For those unaware, Ark: Survival Ascended is a new Unreal Engine 5 remaster of Ark: Survival Evolved, which ran on UE4. While the remaster is obviously very similar to the original, there are significant differences that should be taken into consideration. Let’s get into it.
Ark: Survival Ascended vs. Evolved: Changes and differences
The most noticeable difference between Ark: Survival Ascended and Ark: Survival Evolved is the graphics. Even on lower settings, the graphical beauty of Ascended easily overpowers its predecessor.
The original Ark: Survival Evolved was nothing to sneeze at when set to Epic graphics settings, but the new Lumen Global Illumination lighting system used in Ark: Survival Ascended is what really allows it to shine (literally).
On top of the obvious graphical improvements, Ark: Survival Ascended has a unique Photo Mode, which is surprisingly awesome.
This new Photo Mode grants tons of control to the more artistic Ark players, including camera features like focal length, depth of field and tracking. These features will allow ASA players to create beautiful movies and screenshots with ease.
Besides these changes, ASA also boasts a ton of new features that I’ll list below:
- Cross-platform multi-player
- Cross-platform mods
- Dynamic water
- New map
- DLSS support
- Wild baby dinos
- New dinosaurs
Just to be clear, these are only the most important differences featured in Ark: Survival Ascended. There are a ton of lesser additions, like HUD changes and new items and sounds.
As a long-time fan of Ark: Survival Evolved and Studio Wildcard, I would say Ark: Survival Ascended is definitely worth a try based on the new graphics alone. I often find myself looking out into the ocean or playing around in Photo Mode, admiring the new graphical improvements.
Now that you know the most important differences between Ark: Survival Ascended and Ark: Survival Evolved, it’s time to join those official servers and get raided over and over again…
