Prehistoric Gaming: The 7 Greatest Dinosaurs We’ve Ever Faced
With the dinosaur-heavy Ark: Survival Evolved finally coming out of its two-year Early Access, we’re feeling the effects of “Dinosaur Fever.” Yeah, it’s a thing and you’re the weird one for not feeling it!
Our favorite prehistoric reptiles aren’t always in the best of games, but there has been a select few that have stolen our hearts — literally ripped them from our chest cavities and devoured them. Paying tribute to the best extinct beasts to have stomped their way onto the screen, here are the seven most memorable Dinosauria to have graced video games.
Tyrannosaurus Rex (‘Dino Crisis,’ ‘Tomb Raider’)
I ran into a roadblock when deciding whether to feature the t-rex from Dino Crisis or Tomb Raider. On one hand, you have the video game version of Jurassic Park’s Rexy, a tenacious beast that really wants to make you its next meal.
Then there’s the unexpected arrival of the Tomb Raider rex that had no qualms with just running you over like a steam roller.
Both were iconic and memorable, though props go out to the Dino Crisis rex for having some of the best entrances of any dinosaur in a video game. Though its roar was a far cry from good ol’ Rexy’s.
Velociraptor (‘Dino Crisis’)
Six years after Jurassic Park fooled the movie-going public into thinking velociraptors were really 6-feet tall, Dino Crisis opted to continue that string of misinformation — but I can’t even be mad.
These bastardized versions of prehistory’s three-toed pack hunters were probably the scariest iteration of velociraptors we had seen — and ever would see in gaming.
Stalking the hallways of the abandoned research facility, claws ticking with each step and guttural hisses sending shivers down our spines — somehow Capcom found a noise more unsettling than the now-antiquated shuffling of zombie feet.
Raptors have had a place in many games since Dino Crisis, but no design has been this scary. Even the action-oriented follow-up turned them from hulking stalkers into forgettable cannon fodder.
Yoshi (‘Yoshi’s Island,’ Various Nintendo Titles)
Sure, you won’t see T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas anywhere on the Mezasoic timeline, but we’d be remiss if we left out everybody’s favorite fictional dinosaur just for the sake of scientific accuracy.
Yoshi’s first appearance in Super Mario World was that of a very useful support character, but as the years went on, he started to earn his own starring roles.
Beyond his cameos in future Mario titles like Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, our green pal branched off into his own franchise of games, starting with the forgettable Yoshi’s Cookie and Yoshi’s Safari.
Today, gamers can get their hands on an abundance of Yoshi merchandise and even take to the battlefields of Super Smash Bros. with everyone’s favorite bipedal Yoshisaur Munchakoopas.
Talon (‘Primal Rage’)
Possibly obscure to anyone born after 1986, Primal Rage was Atari’s answer to the Mortal Kombat craze that traded in kung fu experts for a selection of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, primates, and, well, this guy…
Of the eclectic roster, my favorite had always been Talon, the god of Survival. Sure, the pair of T. rexes and the chasmosaurus were fun to toy with, but nothing beat the oversized velociraptor on speed.
Talon’s flurry of attacks was incredibly satisfying and made for the most effective dinosaur fighter in the game, but what I always enjoyed most were his gory and visceral finishers.
Can you say, “Needs a reboot?”
Spinosaurus (‘Ark: Survival Evolved’)
Though T. rex fans refused to believe the spinosaurus would be any match for their favorite therapod, just look at it!
As I played through Ark, I was mostly pleased with the rogues gallery of critters and creatures that continuously ruined my day, but it was the spinosaurus that wound up being my prized hunt.
Studio Wildcard’s design of the partially-amphibious carnivore was most impressive and surprisingly accurate. There was just something about riding a veritable living, breathing war vessel that pleased me.
Probably because I could finally get revenge on everything that had made my adventure hell up to that point.
Thunderjaw (‘Horizon Zero Dawn’)
Uh oh. Am I cheating by including this mechanized bipedal fiend? I mean, it’s totally a mechanical T. rex with lasers and it’s not like Yoshi was a real dinosaur, so I think it’s fair to include one of Horizon Zero Dawn’s top killers.
The Thunderjaw was one of the game’s biggest challenges, dwarfed only by the chaotic end battle, and emerging as the victor against the hulking Matrix-rex wound up being one of the most accomplished feelings I’ve had in a game in a long while.
Going up against a Thunderjaw takes a cunning warrior with the right tools, and I thoroughly loved the five–ten-minute-long battles that ensued whenever I encountered one.
Anjanath (‘Monster Hunter World’)
Yeah, this is my list, so you’ll have to deal with the fact that I:
- Am using the term dinosaur loosely
- Am featuring a game that isn’t even out yet
The thing is, though: I have no doubt that both Monster Hunter World and the dinosauresque Anjanath are going to satisfy. It’s clear that this therapod-like dino-monster is going to pound me into the ground a few times before I take him out — but I wouldn’t even be mad.
The design is thoroughly fun and imposing, mixing elements from commonly known dinosaurs like the T. rex and spinosaurus to create what is already shaping up to be my favorite part of a game that isn’t even out yet.
Mark LoProto is a horror-loving gaming enthusiast who also has a soft spot for Ghostbusters, bubble wrap, and kittens. Look for his work here, here, and here.
