Jaw Drop Games' Deathground blends the ancient reptiles from Jurassic Park with elements of survival horror. We're pleasantly awestricken by the look, scale, and scope of this ambitious horror title (not to mention, more than a little terrified).
Hold On To Your Butts
With a Kickstarter campaign nearing its $100,000 goal, Jaw Drop Games is looking to tip the scales of horror in a whole new, more uproarious direction. Their survival horror dinosaur game focuses both on single and co-op experiences, allowing for teams of up to 3 players (or one solo player) pitted against a jungle world brimming with deadly prehistoric beasts.
The team of UK-based developers behind this amazing feat of horror gaming are not only experienced Unreal Engine specialists but long-time dinosaur diehards. To prove the immense talent behind this team, such titles they've worked on previously include SOMA, Alien Isolation, Amnesia, Runescape, LEGO Star Wars, HUE, and much more. Their penchant for expert sound quality, delivered best by their in-house BAFTA-nominated composer David Housden, in addition to their firm stance on a community-driven approach to game development allows Deathground a slew of anticipation. It's already among the select few horror titles that necessitate a movie adaption.
Clever Girl
Players will be up against, as the Kickstarter page reads, "unpredictable AI dinosaurs," specifically that of the compsognathus, velociraptor, allosaurus, and, of course, the t-rex. The player's goal when entering any particular Deathground session is to collect a variety of assigned loot and return it to the extraction point alive. Each successful mission will reward players with a multitude of power-ups and unlockable content, made all the more replayable via varied weather systems, dynamic objectives, randomized spawn/extraction points, and 3 different character classes. There's the Engineer, who can hack various systems and power grids, the Scout, who has an extremely helpful motion detection device for spotting prehistoric foes, and the Hunter, whose instincts allow him to sense his surroundings and is equipped with a trusty rifle.
The diverse environments littering the Deathground map, including a warehouse facility, verdant jungle, and many more, imbues the game with an added layer of exploration - that is, of course, if the player is bold enough to stray off the beaten path. Maps will be littered with a myriad of collectible and craftable items that will aid players in survival, some of which can even be combined in order to make survival only a tad bit easier. Don't make too much of a ruckus though, as "creating noise will have consequences." This isn't Turok, after all, what with bullets being extremely scarce and intense survival at the forefront of the Deathground experience.
Objects Are Closer Than They Appear
Jaw Drop Games isn't simply stopping at what's currently on the table, as an extremely ambitious long-term vision and stretch goals time table proves they're in it for the long haul with even more content in the works. Said future additions and features include whole new maps and zones, player abilities and character classes, ranked multiplayer sessions, even more deadly types of dinosaurs, and potentially even a PvP mode.
Deathground is already up on Steam for those who cannot wait to dive in and explore this menacing dino-filled world, so add it to your wishlist today. Though it may not even be available just yet, this enticing reveal and Kickstarter page proves Deathground is already looking like one of the best survival horror games of the decade. According to Jaw Drop Games, it will be releasing in full only on Steam come September 2021, but for those who need to itch that need for some dino-survival horror, simply pledge today and you may well be one of the lucky few to receive beta access when it becomes available.
Until then, maintaining an avid eye on their Twitter feed and binging the Jurrasic Park series may suffice.