Jurassic Park: Survival Is the Sequel Fans Have Always Wanted

The original Jurassic Park is, undeniably, one of the greatest movies ever made. In 1993, director Stephen Spielberg struck gold with his adaptation of the Michael Crichton novel, spawning theme park attractions, toys, video games, and several sequels. The films since then have been something of a mixed bag. While there have been some highlights throughout the last 30+ years of the franchise, they’ve all strayed a bit from the things we’ve come to know and love about that first film. Most notably, they moved beyond the park itself. The upcoming video game Jurassic Park: Survival will rectify that, bringing players back to where it all began.

There has been no shortage of Jurassic Park video games over the years, released across a plethora of platforms. In fact, there were a ton of games released based just on the first movie, many of which were released in a compilation a few years ago. However, Jurassic Park: Survival already stands out from the rest of the raptor pack. Rather than retelling the events of one particular film, the game is promising an original story with a unique place in the movie franchise’s timeline. And for that reason alone, the game could be the sequel fans have long wanted to see.

Jurassic Park: Survival Takes Place Immediately After the Movie

The plot and background of Jurassic Park: Survival is already compelling. Taking place the day after the original movie, the game puts players in the role of Maya Joshi, a brand-new character being introduced to the Jurassic Park mythos. Maya is an InGen scientist who made it through the initial events at the park, but has found herself stranded after the film’s surviving cast managed to escape. As Maya, players will have to survive Isla Nublar’s many familiar threats in order to find a way back home. That means all the threats we saw doctors Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm encounter in the first movie are still there. From the cunning raptors to the intimidating Tyrannosaurus Rex, Maya is going to have to avoid and outsmart them all.

Crichton’s Jurassic Park novel saw Isla Nublar destroyed by napalm, but the adaptation left the island intact (beyond what the dinosaurs themselves destroyed). That difference paid off decades later in Jurassic World, which saw Isla Nublar brought back in the franchise. Since Isla Sorna was the main location in the first two Jurassic Park sequels, there was a gap of more than 20 years between depictions of Isla Nublar. Because of this decision, fans didn’t get to see or experience much of the island immediately after the events of the first film.

How Jurassic Park: Survival Takes Things Beyond the Movie

The game’s unique approach to the Jurassic Park storyline immediately offers something that’s both familiar and different. In a recent featurette video, the developers of Jurassic Park: Survival talked about the painstaking effort that’s being put into recreating Isla Nublar’s locations, down to the locations of specific props. If the developers at Saber Games can pull that off, it’s going to create a great sense of immersion and atmosphere. From the sound of it, it will be as close as possible to making a game adapting the original movie, while still offering a new storyline. In that regard, Jurassic Park: Survival brings to mind games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Alien: Isolation, both of which offered new stories that basically acted as sequels to classic films.

A big part of Jurassic Park: Survival‘s appeal will be the opportunity to revisit a beloved place at a point in time most players will be familiar with. However, that doesn’t mean the game will just retread familiar ground. In addition to telling a new story with a new character, the game will have players visiting locations that weren’t present in the original movie. Saber Games and Universal have worked closely to create new locations on Isla Nublar that were hinted at in Jurassic Park but were never shown. The game could expand our concept and view of Isla Nublar.

Will Jurassic Park: Survival Live Up to the Hype?

If there’s one unfortunate thing about Jurassic Park: Survival, it’s the fact that we have no idea how far along the game is right now. Judging solely by the recently released featurette, it feels like the game’s completion is still far away. Most of what we’ve been shown so far has consisted of pre-alpha footage or early animation tests, as opposed to actual gameplay. That’s typically a sign that the developers don’t have more than can be shown.

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Still, everything we’ve seen from Saber Games looks really promising, and it’s easy to be excited as a Jurassic Park fan. Hopefully, the development team will be given the time to cook on this, and we can see more progress updates over time. There’s a lot of potential right now, and if Saber Games can hit the mark, Jurassic Park: Survival could end up being something fans have long been waiting for. In the meantime, we’ll just have to settle for the many other existing games based on the property.

Are you planning to check out Jurassic Park: Survival when it gets released? Does this sound like the kind of thing you’ve been waiting for? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section!