It’s Jurassic Park, it’s a massive park, what could possibly go wrong?
Well, a lot of things. Most notably dinosaurs are on the loose and quite a lot of them think you’re dinner!
Jurassic Park growing up for me was one of my all-time favourite films. I loved dinosaurs and to see a film like that just blew me away. When Jurassic World was released in 2015 I was a kid again, relieving the nostalgia. The follow-up Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was another solid entry in the franchise. Most notably for making one of my nightmares after watching the original films as a kid a reality. Yep, the scene with the scary Dinosaur in a kid’s bedroom. The idea of that scenario kept me up at night as a child.
Now there have been a variety of Jurassic Park/World games in the past. Tell Tales Jurassic Park, Lego Jurassic World and the excellent Jurassic World: Evolution series. Yet there hadn’t been a first-person Jurassic game, until the original VR game for Oculus Quest Jurassic World: Aftermath. However, we aren’t looking at the VR version of this game. No, no! We’re delving into the re-release of Aftermath on the Nintendo Switch titled; Jurassic World Aftermath Collection. Originally the game was released in two parts for the VR version with the second part being a paid DLC. The Switch collection on the other hand contains both parts 1 and 2 stitched together to make one seamless experience.
So let’s dive right in.
Aftermath takes place in between the first Jurassic World Film and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. You play Sam who is on his way to Isla Nublar along with Dr Mia Everett to recover vital research for Henry Wu of Ingen. However, on your approach to Isla Nublar your plane is attacked by Pteranodon’s and you proceed to crash land in the ruins of the Jurassic World resort. Shortly after waking up (in true Jurassic Park fashion), the game throws you right into the suspense with a Tyrannosaurs Rex right outside the wreck of the plane looking for its dinner. It finds it in the form of the pilot of the plane and you then quickly make your escape to the main central hub. You are then introduced to the game’s main character Dr Mia Everett over the radio who leads you to the operations room. This is pretty much the safe zone of the game. From here you can access audio files that you unlock throughout your playthrough, view collectable plushie’s and most importantly, provide power to different areas of the facility that you will be travelling to. Once briefed you must work your way through the different areas of Jurassic World to progress with your mission and learn more about the world along the way. However, it’s not as easy as you’d think it to be. Throughout the entire game, you are being hunted by the three Velociraptors from the main film lead my Blue.
The game is very reminiscent of Alien Isolation in the way it plays out and how it approaches its gameplay. You are alone and being hunted and must do everything to survive. However, unlike Alien Isolation, you have no weapons whatsoever. You do have a nifty gadget that allows you to briefly turn on electronic devices for a short period of time to use as a distraction, but besides that, you’re on your own. Your best defence against the Velociraptors is to hide and move quietly, a bit like how to approach the Alien.
So gameplay wise it is super simple. There’s no crafting involved. No mini-map. Just you, your directional arrow and your ears to guide you.
If you’re playing in handheld mode during your playthrough I highly recommend wearing headphones as it really helps to immerse you in the experience and also helps you to pinpoint where the Velociraptors are in relation to your position.
The game itself ran perfectly in handheld mode and also really well in docked mode. The framerate was super smooth. I only encountered one instance where the frame rate dropped low near the end of the game when there were a lot of Dinosaurs on screen all at once but it was only for a brief instance.
Most VR-to-normal game ports often have that feeling that they used to be a VR game by the way the movement works. Doctor Who Edge of Reality for example. Yet the movement in this game was so fluid that I couldn’t even tell that it used to be a VR game. Again it runs so well.
So why do I highly recommend this game?
Well for one it’s a game set in the Jurassic Park/World universe that offers up a nice story with returning characters of Dr Ian Malcolm and Dr Henry Wu. The art style is gorgeous with a real hand-drawn authentic feel to it. The music is fantastic with nods back to the original film soundtrack. But above all is the world that this game puts you in. It really does feel lived in, or in this case, abandoned. You really feel like you’ve descended into the ruins of the Jurassic World disaster and it’s yours to explore. Plus you can learn some cool lore about the park along the way through computer emails accessible throughout your playthrough which also offers up very cool puzzle elements and a variety of different ways to gain access to the park’s many Desktops littered throughout the facility.
The voice acting though is the icing on the cake. Jeff Goldblum returns as Dr Ian Malcolm and BD Wong returns as Dr Henry Wu. Veteran voice actress Laura Bailey knocks it out of the park as Dr Mia Everett. While you never actually see any other characters visually, their presence is felt by their stand-out voice performances.
Overall Jurassic World: Aftermath Collection is a solid Switch game and a great entry into the Jurassic franchise. I highly recommend you go try it. It is a thrill ride from start to finish.
Developer: Coatsink
Publisher: Coatsink
Engine: Unity
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
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