So, I would recommend this game to players but with serious caveats. Lets talk about the pro's first.

Pros:
I like the skill system. It is way better than ARK. IMO.
I enjoy sailing from island to island.
I enjoy leveling up my ship. I enjoy exploring shipwrecks, getting flotsam, and treasure hunting.
I enjoy the fact that you need crew to handle a bigger ship and that you can buy crew.
I like the grappling hook.
I think they made some great improvements to the building system from Ark.
I like the wide range of supplies now. Its not just thatch or generic metal. But, different kinds of each.
I like the repairing system for boats.
I love checking out various ruins.

Cons:
The game can be buggy. I had a ship tossed about and destroyed after hitting a sandbar.
The game suffers from a lack of optimization.
I dislike taming now. To knock our a creature you reduce its health to near 0 and bola it. It starts writhing on the ground where you have to feed it and build a relationship with it for violent tames.
I miss dinosaurs.
I really dislike how you can only get xp from exploring islands and killing things. I prefer the old method of gaining xp from a variety of different activities.

Conclusion:
There are a lot of improvements in the game over ARK as well as some drawbacks. But, survival games are sometimes just hard. Ultimately what makes the game for me with games like this is community. You need people to really get the most out of it. Not, because you have to per say, but games like this are meant to be played with others. I have a good community I play with on Darkside RP and enjoy just being part of the town. With ARK I could and would normally do things alone. I am trying to put that to the side to experience a game like this with people and have found out that I really enjoy it.

Hopefully this helps some of you who are on the cusp. For those that are mad at Wildcard for making this a standalone game, I get it. But I also understand that I got ARK and its original season pass dirt cheap. Ultimately I don't feel cheated of value based on the fun I got our of Abberation and Scorched Earth. But to each his own.

Check out Atlas for yourself if interested. Its not perfect, but I do enjoy it.

So, I would recommend this game to players but with serious caveats. Lets talk about the pro's first. Pros: I like the skill system. It is way better than ARK. IMO. I enjoy sailing from island to island. I enjoy leveling up my ship. I enjoy exploring shipwrecks, getting flotsam, and treasure hunting. I enjoy the fact that you need crew to handle a bigger ship and that you can buy crew. I like the grappling hook. I think they made some great improvements to the building system from Ark. I like the wide range of supplies now. Its not just thatch or generic metal. But, different kinds of each. I like the repairing system for boats. I love checking out various ruins. Cons: The game can be buggy. I had a ship tossed about and destroyed after hitting a sandbar. The game suffers from a lack of optimization. I dislike taming now. To knock our a creature you reduce its health to near 0 and bola it. It starts writhing on the ground where you have to feed it and build a relationship with it for violent tames. I miss dinosaurs. I really dislike how you can only get xp from exploring islands and killing things. I prefer the old method of gaining xp from a variety of different activities. Conclusion: There are a lot of improvements in the game over ARK as well as some drawbacks. But, survival games are sometimes just hard. Ultimately what makes the game for me with games like this is community. You need people to really get the most out of it. Not, because you have to per say, but games like this are meant to be played with others. I have a good community I play with on Darkside RP and enjoy just being part of the town. With ARK I could and would normally do things alone. I am trying to put that to the side to experience a game like this with people and have found out that I really enjoy it. Hopefully this helps some of you who are on the cusp. For those that are mad at Wildcard for making this a standalone game, I get it. But I also understand that I got ARK and its original season pass dirt cheap. Ultimately I don't feel cheated of value based on the fun I got our of Abberation and Scorched Earth. But to each his own. Check out Atlas for yourself if interested. Its not perfect, but I do enjoy it.