Why are there no health bars in ARC Raiders?
ARC Raiders is one of the games that aims to offer a more direct experience to the player by reducing traditional interface elements. Embark Studios’ complete removal of conventional indicators, such as the health bar, was a deliberate decision during the game’s development process. The goal is for players to understand what’s happening when they hit through purely physical reactions, rather than numbers. This choice enhances the immediate feel of combat in the game’s PvPvE structure and provides a much more holistic perception of the atmosphere.
ARC Raiders Uses Physical Responses Instead of a Health Bar
In Embark Studios’ published development diaries, creative director Stefan Strandberg emphasizes that ARC Raiders’ core design philosophy is to give the player a “real world” feel. Accordingly, seeing a machine’s reaction directly when you deal damage provides more natural feedback than simply seeing a bar decrease. For example, when an ARC’s thruster hits, the way it falls or wobbles indicates its condition without the need for a UI.
Strandberg says the most critical factor behind this choice was “trusting the player’s senses.” In other words, instead of graphical interfaces, ARC Raiders chooses to convey the extent of damage through animations, sounds, disintegration effects, and changes in the machines’ behavior. This allows the player to make decisions by observing the movements in the scene, not by looking at the screen.
This physics-based feedback system also fits naturally with the game’s PvPvE structure. Whether a Wasp struggles to stay aloft when you lower its rotor, or a Bastion kneels when sufficient damage is done to its leg, the battle flows fully through the scene. This allows the player to easily understand their progress despite not having a health bar.
ARC Raiders abandons the information-filled screens of classic FPS and survival games for a more intuitive approach. This design decision by Embark Studios both enhances the game’s atmosphere and puts players directly into the action rather than constantly checking the UI.
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