Kong- Survival Instinct Tries To Center Humans In A Story About Monsters

Kong: Survival Instinct is an adventure game that seeks to shrink the monster genre to a more human view. Players make their way through a crumbling city. Kong and other giant creatures fight in the background, occasionally spotting the player. The story itself is pretty basic; a father searching for his daughter. It’s an enjoyable sidescroller as long as you don’t expect to take control of any Kaiju. 

The backdrops are intricately detailed. There aren’t many interactions beyond a few environmental puzzles. Buildings frequently fall apart, which cause a lot of frustration once the novelty wears off. This also means there’s never a moment where it doesn’t feel like the city isn’t falling apart. And the puzzles repeat throughout the game. While repetitive, it means it doesn’t truly stop progress. 

As David, players will be able to control monsters to help him navigate. These moments could be more exciting if they weren’t just cutscenes. Survival Instinct doesn’t have traditional boss fights. Instead, once David is spotted it triggers a chase. Sometimes this involves climbing spiderwebs. Which feels like the game’s most unique moments. Combat against human enemies ramps up as more attack at once. Other than that it stays mostly the same throughout.

Kong: Survival Instinct is for gamers seeking a retro-like experience. Players who want more can safely skip this one. It doesn’t introduce many unique features, while pushing the stars of monster movies into the background. That isn’t to say it’s an awful game. The characters have understandable goals, and it can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.