blue meridian dinosaur park simulation, prehistoric kingdom, certainly takes its time to complete. Although the game had a brief semi-open early test a while back, it’s actually been in development for years and has only now reached early access status on Steam and the Epic Game Store.
We have to strongly emphasize the “early” part, as that $30 price is more like a pre-purchase with a limited, instantly playable dino sandbox to give players a taste of what’s to come.
Timed remarkably well with the release of the (hopefully) finale jurassic world film, prehistoric kingdom has many obvious similarities with Jurassic world evolution Games. Both are dinosaur-obsessed park creation and management sims. Yet each is designed with a somewhat different audience. This particular Kingdom seems much more geared towards those who enjoy both ancient beasts and micro-management simulations.
Prehistoric Kingdom Early Access Review: Exploring Dino Park Sims Alpha
Sure, it’s early, but prehistoric kingdom maze of functions, options, buttons and menus is already as imposing as it is confusing for newcomers. Luckily, there’s a tutorial that gives you the gist of how things work, complete with voice-over instructions from Nigel Marvin. If that doesn’t sell you on the game, we’re sorry.
Nigel who? Marvin! The impending time-traveling, dinosaur-fighting BBC biologist, of course. For anyone who’s had dinosaur-obsessed kids over the past two decades, Marvin’s BBC shows Pursued by dinosaurs and prehistoric park were to be viewed. He’s a jolly guy here, lending his soothing, cheerful tones to help ease the stress of dealing with a massive, overly complicated biohazard of a park.
Aside from Mr. Marvin, the game already has a lot to offer. It’s beautiful, for one thing. The park itself is a mix of common environments, mostly green and brown, but the animals are fantastic. These are not the scientifically questionable critters of jurassic park and while full scientific accuracy in paleontology games is a sketchy endeavor at best, it’s clear that Blue Meridian has put a lot of thought, time and research into depicting extinct animals according to modern science.
As the JW Evolution games, there’s genetic research, egg hatching, subspecies variations, and even paleontological digs to invest money. The difference is that everything here feels more in-depth, complicated, and layered. The current build has over 20 prehistoric creatures (including ice age mammoths) and understanding their needs is essential.
Each attraction must be carefully planned, maintained and monitored to ensure animals are cared for. As this progresses, you will theoretically be able to hire staff to cover certain tasks, but at the moment the AI for all computer-controlled creatures (whether human or animal) is very light. Or maybe just not included yet.
Humans wander around randomly, without much interaction or purpose. The dinosaurs behave well independently in a very preset and pre-scripted way, but they don’t actually interact with each other or even their environment yet. It’s all just surface so far.
The labyrinthine user interface is another issue, and the current state of the help system isn’t particularly helpful. During the tutorial, for example, I spent five frustrating minutes trying to clean dung from a pen by mindlessly clicking on it and everything around it before realizing that to access this option you actually have to click on the tiny, sometimes difficult -see enclosure fence parameter.
There are a lot of nagging little problems like this, where intuition seems to have taken over and you just have to memorize where each option is. Some single player missions are included, mainly to understand the terrain, but they are buggy and limited. This early access is mainly about the sandbox mode.
In sandbox mode, the building powers of the prehistoric kingdom begins to shine. You can create really cool and picturesque animal structures and enclosures. For people who really enjoy building a park, there are plenty of options. There’s also a surprisingly robust online community sharing their creations, which is a great sign for the future of gaming.
Blue Meridian said it expects the game to remain in Early Access for the next 18-24 months, which seems like a long time. There’s a lot missing so far, but the bones of the game are solid, even if sometimes hidden a little too deep in the menu systems. The presentation is already outstanding, with an excellent soundtrack and score to complement the finely rendered zoo attractions.
Prehistoric Kingdom Early Access Review – The Bottom Line
Advantages
- Critters looks fantastic.
- Ability to create elaborate and sprawling parks.
- Nigel Frickin’ Marvin.
- Has a nice tendency to be at least somewhat scientifically accurate.
The inconvenients
- Very incomplete and excessively anticipated access.
- The confusing, maze-like user interface makes things harder.
- Few AI and mostly just a sandbox to get a taste.
For fans of this particular little genre, prehistoric kingdom might well be worth a look, especially if they temper their expectations. The game is far from over and is as likely to frustrate players as it is to amuse them, but the awe-inspiring spectacle of ancient giants is on full display here.
Dinosaurs are awesome and Kingdom does a great job of capturing that sense of wonder, despite the flaws.
[Note: The writer was reimbursed for the copy of Prehistoric Kingdom used for this Early Access review.]
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