There will be plenty of people who will say there is nothing to do or that the game is grindy. But us, people giving it high ratings stops only what we can imagine. I have met all types of people while playing on official PVE. There were those that did nothing but the breeding. There were those building amazingly beautiful castles and houses. there were also those who made huge tribes creating laggy bases, and also holidays when they stopped playing because by the time their bases expired, there were a dozen of players getting ready to claim their dinos.
I have always played alone. And I did a little of everything. I built interesting bases or monuments. I explored every single cave. I also made ours to dangerous places for new people. I traded and slowly progressed through the game. Then my favorite game was released--Scorched Earth. I am not sure what was so captivating for me living in a hot desert world. But almost everything in that DLC will forever be my most memorable experience.
The game is good alone and with friends (progression is definitely easier with others though). This game with all its problems and bad optimization is rated high by the people make their own story. We don't need a story to play, we just need to be able to make our own. That is something I dislike The Last of Us 2 because that game was a crime against choice and creativity.
I recommend ark for people who are interested in sandbox games and huge world with many ways to travel and build.
Raking 2000k hours I still haven't finished 30% of all I planned.
If you are looking for an active community that went on without wipes for years, I recommend Arkade. They have all maps and PVE+PVP worlds. Modded and slightly boosted rates will serve well casual players without lots of hours for gaming.
