FEBRUARY 2019 PCWorld 71

Atlas is a disheartening

MMO shipwreck that

plunders your time

This holiday, I embarked on a voyage of despair and futility. BY LEIF JOHNSON

G

rapeshot Games, a sister studio

of the makers of Ark: Survival

Evolved, calls its new pirate-

themed survival MMO Atlas, a

word that sizzles with the promise of high

adventure and discovery. And it’s true, there is

a bit of that. But the more I played the newly

launched Early Access release over the

holiday break, the more I felt it’d be better

called Odyssey.

That word also evokes escapades and

exploration, but more to the point, it suggests

an aimless voyage where greater powers pelt

you with hours of misery and misfortune.

Much like Homer’s Odyssey, Atlas ($30 on

Steam [go.pcworld.com/atls]) is an ordeal

that breeds good stories, but they’re stories

that are better told than experienced.

IMAGE: LEIF JOHNSON