Kong: Survivor Instinct
Review
Surviving Destruction
by Quinn Levandoski
reviewed on PC
Not Quite King, But Still Pretty Fun
Given the immense impact that Godzilla, Kong, and other related kaiju have had on pop culture for the better part of a century, I've always found it a bit odd that the towering behemoths haven't been better represented in gaming. There have certainly been a few projects that I've enjoyed (Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters on GameCube was a staple of my childhood, as was Godzilla: The Series on Game Boy Color), but the modern age has been disappointingly lacking in the giant lizard and ape departments - save for a few exceptions. This is particularly puzzling with the re-emergence of kaiju popularity among mainstream movie-goers with box office hits like Godzilla Minus One, the American Monsterverse movies, and other projects inspired by these titans of the genre like Pacific Rim.
While I'm still waiting for the AAA Godzilla or Kong game that my heart yearns for, I'm happy to see developer 7Levels taking a crack at a smaller game set in the Monsterverse (shortly after the events of Godzilla vs. Kong). This 2.5D action platforming game drops players into a world in chaos from the emergence of Titans and amid several towering beasts - notably the titular Kong - running amok and causing incredible destruction. But, does the game succeed in delivering an experience worthy of its legendary namesake, or does it struggle to live up to his titanic reputation? Well, a little bit of both.
Surviving Destruction
Kong: Survivor Instinct puts players into the shoes of David Martin, a man who lives on the West Coast as it's being terrorized by Kong. Unfortunately for him, his daughter lives in the affected area, and he risks life and limb to search for her. While he does it, David not only has to avoid the kaiju-caused mayhem but also particularly unfriendly civilians and the lackeys of Alan Jonah (the character played by the iconic Charles Dance in 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters). It's a perfectly reasonable setup to justify the game's existence, but it never delves into anything particularly interesting. A big part of this is that, despite talking a lot, David Martin doesn't really have anything important to say. Moreover, and it's always hard to tell if this is because of the script or the actor, his lines are never really delivered with much convincing emotion. It's not a deal breaker - this isn't presented as a deep, affecting narrative game - but sometimes less is more, and silence in lieu of some of the humour (which didn't land for me) probably would have been a step in the right direction.
A World On Fire
However, what the game lacks in those areas it makes up for in beautiful environments that succeed in selling the sense of scale that makes monster movies so haunting. There are impressive details packed into each area that make them feel alive, and I believe that Kong or another monster has recently plowed through. The destruction, of course, acts as the justification for platforming, which sees David traverse dilapidated buildings, crumpling streets, haunting subterranean locales, and more.
However, the destruction itself isn't the most important element of environmental design for a game like this to nail. Destructed urban sprawls aren't rare in games, but few have the opportunity to frame it all with a sense of incredible scale. I sympathize that it's no easy task to sell the incredible size of monsters. It can even be a struggle for films, with movies like Pacific Rim: Uprising and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire losing some of the magic their forbearers presented. Fortunately, Kong: Survivor Instinct crushes it in this regard, and it's all about the backdrops. While Davis is doing his thing in the foreground, Kong or other Titans can often be seen in the background walking through buildings and casually or intentionally showing how puny humanity and its creations are. There's up-close kaiju action as well, but these further-off scenes bring the world to life and maintain a constant sense of danger and scale for the player.
Middling Gameplay
If the voice acting and story are disappointing and the environments and art design are great, gameplay sits somewhere in the middle. The general idea of basic platforming, combat, and backtracking won't be new to anyone with any experience in the genre, and while it's all serviceable, there's no real showstopper in terms of gameplay. Combat is a mix of basic melee and ranged fire, and environmental exploration generally comes via locks that need to be shot off (after getting the ammo to do so) or specific points that can be engaged with a grappling hook. Enemies will either bonk or shoot you in return, and David does have the ability to grab foes to either shove them around or use them as a human shield against ranged fire. It's all perfectly fine, but it didn't really grow beyond that for me. I understand that there's only so much growth a regular person can do in terms of abilities or tools to grow exploration as the game progresses, but overall, the general puzzles and exploration lacked a certain 'je ne sais quoi' that can be found in the classic titans of the genre.
I'm thrilled that Kong: Survivor Instinct exists because the Monsterverse - and the Godzilla and Kong IPs overall, deserve more representation in the medium. This game isn't the slam dunk that I'm looking for, but it's a perfectly reasonable way for fans of the characters to spend some time in their world. While the puzzles and exploration gameplay aren't anything to write home about, they're perfectly serviceable, and a lackluster story and some flat voice acting only moderately detract from the beautiful art direction and overall environmental design. Potential players with no inherent interest in Kong or the Titans may not find that to be enough, but this is still a fun entry in what is hopefully a long line of more kaiju games to come.
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6.5
fun score
Pros
Beautiful environments, intimidating sense of scale
Cons
Lackluster story, unengaging voice work, exploration and combat are fine but nothing special
