It's clear by now that Embark Studios found a sweet spot between risk and reward in Arc Raiders. The stakes are just high enough to keep people interested in challenging gameplay playing, while the systems aren't quite punishing enough to frustrate players.
This is the key to Arc's success; Embark created an extraction shooter that was more accessible than the hardcore options that previously dominated the genre. But how has this development been received by the progenitors of the genre? In an interview with GamesBeat, Escape from Tarkov head Nikita Buyanov made his feelings clear on the topic.
Escape from Tarkov is the first major example of an extraction shooter and is known for being brutal and unforgiving.
"It's an extraction shooter for casual people," Buyanov says, describing Arc Raiders. "It's not an option for us. We want to have the most painful, most challenging, and most rewarding experience."
One thing we've seen with Arc Raiders is that people are occasionally willing to co-exist without fighting, something that's facilitated by features such as proximity chat, emotes and the ability to revive downed enemies. This also allows for social hijinks where people often betray each other or team up to take...
