Dinosaur Games To Play While Waiting For Jurassic Park: Survival

The future is seemingly bright for fans of dinosaur games with the release of Jurassic Park: Survival, which is set to be released in 2025. However, since there is no official release date yet, many still have to wait for the chance to experience roaming Isla Nublar in a new survival horror adventure in the same vein as Alien: Isolation.

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By  Chris Harkin

Thankfully, there are several options out there for dinosaur games, ranging from fun journeys for the whole family to other horror games available to play. Some games allow the player to directly control dinosaurs, while others take the fight against the prehistoric creatures, with players taking on the role of a human in a dinosaur-infested world.

10 Fossil Fighters: Champions

A Sequel That Improved On The Original Pokémon Clone

• Developers: Red Entertainment, Artdink, Nintendo, Nintendo Software Planning & Development, M2
• Release Date: November 18, 2010
• Genre: RPG
• System: Nintendo DS

In Fossil Fighters: Champions, young warriors collect dinosaurs to battle against other warriors who also control dinosaurs, all in the quest to become the best. This game bears a strong resemblance to Pokémon but in a positive way. It features straightforward JRPG gameplay, allowing players to explore an open world, compete against other trainers, progress through different areas, and level up their dinosaurs, known as Vivosaurs.

Of the many attempts made by other studios to capitalize on the hype of Pokémon, Fossil Fighters is considered one of the better, resulting in a memorable Nintendo DS franchise. Fossil Fighters: Champions is regarded as the best in the trilogy; the Vivosaurs are well-designed with flashy abilities and deliver 3D visuals and worlds before Pokémon did.

9 Jurassic: The Hunted

The B-Movie Version Of A Dinosaur Game But In A Good Way

Often overlooked by gamers, Jurassic: The Hunted is a first-person shooter that does almost nothing new for the genre. It’s essentially a Call Of Duty campaign but with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures as enemies instead of soldiers. It’s silly and over-the-top with a story that feels almost like a SyFy Channel original movie at times, but that ends up being part of the charm.

Jurassic: The Hunted is a game best when not taken too seriously. The gunplay and the dinosaurs are the main appeal and they are executed well, especially bigger dinosaurs like the Spinosaurus. It also has a fun setting, with present-day and a prehistoric jungle merging rather than the typical concept of dinosaurs being brought back to life through genetic alteration.

8 Jurassic Park: The Game

New Perspectives Created A New Jurassic Story From A Familiar One

One of Telltale Games' earliest games, Jurassic Park: The Game tells the story of the first Jurassic Park movie from the perspective of different characters. Like Telltale’s other story-based games, it’s all about making dialogue and story choices that can affect progress in a good or bad way.

Playing through Isla Nublar as the park veterinarian Gerry Harding from the movie and a new character meant to retrieve the dinosaur embryos from Denis Nedry makes for fun continuity. There are also new dinosaurs that never got to be shown in the movie, which combined with some twists and turns make it a worthwhile sequel to the first movie.

7 Turok (2008)

The Bloody Reboot That Doesn't Get Enough Appreciation

The Turok games always feature dinosaurs as an enemy but often jump from that to aliens, robots, and other kinds of threats. The often-overlooked 2008 reboot was criticized for its more simplified combat and shorter campaign, but that doesn't make it any less fun. It also has the most dinosaur action of the franchise, with the titular hero landing on a planet with alien dinosaurs similar to that on Earth.

There are human enemies to deal with, but almost every level features dinosaurs to fight as well, mixing high-tech weapons and strong knife gameplay. The dinosaur bosses, such as the recurring T-Rex named Mama Scarface, provide the most difficult portions, which mixed with the Utahraptors, Lurkers, Giganotosaurus, and so much more make for a memorable dinosaur venture.

6 LEGO Jurassic World

Play As LEGO Humans And Dinosaurs Alike

If anyone has played most modern LEGO games, they will know what they are getting into with LEGO Jurassic World. It recreates the first four Jurassic Saga movies, from Jurassic Park to Jurassic World in LEGO form, featuring stud collecting, breaking LEGO pieces, and a wholesome story for the family to enjoy, with an emphasis on zany humor, even in the darker parts.

One of the more stand-out features is that not only did Traveller's Tales bring back Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and most of the actors from Jurassic World to recreate their lines, but LEGO Jurassic World features voice lines from the original trilogy to remain authentic. As a bonus, LEGO Jurassic World features hundreds of human and dinosaur characters for all four movies to play.

5 Oakwood

Proof That A Dinosaur Horror Game Can Work

A common request among dinosaur fanatics is that there should be more dinosaur horror games, which is why they are excited about Jurassic Park: Survival. However, Oakwood is a good supplement for those who need to satisfy such an itch as a person going camping with friends in the woods only to be stalked relentlessly by dinosaurs.

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By  Melody MacReady

Oakwood is not a game-changer, taking on the style of survival horror games like Outlast but with dinosaurs. However, execution is what matters and Oakwood delivers on the scares as the player has to deal with Velociraptors, Dilophosaurs, and a Tyrannosaur for a variety of thrills that result in a short but sweet indie horror game that doesn’t get enough attention.

4 Jurassic World Evolution 2

Double The Dinosaurs Means Double The Park-Building Fun

In the long line of games based on the Jurassic Saga, Jurassic World Evolution 2 is arguably the definitive title. It takes the same park-building concept of the first game and builds upon it with even more dinosaurs, debatably superior ways to customize the park, more dinosaur types including aerial and aquatic, and more diverse biomes to create more challenges.

Ever since Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, games like Jurassic World Evolution 2 continue to be the standard for the franchise. Thankfully, the park-building series continues to improve on itself and thanks to talented modders, more options for dinosaurs can be added for endless fun with beautiful amounts of detail.

3 Tempus Triad

The Demo Has Quickly Won The Hearts Of Many

• Developer: Mendesz
• Release Date: Q2 2025
• Genre: Survival Horror
• System: PC

While still just a demo, Tempus Triad already promises to deliver a unique dinosaur experience. It’s about an experiment gone wrong that’s causing dinosaurs to be transported across time to modern day and the main protagonist is trying to evade the prehistoric creatures and stop the incident.

The tension in Tempus Triad is always being dialed up thanks to a quiet ambiance that is often interrupted by traumatizing sounds, whether it's an explosion, alarm, or dinosaurs themselves. However, the true highlight in the demo is contending with the Therizinosaurus, which can only move when the player is not looking. If that terrifying creature is just the demo, the full release should attract everyone’s attention.

2 Dino Crisis

Capcom's Dinosaur Franchise Brings Chills And Thrills

The creators of Resident Evil took the formula of their game and tried to replicate it, replacing zombies and genetic monsters with dinosaurs. The result was Dino Crisis, which has garnered the reputation of being one of Capcom’s most overlooked horror franchises, despite only lasting for three games.

Fans of Dino Crisis have begged Capcom to give Dino Crisis the same remake treatment they have been giving the Resident Evil games, even if it's a clone of Resident Evil once again. The dinosaurs were memorably scary and with modern visuals, they have the potential to be nightmare fuel. However, that doesn’t stop the PS1 survival horror classic from being an iconic game of the 90s that every dinosaur fan should play.

1 Peter Jackson's King Kong

Delivers Even More Dinosaur Action Than The Movie

With Jack Driscoll as the first-person shooter protagonist, Peter Jackson's King Kong has become a classic over the years. The game features some of the most terrifying dinosaurs in gaming, including the Vastatosaurus Rex, which is often considered the most fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex, as well as the fast and eerie Venatosaurus. The adventure to rescue Anne from Kong is both intense and harrowing.

Peter Jackson's King Kong not only stands out for providing a memorable romp with many dinosaurs through Skull Island for its time but making it immersive due to its lack of a standard H.U.D. For ammo and health. Instead, the player has to listen to how many rounds and magazines Jack says are left, which can lead to tense situations. Additionally, Kong himself is playable, allowing players to get payback on the same dinosaurs that scared them as the human characters.

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Films like King Kong and 65 combine stellar CGI with exciting plots, making them perfect for dinosaur fans who've seen Jurassic Park too many times.

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By  Vlad Mazanko