Theropods

“Theropods” by Sarah Duffield-Harding, Matthew John Frith, Zach Striefel & Kostas Skiftas.

“[A] point and click adventure game that combines puzzles with a cinematic story, colourful characters and a retro aesthetic. Oh, and lots of dinosaurs!”


Remain calm, my dinosaur, pixel art and adventure games loving heart! “Theropods” released a demo and was successfully backed on Kickstarter. The reason why I am so happy about this? On the one side, it sure looks lovely and makes me really curious about the final product, but on the other side, the original jam version of “Theropods” was one of the first articles I ever wrote for this blog! Back in the good old days, it was actually an entry for the Adventure Jam 2015. For me, it is always an incredible feeling to see what happens when jam submission I recommended evolves into something new and better.

But enough of the sentiments, as I am sure you would now like to read a bit more information about the game itself. You play as a cavewoman on her hunt for some fresh dinosaur meat. Of course, your desired prey does not intend to get spiked by your pike, so you have to carefully arrange a trap with the help of two goofy cavemen and the stuff you can find in the jungle. As none of you can speak, you have to give your partners gestural hints. Just as soon as the three of you manage to realize the master plan, something life-changing happens – and the demo ends. Oh, I hate cliffhangers.

“Theropods” looks incredibly beautiful so far and the sound design also catches up the Stone Age vibes very well. Also, the puzzle design is neatly structured, though I personally appreciated the puzzles in the jam version a little more. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to see the full game released, as it will surely mix up the old premise quite a bit. By the way: If you scroll down the description page on itch.io, you will not only see images of pixelated prehistoric creatures and humans any longer, but also aliens! I mean… A dinosaur-science-fiction mashup adventure with a stunning audiovisual presentation, filled with puzzles and surprises? I am so on board. [PLAY]