Primal Carnage Review | Dinosaurs Meet Team Deathmatch

The commando stalks his prey, as the rain beats down on him, his eyes darting to and fro at the slightest noise. He’s been separated from his group on this island, hunting down monsters. He hears a soft growl, and turns, firing wildly… only to be quickly ripped to shreds by a raptor wearing a top hat.

Welcome to Primal Carnage.

Carnage 1

Indie developer Lukewarm Media‘s new offering (available here on Steam) is a pleasant blend of Team Fortress 2 with  Jurassic Park. The story is simple enough: dinosaurs have have escaped on an old military controlled island due to an experiment gone wrong, and a team of mercenaries have been dispatched to contain the threat.

You spend time playing as either a mercenary or a dinosaur, depending on which server you’re on or what round you’re in. There’s no single player mode here; online multiplayer is all you get, and for now, it’s strictly Team Deathmatch, although Lukewarm says new game modes are coming, such as the free Get to The Chopper DLC that almost plays like a game of Red Rover – mercenaries try to get to a helicopter while dinos try to stop them. That being said, the gameplay is fast and frantic, although it would’ve been very nice to have more than Team Deathmatch available at launch… there simply needs to be more to do. The only other problem I noticed with gameplay is the fact that while Primal Carnage apparently does support using a controller over a keyboard and mouse, it only partially works. You can move and shoot, but the game doesn’t recognize the right analog stick, essentially making it impossible to aim.

That’s not to say that what’s there isn’t good; the teams are both surprisingly well-balanced… for example, while the dinosaur team gets the massive T-Rex (provided enough people are playing to allow it to be unlocked), its one-hit kills are balanced by a very slow movement speed and it can’t fit into certain areas. Mercenary players may have snipers who can pick off targets from afar, but dinosaur teammates can use the airborne pteranodons to alert others to any humans they find hiding. I never felt like one team had a distinct advantage over the other.

Carnage 2

Graphically, Lukewarm Media did a good job with Primal Carnage: the island’s locales, from a shipyard and dock area to parts of the jungle, are vibrant, well-lit, and beautiful. The models for the five different types of dinosaurs are nicely done and bring the monstrous prehistoric lizards to life.

At $15, Primal Carnage isn’t the best or deepest game in the world, but it doesn’t have to be. While it does have some shortcomings and there’s not much more (for now) than Team Deathmatch to play, it’s still silly fun that is worth your time.

Share this article:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on tumblr
Tumblr
Share on email
Email
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp

Recent Posts

Trinity Fusion Key Art Gaming News

Save the Multiverse in Trinity Fusion | PAX East 2023

Trinity Fusion is a sci-fi adventure that takes you across multiple realities on a quest to save a multiverse on the edge of total collapse. Explore 3 dark and unique worlds, …

PAX East

A Wrestling RPG with a ton of Character | Wrestle Story Interview PAX East 2023

Many of us were and still are fans of wrestling. The intense action and crazy storylines pulled us in and kept us engaged. Wrestle Story encapsulates everything that is special …

Fanatical Five

5 Cozy Games You Should Definitely Play

In today’s gaming world, you have hundreds of games that offer stunning graphics, immersive storylines, and complex gameplay that can take hours to complete, but sometimes after a long day …

Three Wayfinders standing together. PAX East

Jump into Wayfinder | PAX East 2023

Wayfinder is a new multiplayer hack and slash adventure game from Digital Extremes and Airship Syndicate. The developers of the title are striving to allow a high level of customization …

The Mix GDC 2023 GDC

The MIX @ GDC 2023

We are making the best use of our short time at GDC this year and The MIX (Media Indie Exchange) brought a ton of the best indie talent to one …

Knockout City Gaming News

The Business Behind Video Games

Why are so many live service games shutting down?