Developer: Infinigon Games
Publisher: Outright Games Ltd
Platform: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Tested on: Switch
Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports – Review
The 2024 Olympic Games may be in full swing, but it seems like Mario and Sonic decided to skip a trip to Paris. Don’t fret if you’re in dire need of a sports-based minigame kick, however, because Outright Games has got you covered with Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports. Yes, Tiny the Triceratops, Rocky the Parasaurolophus, and all your other favorites are back, after last year’s Dino Kart. And while we’re not in Gigantosaurus’ target audience, we do enjoy dinosaur action in our games. So, does Dino Sports knock things out of the park or does it drop the ball?
Story
When we took a look at Dino Kart last year, we admitted to not being familiar with the series. That hasn’t changed, so all our knowledge of the Gigantosaurus universe was derived from video games. That doesn’t seem to be an issue here, however, as there isn’t a whole lot of story present here. Not that that’s going to be an issue, given that the series is aimed at toddlers, and that Dino Sports is simply a series of sports-themed mini-games loosely connected as if this was an episode of the show. Within the game’s context, those mini-games are the so-called Giganto Games, with the show’s protagonists competing against one another. It’s a very simple story, told through cartoonish cutscenes in between the games.
Graphics
Speaking of cartoonish cutscenes, Dino Sports looks great. We suspect that the game makes use of the same 3D models as previous Gigantosaurus video games, and we wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they were lifted directly from the show in the first place. We played this one on PC, but if the Switch port of Dino Kart is any indication, then Dino Sports is going to look great on that platform too. That’s important to keep in mind too, as the Switch is actually the most logical place to play Dino Sports, closely followed by other consoles. We’ll get back to why that is when we get to the gameplay. The cartoonish style shouldn’t be too taxing on your hardware regardless, and we didn’t notice any performance hiccups during our time at the Giganto Games.
Sound
You’d expect the game to be fully voiced given that a significant chunk of the target audience might not be able to read on-screen text yet, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case here. There is still voice acting here, but some of the game’s explanations do require basic reading ability. That said, the soundscape is similar in quality to other Outright Games releases. The audio quality is great, the music is cheerful and catchy, and the sound effects add a dash of cartoon fun.
Gameplay
As far as video game originality goes, the Gigantosaurus franchise doesn’t have a very good track record. Dino Kart was a Mario Kart clone, and Dino Sports is -unsurprisingly- a clone of the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series. Of course, cloning and dinosaurs go together like bread and butter, and we’re happy to report that Dino Sports is an incredibly polished product. In terms of sports mini-games, you’re getting eight of them here: Climbing (rock climbing), Ice Dash (bobsledding), Stunt Surf (surfing), Jump Dive (skydiving), Hang Gliding (hang gliding), Stop & Go (running race), Raptors Triathlon (triathlon) and Dino Fruit Blast (an on-rails shooter). None of the games on offer are particularly complex, which is important for a family game aimed at the younger crowd. This is one of those games that anyone can pick up and play, whether your young’un is having friends over or if grandma wants to join in on some fruit-blasting fun. There are even two difficulty settings: ‘kid’ and ‘grown up’, and each game is accompanied by an interactive tutorial.
One aspect of the game that is undoubtedly going to draw criticism, even from us, is that despite Dino Sports being a polished game altogether, it’s also woefully low on content. Playing through the entirety of Dino Sports takes under an hour, and while this is perfect for a family get-together, it does make the entirety of the game feel like a barebones affair. There are a handful of challenges to strive for, with the ultimate aim being to achieve a gold medal in each sport, and there is also a custom mode that lets you pick your favorite mini-games, but ultimately, these additions feel superfluous. Admittedly, there’s a “bonus feature” of sorts in that there are interactive jigsaw puzzles available from a sub-menu. These feel tacked on, however, to pad the game because Outright Games knew they were already pushing the limits of how little content they could include while charging full price for this.
The target audience is still going to be having a blast with Dino Sports, regardless of the lack of content. Dino Sports has a high replayability factor, of course, so while anyone not in the target audience is going to have a hard time justifying the RRP of €39.99, it’s still going to keep your toddlers occupied longer and cheaper than taking them to a theme park for a day. We should note that this is one of those games that is probably more at home on consoles than on PC. While we did try out the Steam version, we can imagine that Dino Sports is going to be infinitely more appealing when it can take advantage of a TV screen if you’re going to use it to entertain a bunch of kids.
Conclusion
We don’t expect Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports to show up in any gamer’s top 10 games of 2024, but that wouldn’t be because it’s a bad game -it isn’t. For what it wants to be, and with the target audience in mind, Dino Sports provides a fun, albeit brief experience. There isn’t a whole lot of content here, but what’s present is polished and fun enough that we wouldn’t mind playing this one with the family. The price tag does seem excessive for what you’re getting here, but it’s a matter of quality over quantity, and we’re sure that the target audience is going to get their parents’ money’s worth out of it. Just make sure to pick it up on console rather than PC as the multiplayer action is better suited for TV play. So, Gigantosaurus: Dino Party next then?
No Comments