Deal | Minecraft with dinosaurs: Open-world survival game now free to try on Steam

As the name suggests, the developers at Snail Games USA took plenty of inspiration from ARK: Survival Evolved when creating PixARK. Players start empty-handed in an open world, gather their first resources, craft tools and try not to become lunch for its prehistoric inhabitants. The second major influence is just as obvious: As in Minecraft, the environment is made up of voxels that can be mined, moved and used to build your own structures almost however you like. Put simply, PixARK is essentially ARK in block form.

However, there's more to this unusual mix than just dinosaurs and voxels. Players craft increasingly powerful equipment, explore dungeons and gradually work their way through an extensive progression system. More than 100 dinosaurs, animals and fantasy creatures can be fought or tamed, with some even serving as mounts. There are also procedurally generated quests, as well as magic and modern technology. The world itself is procedurally generated and can be explored alone or with others on PvE and PvP servers.

For many players, PixARK's biggest strength is the way it combines its two obvious inspirations. According to Steam reviews, the extensive building and customization options work surprisingly well with the prehistoric survival gameplay. The wide variety of creatures and extensive progression system are also well received. Some players also find PixARK less grind-heavy and more beginner-friendly than ARK itself.

The technical side is less convincing, however. Criticism includes performance drops, connection issues in multiplayer, occasionally unreliable world generation and somewhat sluggish controls. Some players also feel that the endgame lacks enough long-term motivation. Overall, 73% of more than 13,000 user reviews on Steam are positive.

Anyone who wants to check it out for themselves currently has a good opportunity to do so: PixARK is free to play on Steam until Monday, August 31. At the same time, the survival game is 75% off and costs just $4.99 until September 7. According to SteamDB, the previous biggest discount was 57%, meaning the current deal significantly undercuts the previous all-time low. On the Steam Deck, PixARK is rated “Playable.”

Prices are subject to change. The offer was available at the time of the article’s publication but may be limited in terms of time or quantity. All information is provided without guarantee.