If there was an alternative PVE mode or map, this wouldn't be an issue. Everyone is free to enjoy their experience how they see fit. But ARC Raiders Items does not offer that choice. Instead, there's a sense the developers enjoy the grief caused by bad actors playing their game. After all, everyone's talking about it.

There's barely any story to speak of, and most probably won't bother with the flavor texts or characters in Speranza, humanity's last haven underground. Missions follow the same strict paths as in any other game of this type, and despite the multiplayer aspect of it all, it never feels like you're actually making any kind of difference in this world. That's because you really can't. This is a static experience with the potential for subjectively great moments.

When you reach the end of the repetitive mission cycle, all Arc Raiders offers is the chance to restart the whole thing over again. A reset is offered every few months to allow new players a chance to join in. But that feels like a bandaid trying to cover a gaping wound. The maps themselves won't change, and those that get enjoyment out of crummy behavior will just keep at it because this is familiar turf for them.

With little incentives to play nice, Arc Raiders becomes just another extraction shooter in different clothing. Yes, it's beautiful and imaginative clothing, but it's all the same cut and make in the end.

It's a shame, too, as Arc Raiders is technically the most proficient release we've seen all year. It works great even on limited hardware, there's barely any graphical issues, and apart from a hiccup with the servers on launch weekend, everything runs rock solid. You can tell that people with vast experience in the multiplayer space worked on this thing, and they should be proud of their accomplishments.

The bigger issue is the use of AI, which the developer has remained frustratingly vague and cagey on. As far as it's known at the present, at least the voice acting features AI readings the developers can adjust to their needs when they add new content. This way they don't need to hire the voice actors back for new recording sessions. It's the first step in the nightmarish scenario ahead for game development, where talent suffers more each passing year.

It is, once again, another area where the creators of Arc Raiders could have taken steps towards something better and didn't.

Having said that, it's hard to recommend buy ARC Raiders Loot to anyone but the fiercely devoted. It is burning bright now, but there's so little to differentiate it from the competition that anything can and most likely will topple it from that throne. If it had dared to think outside of the limitations of the extraction shooter genre, it could have come upon something really special.