Look, I'm the guy who thinks "shooter" is just a fancy word for "standing in a field while pixels scream at you." Extraction shooters? Please. I'd rather extract a tooth with pliers than drop into another Tarkov clone where every bush hides a tryhard with a golden potato launcher. But ARC Raiders? This sneaky sci-fi gem waltzed in, moonwalked over my prejudices, and left me giggling like a caffeinated schoolkid mid-firefight.
It's nearly perfect in execution—like if Swiss precision met a mad scientist's fever dream. Guns feel punchy without turning you into Rambo's less-coordinated cousin, and the CLANKER-infested post apocalyptic world makes me feel right at home. The maps are memorable with a lived in sci-fi atmosphere that makes you forget you're "just playing a game." ARC Raiders laughs in the face of AAA games like Battlefield 6 and wins.

Even when you lose (and hoo boy, my first raid ended with me yeeted off a cliff by a robo-spider), it doesn't feel like a kick in the shins. You limp back with scraps of loot, upgrades that actually stick, and that sweet, sweet progression dopamine hit. It's like the game pats you on the back and whispers, "Hey, idiot, try again—you almost had 'em."

Solo queue is a riot: pure, unadulterated chaos theater. I've roleplayed as a GAMER GIRL(since you can with AI voice changers as an in game option) yelling "Don't Shoot!" and "friendly"over voice chat while random players shuffle about doing their quests or interact with me. Co-op moments pop like popcorn—heartwarming, hilarious, and zero judgment when someone inevitably feeds the AI horde. Duos strike that Goldilocks balance: half the lobbies are "let's be besties, kill these clankers together and share the shiny bits," the other half devolve into polite backstabs that end in awkward "gg"s. And 3v3? Oh, sweet mercy, it's war. Full-throated, no-holds-barred apocalypse bowling—strike after glorious strike, with just enough fair-play mechanics to keep it from feeling like hacker bingo night. In fact, a really cool thing the devs did, any person caught hacking was banned and the players who were killed by hackers were given their loadouts back to them.

My heart belongs to Buried City, though. That map's a Swiss Army knife of versatility: tight alleys for sweaty ambushes, vast open zones for sniping from rooftops, and those cheeky platforming puzzles guarding the juiciest loot rooms. Picture this: you're vaulting or zip-lining across residential rooftops of house half covered with sand, heart pounding, only to slip and yeet your dignity into the dirt. Chef's kiss.

Devs, if you're reading this (and I hope you are, because who doesn't stalk reviews?), thank you for giving gamers a game that is just fun! We feel seen, and our time feels like it's being respected, and most importantly there is NO pay to win slop in the game, just payed cosmetics and we appreciate that! Please keep the content train chugging. More maps, more enemy types, more ways to make me love a genre I swore was dead to me. 10/10—would extract again! Highly recommend for anyone tired of shooters that take themselves way too seriously.
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