Kong: Survivor Instinct [PC] | REVIEW

After the disaster that was Skull Island: Rise of Kong, it’s safe to say that my expectations weren’t too high for Kong: Survivor Instinct. But you know what? It’s actually a pretty cool game that’s packed with exciting encounters with gigantic Titans.

Check out some screenshots down below:

It’s worth noting from the get-go that Kong: Survivor Instinct doesn’t put players in the role of Kong, but rather a man named David who finds himself surviving a destructive Titan attack on his home city. This attack sees him separated from his daughter, which sends him on a dangerous journey to try and find her. However, with Titans still ravaging the city and a villainous organisation running a shady operation across its remains, it’s going to be a real fight for survival.

It’s a decent enough tale, with Kong: Survivor Instinct’s storytelling bringing in enough intrigue with its human villains and your fellow survivors to ensure that it explores the Titan attack from different perspectives. And sure, it could be a bit predictable, but it also had plenty of moments where I found myself genuinely invested in David’s plight and rooting for him to succeed. Just ignore the voice acting… it’s not great.

At its core, Kong: Survivor Instinct is a 2.5D action-platformer, with players scurrying across a range of environments as they clear simple platforming challenges, evade hazards, and find the items necessary to bypass obstacles in their path. An early example of this comes with the sledgehammer that can be used to destroy barricades or the grappling hook that can be used to reach inaccessible areas, but you’ll also find yourself using keys to open locked doors or using objects in your surroundings as makeshift platforms.

“Kong: Survivor Instinct is a pleasant surprise, with the action-packed set pieces and chaotic encounters with Titans ensuring it makes for an enjoyable adventure.”

Another interesting trick that players have their sleeve is the ORCA device, which can be used to identify special signals in the environment. And when you’ve found enough of these signals? You can use the device to call a Titan, who’ll bring their destructive ways to your location and ‘help’ you out in a more unconventional (and mostly destructive) manner. These were some of my favourite moments of the game, with the destructive set pieces not only exciting to play through but also looking brilliant in motion. There’s an impressive sense of scale to the action of Kong: Survivor Instinct, with the encounters with Titans always leaving me in awe.

But be warned: whilst they DO help you out in some ways, they’re still out to get you. There’s nothing better than outrunning or outsmarting an enormous Titan as a means to try and survive, with these moments putting pressure on the player to react quickly to both their treacherous surroundings as well as the wrath of the creature pursuing them. There’s a good variety of Titans too, and when they find themselves facing off against each other? It’s always thrilling, with buildings getting destroyed around you as you try to survive through the chaos.

Where Kong: Survivor Instinct lets itself down is with its encounters with human enemies, with combat dull and clunky throughout. It tries to add depth by putting an emphasis on timing your attacks and performing defensive manoeuvres to parry incoming strikes or grapple with foes, but it never actually feels that good in-game. It’s something that becomes a bit more tedious as you progress, especially when enemies are more buffed up and are trickier to handle. In fairness, Kong: Survivor Instinct isn’t too tough of a game that it ever feels like a real problem, but it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed by the combat given how enjoyable the other aspects of the game can be.

Check out some screenshots down below:

I think the best way to describe Kong: Survivor Instinct is as a nice surprise. I went in with low expectations, but honestly, I really enjoyed my time playing. Sure, the combat is weak, but the action-packed set pieces and sheer sense of destruction really hooked me in across the game’s roughly five-hour runtime. There are undoubtedly better 2.5D action-adventures to play, but if you’re a fan of Kong or the Monsterverse in general, there’ll be a lot to like here.

Developer: 7Levels
Publisher: 4Divinity
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2769080/Kong_Survivor_Instinct/