ARC Raiders Drops to a New Low Price on PC

Until ARC Raiders came out, I’d been intrigued by the idea of the extraction shooter, but was hesitant to try one out. They seemed more cutthroat and high-stakes than I was looking for in a game. I didn’t want to lose my entire loadout if I died. I didn’t want to get blasted to bits by other players, as I’d heard happened all the time in these dog-eat-dog worlds.

But when our review of ARC Raiders came out, it made it sound more approachable than any extraction shooter that came before it. “ARC Raiders raises the bar for extraction shooters pretty much across the board,” critic Travis Northup wrote, “with an incredibly gripping progression grind, tense fights against NPCs and other players that make for memorable matches, and loot that feels completely worth all the work and stress it takes to obtain it.”

I also saw that it ran well on Steam Deck, my main gaming platform. So I picked it up and gave it a try. Turns out, ARC Raiders was just the game I needed to show me what all the fuss is about with extraction shooters.

ARC Raiders is a relatively approachable game that eases you into its various systems. The basic idea is that you go topside into a level, run around gathering up loot, fight (or avoid) PvE enemies, and occasionally get into gun battles with other players. Then you make your way to an extraction site and try to get out with both your life and your loot.

The gameplay loop has drama and tension built into it, because the more good loot you find, the more you want to make it out safely. With my inventory full at the end of a run, I'm antsy in the best way as I call for the extraction elevator and it sounds an alarm, alerting others in the area of my location, ratcheting up the tension.

With all that loot you find, you can craft all sorts of items, from guns to bandages, so nothing really goes to waste. You’re always trying to find specific items, which let you unlock or upgrade various crafting benches. You can even upgrade Scrappy, a rooster who gathers materials for you while you’re playing rounds.

Even if you do wipe – which is bound to happen from time to time – not all is lost, because you have various quests that give you other goals to achieve on any given run. And if you find yourself ready to go topside but you don't have any good gear, you can choose a free loadout that gives you the basics.

Eventually, I let go of my anxiety about losing gear and began to achieve a zen state about the whole enterprise. Even when I lose a gun I worked hard to attain, it’s really not that big of a deal. The whole point of accruing the weapons is to use them when you go topside. They don’t do any good sitting in your inventory. So gear up, raider. And give this game a try if you’re at all curious.

Now if only Bungie would make Marathon work on Steam Deck…

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.