ARC Raiders

FRIEND ZONE

For all that we’ve focused on the hostility of ARC Raiders’ world, the vulnerability of players has a fascinating side effect: it often encourages them to reach out a helping hand to strangers. This comes as such a shock that we still remember the first time. Preparing to die in a storm drain, pinned down by ARC fire, we hear the crack of a Ferro rifle, our pursuers tumbling down to earth, and a voice: “Hey! You good?”

Developer/publisher Embark Studios

Format PC (tested), PS5, Xbox Series

Release Out now

Y our first trip into the Rust Belt is unlikely to end well. Following a robot invasion that drove most remnants of humanity to live underground, the world above has been left to two populations, both dangerous. The ARC of the title refers to Earth’s new overlords: an apparently inexhaustible supply of striders, flyers and rollers that patrol the surface, shooting on sight. Even the humblest of these bots can spell doom if you don’t know how to deal with them: their metal plating will eat bullets, unless you can hit them in just the right weak spot. Meanwhile, Raiders – your fellow human scavengers, controlled by other players – aren’t necessarily the enemy, but they’re unpredictable. They might offer to team up, or wordlessly gun you down. Or, in particularly sadistic cases, one then the other.