank of your wrench breaking open a loot box, the hiss of gunfire slicing past your ear — it all feeds into a sense of tension and place that’s unmatched. This game is best played with headphones, not speakers.
That said, Arc Raiders is far from a single-player experience. Even if you’re running solo, you’ll inevitably bump into other players — and not all of them share the "peace and love" vibe the community has been trying to cultivate. With the game’s rising popularity, it’s also become a content farm for Twitch streamers who love using proximity chat to lure players into false alliances before shooting them in the back. Betrayal is part of the immersion, sure, but it can get old fast.
And since Arc Raiders is a live-service game, most of the fun is player-driven. There are quests that nudge you through the game’s sandbox and lore, giving structure to each run, but ultimately, the experience is what you make of it. Maybe that’s rolling with a squad to chase PvP firefights, or sneaking through solo raids to gather materials for crafting upgrades back in your workshop. It’s a true "choose your own adventure" setup — which is both its greatest strength and, for some players, its biggest turn-off.
Is Arc Raiders worth it?
Yeah, I’d say it is. Embark Studios has managed to create one of the most approachable extraction shooters to date without compromising the tension that defines the genre. The mix of PvPvE chaos, stunning sound design, and the sheer adrenaline rush of every topside run makes for an experience that’s as beautiful as it is brutal. The Unity-powered visuals pop, the gunplay feels crisp, and when everything clicks — when you barely survive a firefight and extract with seconds to spare — it’s genuinely exhilarating.
That said, it’s not for everyone. As a live-service game, Arc Raiders relies heavily on player-driven fun, and solo players may hit burnout sooner than squad-focused groups. Add in the occasional backstabby streamer, and it’s clear this world isn’t exactly friendly. But for players craving high-stakes tension without Tarkov’s punishing complexity, Arc Raiders hits a rare sweet spot.
In short: if you want something that rewards patience, planning, and just a touch of paranoia, Arc Raiders is absolutely worth a buy, especially if you’ve got a good headset and a couple of friends to brave the surface with.
You can download Arc Raiders for $39.99 via Steam or the PlayStation Store.
Topics PlayStation Video Games
Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].
