“PixARK” from Studio Wildcard owner Snail Games was released to Steam Early Access and the Xbox One Game Preview program on Tuesday. Bugs and missing features are common with early access games but the state of the “Minecraft” meets “ARK: Survival Evolved” title on the console means it is probably best avoided until most of these issues are straightened out.
The Steam Early Access release of “PixARK” has actually garnered mostly positive reviews from PC gamers thus far.
The game has been praised for its graphics, the changes to character progression, and its more kid-friendly nature. The negatives come from some lag, movement, and inventory problems.
The Xbox One version of “PixARK” is a completely different story, however, as it appears either a bad build was released or Snail Games had not finished all the console port work. The game has a 3 out of 5 review score on the Xbox Store with many one-star reviews complaining about how the game, particularly the controls, is broken.
Common complaints include the inability to put saddles on tamed dinosaurs, the inability to access the inventory for items like campfires, and general issues managing inventory.
The user interface (UI) is also a major sore point and there are many instances where players are prompted with PC controls instead of console controls.
Perhaps most disappointingly, “PixARK” does not support online play on the Xbox One yet. This means players are locked into only playing single-player games for now.
'PixARK' developer response
Snail Games eventually came out with a response late Tuesday afternoon after Xbox One players spent most of the day complaining. Their explanation is that the version of “PixARK” released is an older build that does not match the changes made to the Steam PC version prior to its release.
An Xbox One patch is currently being worked on by the development team, but there is no timeline on when it will be delivered to console players.
Try it for free
The good news is that a “PixARK” free trial is available if there is any doubt about the game. It is only 60 minutes but a player can spot the user interface, control, and multiplayer problems quickly.
The questions gamers who purchased "PixARK" are asking include why the game was rushed out on console in such a state, and how long will it take before it is updated to an acceptable level? Snail Games' previous Steam Early Access title, "Dark and Light," earned mixed reviews on Steam but this is their first Xbox One game.