Summary
Newly-released survival-horror gameDinobreakis clearly inspired by Capcom’sDino Crisisfranchise. The firstDino Crisisreleased in 1999, and effectively played like ifResident Evilhad dinosaurs instead of zombies. Gamers responded well to this premise, as the originalDino Crisisearned critical acclaim and is generally pointed to as one of the better survival-horror games of its era. The 2000 sequel,Dino Crisis 2, was more of an action game than survival-horror, but it was still generally well-received.
Unfortunately, theDino Crisisserieswent off the rails afterDino Crisis 2. The light gun shooter spin-offDino Stalkerwas met with mixed reviews from critics, the first-person shooter mobile gameDino Crisis: Dungeon in Chaosnever left Japan, and sci-fi shooter gameDino Crisis 3was completely flopped. The negative reaction toDino Crisis 3seems to have killed the series, as it’s been dormant for 20 years at this point.
Capcom has not made any indication that it plans on reviving theDino Crisisfranchise. WhileDino Crisisfans hold out hope for aResident Evil-style remake for the first game, they may want to check outDinobreakin the meantime.Dinobreakis an indie horror game from Dead Drop Studios that clearly takes inspiration fromDino Crisis. The game is a budget release at just $19.99, so survival-horror fans shouldn’t go in expecting AAA production values, but it may still scratch theDino Crisisitch. User reviews on Xbox and Steam have been mostly positive so far, so while it may not be quite the same asgetting a proper newDino Crisisgame, it at least offers a somewhat similar experience.
Based on the trailer, it seems likeDinobreakactually marries the concept ofDino Crisiswith a setting that’s more like Raccoon City fromResident Evil 2. The main character is even somewhat reminiscent ofResident Evil 2protagonist Claire Redfield. Fans of Capcom’s older survival-horror games may very well find a lot to like withDinobreak, though others may find it a little too derivative.
Regardless, it’s always nice to have more classic-style survival-horror games to play, especially a dinosaur-themed one since Capcom seems unwilling to bring back theDino Crisisseries. Maybe it’s something the company will consider after it’sfinished remaking theResident Evilgames, but fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. In the meantime, there are plenty of other new horror games launching this month, so fans of the genre should have no shortage of fresh horror games to try this Halloween.
Dinobreakis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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