As we’ve seen in Jurassic Park, and now Jurassic World, the unstoppable force of a hungry dino can only be thwarted by one thing: cool, overly confident badassary. Whether its Sam Neill battling a car and a raptor at the same time, or Chris Pratt’s motorcycle sequence, the more outlandish your survival tactics, the more likely you are of conquering the dinosaurs wanting to make a scratching post out of your flesh.
But, really, the protagonist of Theropods tops all other dino-themed badassery before her. In fact, I’m pretty sure this fiery-haired cavewoman would pick her teeth with Pratt’s bones as much as any one of his misbehaving raptors would. Because this protagonist, unlike those others who encounter dinosaurs, lives in a world entirely populated by the beasts. They roam free, a constant threat to our protagonist’s way of life—and her ruthless fighting style proves just how time-tested she is. Dinosaurs are such a normal part of her life that when two raptors decide to rush her peaceful campfire out of nowhere, our fiery redhead springs into action, scaling a tree and swiftly making her way back to safety by using the environment against her attacker.
The protagonist, who appears to combine Brave’s Merida with Eep from The Croods, must rescue her witch doctor companion after saving herself. As a point and click game created in just two weeks for the adventure jam, Theropods is a quick trip into this redhead’s cutthroat world. But each puzzle and animation emphasizes the huntress’s craftiness, as she tries to make a home out of a hostile environment—instead of just survive the dino-hell her and her fellow man invented for themselves.
In the end, there are some brutal and depressing casualties to our fiery redhead’s determination. Never before have I solved a final puzzle in a game only to go “Yay—Oh no! I didn’t mean it! I take it back!” Despite how short Theropods is, it makes an impression and captures the day-to-day reality of being a true, badass dinosaur survivalist.
You can play Theropods for free here.