Arc Raiders is bringing back the “horror” feel of dark night raids for launch

One of the things that stuck out to me during the Arc Raiders server slam was how easy it was to see during the night raids. In tech test two, I could barely see anything beyond the searchlights of distant arc and the flash of gunfire in a darkened corridor. Embark says it has since found a nice middle ground to make sure night raids are still terrifying while allowing you to see what you’re shooting at. 

“We actually did go back and tweak them a bit after the server slam,” executive producer Aleksander Grøndal says. “We got feedback that there was a little bit too much of a Hollywood night feel to it. So we tweaked it a little bit to be closer to what we feel the intent was for night raids for live. You'll see a bit of a difference there, and appreciate the intent and how that changes the gameplay a little bit, because you won't be able to have as far viewing distances in night raids.” 

The team has achieved this with a night haze effect, which brings in viewing distances with a subtle foggy miasma while still allowing you to pick out those drone searchlights and other key visual information at range.

“When you see the snitch picking up that there's someone doing something, and there's a red light, you know that there's something happening over there,” Grøndal explains. “So we wanted to strike the balance a bit, but it's definitely a bit more horror.” 

It’s a good change because it forces players to engage with their torches. Should you light up so you can see better, or should you keep it turned off so other teams can’t see you skulking about? It’s a new layer of paranoia that adds to the overall oppressive atmosphere of the game. 

Recently, Embark detailed plans for voluntary wipes in Arc Raiders.

You can decide whether you want to brave the dark when Arc Raiders launches for Xbox, PS5, and PC on October 30.