Primal Carnage Review – Roar, I’m a Dinosaur!

Primal Carnage reaches into my soul, grabs my inner child and roars right in its face.

It’s hard to describe how Lukewarm Media’s FPS/third-person dinosaur game makes me feel, but it’s definitely doing something right.

Is there anyone who didn’t think dinosaurs weren’t the coolest when they were kids? I collected dinosaur toys as a kid. Loved to read books about them, cried when Little Foot’s mom died in The Land Before Time, and thought Jurassic Park was the best movie ever from the ages of 8 to 14.

In other words, I might be biased.

Maybe just a bit.

Primal Carnage lets you play as either a human or a dinosaur, and it’s your job to either hunt the opposing side or struggle to survive. At its core, it’s a very simple game. There are no extra modes or bells and whistles at the time of writing — you simply pick humans or dinosaurs, your class, and go to town.

The reality is that the game is very simple for the time being. While the classes on each side are varied and play differently, there is currently only one game mode supplemented by five maps. While only having one game mode to play isn’t ideal, it’s still a ton of fun.

Balance

I’m not going to cover all of the classes here since the official website does such a good job of it. I am going to say that playing each class feels different. Your playstyle is going to vary from one to the other. You can be a lot more daring with some than you can with others (I’m looking at you, Dilophosaurus), and others are there for their utility more than their damage (You again, Dilo!).

You little bastard.

Most people would look at the videos and screenshots of Primal Carnage and automatically assume that the humans were underpowered in comparison to the dinosaurs. Well, they’re not.

Humans have to rely on teamwork in order to survive, and ultimately kill, the dino onslaught. It might seem fun to run around by yourself, but it’s always better to stay with your team lest you get pounced on, spit on, or picked up.

The strength of humans lies in their utility skills and extreme amount of damage when in a group. Concentrated fire from 4 Commandos is going to take down a T-Rex pretty easily — and that T-Rex isn’t going to get anywhere near the group if there’s a Pathfinder flare on the ground and a Scientist dart gunning him in the face.

Groups of smaller dinosaurs can cut through groups of humans much more easily than  a lone T-Rex, but a couple of trappers with Netguns can make quick work of them.

Primal Carnage’s balance is one of the things I like most about the game. While some classes (on either side) are stronger than others, everything has its use and counters.

Sure, a Scientist can snipe Pteranodons down from the sky — but they have to stay on the move otherwise they’re going to die. Things like this are what make the game fun. Everything is dynamic, and every class has a counter play.

Primal Park

I’d be lying if I said that Primal Carnage didn’t remind me of Jurassic Park. The maps set in lush jungle locations are distinctly Jurassic Park-esque. You can see places where dinosaurs broke through fences and destroyed structures, as well as some areas where people obviously tried to camp out to stay safe.

The atmosphere and level design really go a long way, and I have to say that Lukewarm Media did just as good of a job on it as they did on class balance.

The layout and scenery of each map can either be a hindrance or convenience, depending on your class and how many people there are in the server you are on. Some areas are obviously points for humans to hole up for a while, but at the same time there are ways for dinosaurs to get to them — no matter where they are.

What’s most interesting about the level design is how your experience changes based on how many people are in an individual server. When there are more people playing on both sides, the maps are plenty large enough for group tactics and large-scale fights.

In instances where there are only a few people playing on each team, things get a lot more tense. Humans have to move slowly and try to hide as they make their way to the group. Thanks to the ample amount of hiding spots, dinosaurs and humans alike can hide in wait for an enemy to come by to either slink away from or kill.

Is Primal Carnage Good or Not?

After my 19 hours of play over the past week, I have to say that Primal Carnage is good. While it’s not a serious FPS or third person action game, it is the most fun I’ve had with either genre in a long time.

The biggest complaint with the game that every player has is the lack of game modes. The lack of variety in game modes is literally the only thing I personally can complain about. I kind of wish there was more in Primal Carnage for me to hate, but there’s not. The human voice acting isn’t great, but the dinosaur roars are amazing. The maps look great and are huge. The music, incidentally, is also not bad.

Dinosaurs, strangely enough, are also super cool.

I didn’t expect much when going into Primal Carnage, but I got more than my $14.99 worth of fun. I also bought 8 additional copies on Steam for my friends, who all love it. If you’re looking for a serious shooter, don’t look here. If you’re looking for a game you can pick up and have a blast with, then do look here.

New game modes are coming, and if they have the same care and attention to detail as the rest of the game, I will happily shun my other funsies games for this one forever. Considering Primal Carnage is still in beta and is as balanced and fun as it is, I’m excited to see where it will be when it’s out of the beta phase.