Recent reviews by Spooky Biscuits

Accidentally stayed up till 6 am when I decided to just "try" it real quick before bed.

Would you kindly, lie...

Been waiting for this game for yeaaarrs. I'm so excited it's finally out.
It is the first day of launch they are having server issues. It happens. It will be fixed.
While there are valid complaints (which I will mention below) it is good to note that this game is being review bombed by chinese users (I am not completely savvy to the reason). If you filter reviews by your language you will see a change in average go from mixed to very positive.

85% positive at time of writing.

Less than one third of reviews are in English, that's a huge discrepancy

As for the cons that hold more water I want to address them so interested people won't be deterred by them at surface level the way the neg reviews present them.

Offline mode: valid. if they said it would have it, it should. However, it's not something that can't be added/fixed. I hope they will.

Update on Offline Mode: They devs clarified that offline mentioned in their description was meant to mean locally and not offline. It's unfortunate that those who wanted a internetless way to play aren't able to, however, I think a lot of disgruntled commenters are confusing offline mode with couch-co-op. You can still play on the same screen together and make it so its a private party of just you guys without matchmaking, or for a better term "local" play, which is common in games nowadays.

It is rare to find party games outside of nintendo that still support offline play and not just local play in 2023 and I can only think of a handful of situations where someone would be wanting to play this without access to the internet. That's not to say there isnt or there aren't people who don't have valid cause to be disappointed, I just don't think its as widespread as the issues with it tend to be.

Servers: first day servers are always a bit rough, I trust they will stabilize, but I do feel for countries that do not have a local server causing them to have higher latency connections. However, I trust this is temporary and more will be added.

Micro transactions: cosmetic only. while its not a ftp game for it to include a store like others, the micro transactions are very optional. I do think the prices are steep for a ftp game but you get points for level ups and can earn both the regular and premium currency through playing. Unfortunately right now the means to accrue premium currency via leveling is finite as it caps at lvl 99. Hopefully they add more ways in the future. It's good to note you can also convert one currency into the other for added flexibility (though i do not know if this goes both ways)
*see edit below

Bottom line is,

it is a great fun game, and all the potential drawbacks are easily fixable or preference based.

(also note, I'm not affiliated with the devs, nor did I receive this game for free. I just am very happy to finally have this game and want to clear the air of fear mongering)

It has been clarified that you can not exchange currency both ways which is unfortunate. I think this would be a good feature to implement as it would take the pressure off some of the more heavy handed microtransactions, because I agree, for a not ftp game, some of these items are expensive.

I also edited the above to reflect their recent statement on the matter

To the commenters: like I said in the post, they are all valid concerns, i never dismissed that. but they are not ones that are completely gamebreaky to the point of the mass spam of negative reviews that are happening. I support calling devs out and asking for change in features, thats how games grow and improve. But its also good to keep it in perspective as well.

Make Coffee, Change Lives.
I've only played this game for a few hours at the time of review so I can't speak for the full game yet, but felt the need to come speak on it as I really appreciate what it's doing so far. Va-11 Hall-A is one of my favorite games of all time and this very much feels like a fun spirited tribute game but with coffee and then add in some reverse tower defense elements.

Mechanics of the r-td gameplay is fairly simple and easy to understand. Adds a fun active element to the game. Story so far doesn't seem anything too deep but plays on the fun nature of the characters and the art is really nice (especially of the coffee). Look forward to playing more.

Since Ark 1 is basically coming to an end before Ark Ascended and 2, I thought I would sum up my experience on this game throughout the years.

We've said it from the start. Ark will give you some of the highest highs and the lowest lows.
Best with friends and the jank unoptimizedness of this unpolished 6 year old game is part of its charm and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Kudos to the mod community in the Steam workshop. Without you guys I wouldn't be able to sleep without all my baby dinos dying of hunger and neglect. See you all on the other side. *fingers crossed*

On second thought, let’s not go to Balmung. ‘Tis a silly place

Was having a really rough/blah day with no motivation to do anything too intense. I bought the game on a whim with the name/art catching my eyes and it honestly turned my whole day around. The art is adorable, the music relaxing. It's a chill puzzle game that makes you think but doesn't make you feel like you're so stumped that you give up. I could be speaking too soon as I've only gotten through that first 3 chapters. I welcome more challenging levels as I progress. Either way, worth the small price, made my day. Recommended.