ARK DLC that got into controversy for AI trailer launches with Overwhelmingly Negative reviews

ARK’s latest DLC, Aquatica has hit a new low, seeing an Overwhelmingly Negative review counter on Steam. At the time of writing, only 18% of the reviews are positive, with the rest being negative. I can’t recall seeing a game I’ve covered ever hit such a low before. While there are only 500 or so reviews available, it’s likely that this isn’t going to change anytime soon; at least, not without Snail making some major changes to the game.

The reviews offer a wide assortment of grievances, from years of work vanishing to the game simply not working. Others are posting to warn people not to update to this DLC, because it will ruin everything, which makes sense, given the Overwhelmingly Negative reviews that have been accrued. Here’s what players are furious over in Aquatica.

ARK DLC “Aquatica” facing Overwhelmingly Negative reviews on Steam; here’s why

While the AI trailer for this ARK DLC doesn’t contribute to the Steam reviews, it was perhaps a bit of an early warning about what we could expect. According to some Steam users, it completely shut down servers, like one user’s “5 year old vanilla server.” In addition, mods appear to be broken for nearly everyone. This in turn, wiped out lost dinosaurs they would normally have.

It sounds like players are very much fed-up with the state of the game (Image via Valve)

Dinosaurs are falling through textures, and there are tons of glitches. The game reportedly runs incredibly poorly, and there are constant crashes. To make matters worse, even players who don’t own the ARK DLC are reporting issues. One Steam user claimed not to own it, and it messed up their unmodded, unofficial server.

Almost every mod appears to be broken, and seems to run, at best, at 30 fps. People already had negative feelings about the game because of the AI trailer, with others feeling like it’s a heartless cash grab, but then it launches, and simply doesn’t work. Many players are reporting tons of dinosaurs simply no longer existing, and no matter how great their system is, the game runs poorly.

Aquatica owners are certainly not happy right now; or at least, the vast majority are not (Image via Valve)

This, combined with accusations of reusing old assets, it’s not really a surprise that this DLC launched with an Overwhelmingly Negative marker on Steam. While Snail Games have reportedly released a fallback in the “Betas” section on Steam, called “Preaquatica” that is supposed to work, launching with this many issues would still no doubt leave your average player incredibly frustrated.

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About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 12 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

Jason places high value on accuracy and relevance in his write-ups. He achieves this with thorough research to sift facts from rumors. One of the biggest highlights of his career is his interview with Canadian pro wrestler Kenny Omega about his inclusion in the Like a Dragon game series. He is also good friends with journalist Kazumo Hashimoto, who he admires for the kind of stories he works on and his deep ethics.

A true cinephile, one of Jason’s primary hobbies involves enjoying cinematic experiences. He also loves reading, be it fiction or manga, when not working. Additionally, he streams on Twitch and posts his gaming insights on YouTube.

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Edited by Jason Parker