‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Second Expansion, ‘Aberration,’ Coming In October To PC And Consoles
ARK: Survival Evolved is still going through official launch growing pains, but that didn’t stop Studio Wildcard from announcing the open-world survival game’s second expansion Friday at PAX West in a Twitch livestream. Aberration is coming in October for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC with an all new map, creatures, items, and adventures for Survivors to experience.
Aberration takes place on a completely new ARK that fits in with the overall story Studio Wildcard is crafting for ARK: Survival Evolved. End-game spoilers will be saved for another article but just know the setting is a partially destroyed and malfunctioning ARK that presents a fantastical underworld unlike any of the other ARK maps seen so far.
The map is set primarily in an underground biome consisting of caverns filled with mushrooms, trees, rocks, and more. There is a hint of being able to go above ground, but the landscape looks barren and largely uninhabitable due to the radiation.
As for new creatures, Studio Wildcard is going full sci-fi with the Aberration expansion for ARK: Survival Evolved. None of the creatures shown have real-world counterparts, but they borrow from some concepts from deep sea creatures like the Angler fish. The dog-like creature with the lantern is definitely cuddlier though.
Other new creatures include a rock drake that can go invisible, fly, and climb along walls. There is also a giant crab-like creature that can be tamed and ridden by two people. Small goblin-like creatures burrow out from the ground in some spots along with a larger wyvern-like creature.
Meanwhile, there are over 50 new craftable items include climbing gear, zip lines, and wingsuits. There are also hazmat outfits, charge lanterns, explosive rounds, batteries, glowsticks, railguns, and more.
Studio Wildcard will follow the precedent set by the Scorched Earth expansion for ARK: Survival Evolved with Aberration. That means players will be able to transfer items and creatures from the new map to the other existing maps like The Island, The Center, Scorched Earth, and now, Ragnarok.
Two additional ARK: Survival Evolved expansion was confirmed by the development team when the studio announced the official launch of the game earlier this summer. An expansion pass is available to purchase that will grant access to all three expansions. Those that have already purchased Scorched Earth will get a 33 percent discount on the season pass. The expansion will also be sold separately for $19.99.
The feathers of ARK: Survival Evolved players were thoroughly ruffled when the Scorched Earth expansion was released while the game was still in Early Access. Studio Co-Founder Jeremy Stieglitz has admitted multiple times this was a mistake, most recently in a Eurogamer interview, and something they would never do again or recommend to any other developers. How the community reacts to a second DLC expansion while the developers are still trying to get servers up from launch this past Wednesday will be interesting to see.
[Featured Image by Studio Wildcard]
