ARC Raiders has been one of the biggest surprises for me this year. Before the game launched, I was wary of the growing popularity of extraction shooters, but ARC Raiders has made me see the genre in a brand-new light. One of the aspects I love the most about ARC Raiders is the game’s lore and mystery. I’ve always been a sucker for post-apocalyptic dystopian worlds, and I was immediately drawn in by the extraction shooter’s unique take on an underground society.
Of course, ARC Raiders is far from the first game to focus on a dystopian world where humanity has succumbed to a dangerous and more powerful force. Games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Fallout, Death Stranding, and Cyberpunk 2077 all deal with dystopian scenarios while also grappling with questions about technological advancement and society. These kinds of “what if” scenarios are some of my favorite kinds of stories, even outside video games. Movies like Elysium, Snowpiercer, and Mad Max, as well as TV shows like Station Eleven and Westworld, are some of the highlights. However, one series that I’ve been loving in particular recently is Silo, and it reminds me an awful lot of ARC Raiders‘ underground survival.
This is a spoiler-free rundown of Apple TV’s Silo.
ARC Raiders and Silo Both Explore What an Underground Dystopian Society Might Look Like
The Main Features Shared Between ARC Raiders and Silo
- A society forced to live underground
- A powerful threat that makes the surface world unsafe
- The need to venture above ground for the sake of survival
Silo follows main protagonist Juliette Nichols, a smart and capable engineer, as she becomes embroiled in a mystery that could shake up the stability of the underground society she lives in. This dystopian society takes place in the titular silo (Silo 18) that spans 144 levels and houses 10,000 survivors. Fans of the extraction shooter will immediately be familiar with a tight-knit underground society, since that’s the role Speranza plays in ARC Raiders.
Although both locations are nestled underground, they share plenty of differences. For example, while Speranza citizens are surviving as a unit underground, the central conflict of Silo lies in a conspiracy that Juliette finds herself in regarding the surface. In ARC Raiders, it’s obvious that Speranza is necessary, since giant AI robots are roaming the world above.
Silo is also packed with a great cast. Rebecca Ferguson plays Juliette while the rest of the cast includes Steve Zahn, Rashida Jones, Iain Glen, and David Oyelowo.
Silo and ARC Raiders Have Very Different Threats
The biggest difference is that the main threat at the center of Silo is a mysterious toxic gas that permeates the surface world. This is a far cry from ARC Raiders‘ robotic ARC behemoths, but Silo‘s threat still puts just as much weight on its fictional society. Both share the common ground of the surface world being dangerous, but where ARC Raiders‘ world requires sending Raiders above to gather supplies, Silo uses it as more of a punishment. After causing Silo 18’s leaders to become cautious, they send Juliette to the surface to clean a camera sensor, hoping the toxicity will kill her.
Even though Silo uses cleaning as a punishment, it’s still framed as essential to the bunker’s survival. Cleaning the camera sensor on the outside helps the citizens of Silo 18 see the desolate world, which reminds them of how important and fragile their underground society is. ARC Raiders has plenty of environmental hazards, like toxic swamps and Gas Grenades, but it’s not on the same level as what Silo‘s world deals with.
Like ARC Raiders, Silo’s World Pulls You in From the Start
Since there have been so many dystopian stories told over the years, it’s really difficult to stand out in this genre. However, ARC Raiders and Silo excel at making their worlds feel well-thought-out and lived-in. Of course, they have a strong foundation based around compelling lore to thank for that, but without the threat from the surface, both could easily feel like recycled stories. ARC Raiders keeps players on their toes, while Silo has viewers on the edge of their seats trying to put the puzzle pieces together.
The one big downside of ARC Raiders is its deeper lore, or more precisely, the lack thereof. This will likely be addressed over time, but for those who want a more in-depth story, Silo can definitely help satisfy that craving. While ARC Raiders focuses on the above, most of Silo‘s story takes place underground, which could also be the perfect change of pace after playing the extraction shooter. Silo‘s story showcases that, even when a society is told that a threat might be living on the other side of a barrier, the real danger could be the society itself. So, even though Silo and ARC Raiders both feature an underground society, the former definitely raises some questions about whether it can be trusted or not.
Not Only is it Great for ARC Raiders Fans, But Silo is Also the Perfect Choice to Binge Over the Holidays
- Silo‘s third season has yet to secure a launch date.
- Filming for the season ended in May 2025.
Even though it’s unclear when Silo‘s third season will premiere, it’s expected sometime at the beginning or middle of 2026. The wait for the next season continues, but ARC Raiders players could keep themselves busy in more ways than just spending time with the game.
Silo‘s season 3 and 4 are being filmed back-to-back, so the wait for the fourth season likely won’t be as long, either.
Silo may not be identical to ARC Raiders‘ unforgiving world, but it shares enough similarities to make it an intriguing option without also feeling boring and repetitive. Silo is an underground post-apocalyptic story filled with mystery, conspiracies, and drama, so for the ARC Raiders lover who is in need of a good story, the Apple TV series is clearly a great option.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
