Summary
- Dinosaur-centered survival horror games could dominate the genre in 2025.
- Titles like Instinction, FEROCIOUS, and Jurassic Park: Survival are set to bring the trend to life.
- The combination of horror featuring dinosaurs promises thrilling and more unique gaming experiences.
The horror genre has been thriving in the recent past thanks to some excellent titles across the board. From the likes of AAA releases such as Alan Wake 2 and the Silent Hill 2 Remake, alongside indie gems like Crow Country and Conscription, fans have had no shortage of memorably terrifying and satisfying experiences in the genre. This only looks to continue into the coming year, as a number of promising horror games are set to release throughout 2025.
And while the 2025 game release calendar already has some great-looking titles slated, there happen to be a handful of announced and forthcoming horror games that contain dinosaurs as their central conceit. Although not all are confirmed for 2025, they each have been in development for some time, and some surrounding details point to them possibly dropping next year. If so, then fans of both horror and dinosaurs might be in for a big treat, and 2025 could very well become the year that sees this specific combination dominate the field.
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Dinosaur-Centric Horror Games Are Poised For a Revival
The grandfather of “dinosaur horror,” Capcom’s Dino Crisis, has been on ice for over 20 years, with the last and not well-received entry having been released back in 2003. Although fans have been requesting it, and Capcom has sporadically hinted about the possibility of a Dino Crisis remake, this has yet to happen. The studio did put out Exoprimal in 2023, a multiplayer PvE experience centered around combating the prehistoric beasts. However, reception was mixed, and eventually Capcom ended Exoprimal‘s seasonal updates.
While a few IPs like Ark: Survival have stepped in to provide players with a gaming experience built around dinosaurs, there has been a general lack of them, particularly within the horror sphere. That all might change next year, though, depending on how things shake out.
Horror Games Featuring Dinosaurs Could Be a Big Trend in 2025
Three notable horror titles featuring dinosaurs and emphasizing survival elements have been announced or known to be in the works since around 2022:
- Instinction
- FEROCIOUS
- Jurassic Park: Survival
Instinction is stated to be directly inspired by Dino Crisis, billed as a spiritual successor to the series while incorporating its own takes and utilizing modern design philosophies. It will be a narrative-driven title where players are “bound by a blood oath, and must survive a mysterious organization and ancient creatures to restore stability to a lost Mesoamerican land cut off from the rest of world.” Instinction will thrust players into a “wide-linear world featuring a mix of puzzles, stealth, melee and ranged combat.” It will also feature gameplay mechanics like time-shifting and telekinesis.
FEROCIOUS is described as “an immersive old school first-person shooter. Shipwrecked on a strange island that’s overrun by hostile mercenaries and fearsome prehistoric predators, players must outlive both man and beast while searching for their missing brother.” FEROCIOUS also promises players will be able to “study, fight, or befriend both prehistoric and fantastical creatures”, which seems somewhat similar to Ark in that regard.
Jurassic Park: Survival‘s trailer debuted at the 2024 Game Awards. Set in the aftermath of the original 1993 film and confirmed as canon to it, Survival will see fans play as InGen scientist, Dr. Maya Joshi, in a first-person single-player adventure that looks to be along the lines of Alien: Isolation. With the next film in the franchise, Jurassic World: Rebirth, set for 2025, this could suggest Survival will also launch around the same window.
If all three end up releasing in the course of 2025, fans of survival horror and dinosaurs would truly be in for a feast. Even if this isn’t the case, though, the potential is high for at least one to hit the market and start the ball rolling on dinosaur-themed horror titles in the coming year.
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