Ark: Survival Evolved has allowed console and PC players to duke it out with dinosaurs or jump on their backs and ride in circles for a few years, and now Android gamers can do the same. There have been some changes to the controls and a graphics simplification also took place, but you’re largely getting the same game. That means that you can expect a sizeable download, and you’ll need a pretty recent and well-specced device. To be specific, you’ll need something with at least 3GB of RAM and support for the Vulkan graphics protocol. If you meet those requirements, the game itself is free to download and play, but it’s got a ton of optional microtransactions, as well as a Primal Pass subscription service that costs $3.99 for a month, or $34.99 per year. This gets rid of all ads in the game and gives you preferred server access, along with double EXP points.
The game itself is quite similar to the console and PC version. After creating either an awesome-looking hunter or a ridiculous humanoid monster with the vastly customizable and slider-laden character creator system, you’ll be given the option to spawn at a random location. From there, you can explore the island, meet dinosaurs, and fulfill your in-game goals. Online play is limited to up to 50 players per instance, and those 50 players can build a base together, establish a whole town, start a dinosaur racing club, or fight over rocks; the freedom from the console and PC version is definitely in full force here.
On the technical side, graphics settings run from low to epic, but you’ll need a device with Vulkan support no matter what. For reference, the Moto Z2 Force that stars in this article’s main image has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and 4 GB of RAM running a 1,440 x 2,560 pixel screen resolution, the same specs as the Samsung Galaxy S8, and ran the game on epic settings pretty smoothly, with a few graphical glitches here and there. High settings, meanwhile, maintained a buttery smooth framerate with basically no glitches or artifacts. The Vulkan graphics protocol works on Qualcomm processors from the Snapdragon 805 on up, with some exceptions for low-end devices, but your device has to be running Android 7.0 Nougat or later. This means that most 2013 and 2014 flagships, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8, won’t be able to run it. The Motorola Nexus 6 or Samsung Galaxy Note 4, meanwhile, will barely squeak into the required specs if they’re running the right version of Android but don’t expect the game to run all that well, even on the lowest settings. Those with a Samsung Galaxy S6 or equivalent device, meanwhile, can expect a pretty decent experience if they’re willing to lower the graphical settings a bit. For international audiences, a device like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is about the minimum for a good experience on low settings. It’s worth mentioning that devices running Android P may experience some unforeseen issues since their devices support the new Vulkan 1.1 protocol.
