History VideoGame / ARKSurvivalEvolved

A {{sequel}} and AnimatedAdaptation, ''VideoGame/ARK2'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/ARKTheAnimatedSeries ARK: The Animated Series]]'', [[https://youtu.be/pUpbCL3HTNU were]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9nvyh9hPoBM announced]] at the 2020 Game Awards. The animated series would release on Creator/ParamountPlus on March 21, 2024.

* AdaptationExpansion: The Explorer Notes in the original game were set from the perspective of four characters, these being Helena Walker, Edmund Rockwell, Mei-Yin Li, and Gaius Marcellus Nerva, and only those four, without showing much of their lives prior to coming to the Island. ''ARK: The Animated Series'' expands on this by adding several more characters also surviving on the Island, Santiago da Costa [[AdaptationalEarlyAppearance (originally introduced much later on)]] among them, and showing Helena's past (with her wife and mother appearing in scenes set before her arrival on the Island).

A {{sequel}} and AnimatedAdaptation, ''VideoGame/ARK2'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/ARKTheAnimatedSeries ARK: The Animated Series]]'', [[https://youtu.be/pUpbCL3HTNU were]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9nvyh9hPoBM announced]] at the 2020 Game Awards.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Metal structures are this in {{PVE}} servers as they look cool and have high defense but they are made of metal which requires a workbench to build with and makes it something of a hassel and could be used for other stuff. Not to mention the fact that there are only a select few creatures that can break stone structures which are much easier and cheaper to build. However, this is completely averted for {{PVP}} servers since late game players will frequently have weapons and mounts capable of bringing down stone buildings.

* AdaptationExpansion: The Explorer Notes in the original game were set from the perspective of four characters, these being Helena Walker, Edmund Rockwell, Mei-Yin Li, and Gaius Marcellus Nerva, and only those four, without showing much of their lives prior to coming to the Island. ''ARK: The Animated Series'' expands on this by adding several more characters also surviving on the Island, Santiago da Costa [[AdaptationalEarlyAppearance (originally introduced much later on)]] among them, and showing Helena's past (with her girlfriend and mother appearing in scenes set before her arrival on the Island).

* ThanksgivingTurkey: The holiday event Turkey Trial sees Super Turkeys spawn as a creature to encounter, these are [[KillerRabbit surprisingly dangerous]] should they be provoked into a fight, but if one is killed, their wishbones can be used to craft several Thanksgiving-themed items.

* StockSoundEffects: A few sounds in the game have been heard elsewhere, such as the player's old death sound, or the sound of a tree falling over (previously used as the sound for the statue falling on the Zoohunter in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' [[VideoGame/{{Madagascar}} video game]]).

* PiranhaProblem: Schools of giant piranhas lurk in the rivers. One is easy enough to overcome, but [[ZergRush the whole group]] can be a major threat. The dossier states that they can be tameable however so far they can't be unless through a cheat.

** Seabirds ''Ichthyornis'' and ''Pelagornis'' and semi-aquatic Baryonyx are exclusively piscivorous. (despite wild Ichthyornis eating everything else they can take from you)

** With the release of ''Genesis II'', the Maewing appear to be hermaphroditic, as they have no gender markers and any two can breed with each other.

A {{sequel}} and AnimatedAdaptation, ''VideoGame/ARK2'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/ArkTheAnimatedSeries Ark: The Animated Series]]'', [[https://youtu.be/pUpbCL3HTNU were]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9nvyh9hPoBM announced]] at the 2020 Game Awards.

* BonusBoss: Played with. The gigantic floating obelisks in the corners of the map are used to summon bosses. While it's not required to fight them to transfer between Arks, which can be done at any point, they are required for story progression on official maps.

* GiantSpider: Large cave-dwelling ones of the fictional genus ''Araneomorphus''. They spit webs, but can be tamed. There is also [[BonusBoss the Broodmother]].

The game was released for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} Early Access on June 2nd 2015, and the full version was released on August 29th 2017 on Steam, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and November 30th 2018 on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch. Following release, the game has received a number of DLC in the form of paid {{Expansion Pack}}s and other smaller, free downloadable content.

* DinkyDilophosaur: The ''Dilophosaurus'' follows the ''Franchice/JurassicPark'' mold, being dog-sized with a frilled neck.

* CloningBlues: The notes in ''Extinction'' heavily imply that [[spoiler: the population of the Arks, including the humans, are all clones with artificial memories created by advanced futuristic human technology. This accounts for the game's respawn mechanic, and explains how different people from seemingly vastly different eras of history could all end up on the Arks.]]
** Earlier, in ''Aberration'' [[spoiler: the characters discover a human cloning chamber in the heart of an Ark. They deal with it in different ways.]]

* DungFu: The ''Mesopithecus'' monkey is the only animal that produces human faeces, which it will throw at enemies. This applies a very, ''very'' small amount of damage, but if the monkey has climbed to a place the enemy cannot reach, it is able to [[ChreryTapping cherry tap]] ''anything'' to death.

An UpdatedRerelease named ''ARK: Survival Ascended'' was announced on April 2023, planned to release on Early Access at October 2023. It is set to feature a move to Unreal Engine 5, new content, updated graphics and all DLC included, released as post-launch updates. This remaster is planned to incorporate ''Survival of the Fittest'' as a game mode within the game rather than a separate product.

** Genesis Part 1 just plain has it out for new players, as it advertises the '''bog ecosystem''' as being the easiest to survive. The bog with the crocodilians, ''Utahraptor'', and ''Carnotaurus'' attacking you every few steps, water full of piranha, air full of stinging insects, and then- [[KilledMidSentence SOMETHING HUNGRY IS REELING YOU IN...]]

An UpdatedRerelease named ''ARK: Survival Ascended'' was announced on April 2023, planned to release on August 2023, featuring a move to Unreal Engine 5, new content, updated graphics and all DLC included, though it will be a separate purchase from the original game. This remaster is planned to incorporate ''Survival of the Fittest'' as a game mode within the game rather than a separate product.

** ''Carcharodon ultra{{megalodon}}'', or Shark

* ''{{Megalodon}}'': Infests most of the game's non-river waters. Can be ridden.

* SeaMonster: Many of the popular prehistoric ones like ''{{Megalodon}}'', ''Elasmosaurus'', ''Liopleurodon''[[note]] Albeit, smaller than the usual ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs''-inspired portrayals. [[/note]], ''Mosasaurus'', and ''Dunkleosteus''. There's also the giant squid ''Tusoteuthis''.

* AfterTheEnd: [[spoiler: the final boss of the base game reveals that ''Ark'' takes place after an apocalypse has devastated Earth.]]

** The Titans introduced in the final DLC, ''Extinction'', are legit Kaiju monsters over twice the size of the already insanely large Titanosaurus. The FinalBoss of the series, the King Titan, is over three times the size of the regular Titans.

* TheReveal: The final DLC, ''Extinction'', indicates the true purpose of the Arks: [[spoiler: created by a dying future human race both to preserve Earth life and to evolve through Darwinian selection an army powerful enough to retake post-apocalyptic Earth from Element. Which accounts for the absurd predator-to-prey ratio and general DeathWorld nature of all the Arks.]]

** ''[[PteroSoarer Pteranodon]] wyvernus''

** ''[[PteroSoarer Tapejara]] imperator''

** The male and female [[AlluringAnglerfish Anglers]], which belong to the genus ''Melanocetus'', are depicted as looking the same. [[BizarreSexualDimorphism In reality, the male is far smaller than the female, and lacks a lure.]]
** The female ''[[PteroSoarer Pteranodon]]'' is depicted as looking the same as the male. In reality, female ''Pteranodon'' were smaller and lacked the crest.

* PteroSoarer:
** The ''Pteranodon'' is oversized, has a weird crest, has bat-like wings[[note]]Pterosaurs only had one wing finger, not two like a bat. This is weirder when one notices that the ''Dimorphodon'' and ''Quetzalcoatlus'' have accurate wings.[[/note]], and most of all, [[ToothyBird has teeth on its beak]], although this is [[HandWave Hand Waved]] as it's a fictional species of ''Pteranodon''. However, the dossier also not only mistakenly refers to it as a dinosaur (though they fixed it in an update and correctly call it a pterosaur) but associates it with a ''Caulkicephalus'' skull (Perhaps there's been a misidentification InUniverse?).
** On the plus side the smaller ''Dimorphodon'' looks fairly accurate, being even tempered and correctly covered in pycnofibres. On the other hand tamed individuals of this insectivorous species can be employed as flying KillerRabbit. They also [[AllFlyersAreBirds have feathers]] for some reason.
** The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is mistakenly stated to be a bird in the dossier. It's also shown to be albatross-like in its flight as it never stops to land (ironic given it's one of the most terrestrial of pterosaurs). They're also capable of picking up animals as big as a mammoth and carrying entire houses on their backs (Despite its size, the real animal would be completely unable carry large weights).
** The ARK ''Tapejara'' is a carnivore (the real animal ate fruit) that combines features from close relatives ''Tupanodactylus'' and ''Tupuxuara'' (which are once thought to be the same animal as ''Tapejara''). Also the crest is a sensory organ for improving its aerodynamics.
** On the plus side, each of the pterosaurs take off by vaulting with their wings like in real life.

** ''Melanocetus anglerpescum'', or [[AlluringAnglerfish Angler]]

* AlluringAnglerfish: The Angler which is large and has three bioluminescent stalks instead of one.
** ''Aberration'' adds the Bulbdog, an anglerfish/dog hybrid. It provides a light source for survivors.