ARC Raiders landed on October 30 and, right out of the gate, is sitting near the top of Metacritic with a Metascore of 87. That score places ARC Raiders as the highest-rated multiplayer-only shooter released in almost a decade, behind only Overwatch from 2016, which has a Metascore of 91. The game is a third-person extraction shooter that blends cooperative combat with exploration and looting, and players have responded well so far.
Metacritic also shows a User Score of 8.9 for ARC Raiders, which is a strong sign that players and critics are aligned on its strengths. The combined reception has pushed the new IP into territory usually occupied by long-established franchises. It helps to remember that many top-scoring shooters on Metacritic include single-player campaigns or are not multiplayer-only. ARC Raiders stands out for focusing exclusively on multiplayer extraction mechanics while still earning high marks.
We recently ran a playtest that looked at how the extraction loop and cooperative combat feel in practice, and our hands-on impressions align with the positive reception on Metacritic. The studio has also said it intends long-term support; Embark called ARC Raiders a 10-year project and plans sustained updates and live operations, which may keep the player base engaged over time. See our coverage of that plan here.
A Metascore of 87 puts ARC Raiders alongside a diverse list of critically loved games, even though many are single-player or hybrid titles. The score is notable for a studio on its second major release, and it suggests ARC Raiders resonated both mechanically and thematically with critics and players. Have you dropped into ARC Raiders yet? Share impressions and squad builds with other readers, and check our earlier play test if you want a quick sense of the loop and loadouts.
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