Fossilfuel

About

Fossilfuel is a single player open world shooter game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by DangerousBob Studio LLC and was released on August 20, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Fossilfuel is a cyberpunk horror shooter where the player must fight their way through dinosaurs and super soldiers in an open world.

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74%Audience ScoreBased on 121 reviews

graphics6 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game offers a unique dinosaur-themed survival horror experience with effective jump scares and a nostalgic horror atmosphere reminiscent of classic titles like Dino Crisis and Doom 3.
There is a wide variety of weapons, interesting puzzles, and multiple endings that encourage exploration and replayability.
The soundtrack and sound design are praised for fitting the eerie mood, complemented by decent graphics and memorable dino models despite some indie limitations.

The game suffers from numerous bugs, performance issues, and poor optimization, with frequent crashes, lag spikes, and broken achievements reported.
Enemy AI is often described as dumb or inconsistent, with frustrating one-hit kills and cheap difficulty spikes that undermine stealth and combat mechanics.
The game shifts awkwardly from dinosaur horror to generic shooter with human enemies, losing its early atmospheric and gameplay strengths, resulting in a short, uneven experience lacking polish.

graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The graphics are generally mixed, with some users appreciating the visuals and smooth performance on modest machines, while others criticize poor optimization, requiring lower settings to avoid lag. The design of creatures, especially the hybrid dinosaurs, received notably negative feedback for looking clunky and uninspired. Overall, graphics range from decent to impressive but are occasionally marred by bugs and inconsistent art quality.
- “The graphics in FossilFuel are well impressive, playing smoothly on epic settings even on my modest machine.”
- “Thanks to DangerousBob, the developer, for keeping things fun, exciting gameplay and great graphics that will play on most machines.”
- “Awesome jump scares, clever puzzles, and dope graphics—I haven't found a gem like this in a bit.”
- “The graphics were poorly optimized; I had to switch to low graphics settings to stop the game from lagging and crashing.”
- “The graphics suffer from issues and bugs, negatively affecting the overall experience.”
- “The visuals are low on graphical settings despite running on a capable rig.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The story is generally short and somewhat inconsistent, blending survival horror and shooter elements but losing its horror focus midway. While it offers an interesting premise involving dinosaur outbreaks and espionage, the narrative is thin and occasionally hampered by lack of subtitles and abrupt shifts in tone. Overall, it provides decent atmosphere and engagement but lacks depth and replay value.
- “You get into the story and learn that the dinosaurs contained in this research facility break out and you're forced to fight, survive, and escape.”
- “There is a paper-thin story told through a couple of unskippable cutscenes, and text logs found in the game expand on the lore a bit, adding some survival horror-type worldbuilding.”
- “However, the story works, and the atmosphere is very well built in my opinion.”
- “There's a paper-thin story told through a couple of unskippable cutscenes, and text logs found in the game expand on the lore a bit, which adds some of that survival horror-type worldbuilding.”
- “The story is short and forgets itself halfway through the game; once you escape the bunker, any horror elements the game had vanish except for a cheap jump-scare of an enemy bursting through the wall.”
- “Story itself is inconsistent and changes rapidly from horror to a shooter game and then afterwards there are zero horror elements at all.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
12%
38%
The gameplay offers a good variety and a compelling storyline, but individual mechanics feel rough and underdeveloped, leading to a somewhat short and uneven experience. While the game's design and atmosphere are praised, issues like poor voice acting and cheap jump scares detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “Good gameplay and a storyline.”
- “There is a lot of variety in the gameplay, which I greatly appreciated.”
- “I am about 25% through and I am surprised at how much variety there is in gameplay.”
- “If this mechanic should be for the rest of the game, then you've already done it wrong, and the lazy cheap jumpscares are lame as well.”
- “Jump scares are great when done right, but if a dino destroys a door and instantly kills you, that's not fun - no audio clues to balance the gameplay.”
- “The gameplay reminded me of the first, while the ambience and the atmosphere reminded me of the second.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The game suffers from poor optimization, causing frequent lag and performance issues even on above-spec PCs, often requiring low graphics settings for smoother play. While initially unpolished and resource-heavy, some improvements were made over time, but overall the performance remains a notable drawback compared to its sequel.
- “If you want the best experience for the least amount of money, I just recommend buying the 2nd Fossil Fuel game and playing that one through to see if you enjoy it, because it is basically a better version of the first one with better graphics, performance, and flow, as well as different dinos and a different story. After that, then play this one.”
- “Like yeah, the AI is still basic, it's a bit asset reliant (the zombies used for the corpses for example) and it could still use a bit of optimization on some sections but it's a single dev and I absolutely didn't know he was working alone when I made my review.”
- “Unfortunately, though I was able to finish the game, I can't really recommend it as a game because there are a lot of glaring issues with balance, and it is a performance mess.”
- “It also is just poorly optimized and I had to switch to low graphics to stop it from lagging and breaking.”
- “It lacks any sort of polish, the AI is terrible, achievements were broken and the performance mediocre at times (my PC isn't the best but is way over spec for this and it still tanked in places).”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, leading to a generally unstable experience, particularly with sneaking mechanics and certain achievements. However, ongoing developer updates suggest improvements are underway.
- “Got this as a bundle with the sequel, and I'm sincerely hoping that's a better showing than this, because this is just a buggy, jank-filled mess.”
- “No leaning around corners, which would be useful for sneaking; hiding in closets is buggy as hell, as the raptor still finds you.”
- “The only things I disliked were the buggy achievements, the lack of dinosaur variety, and the trench area being difficult.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its immersive and well-crafted environments, with strong ambience and sound design that effectively evoke memorable settings like the Jurassic Park bunker. Overall, the atmosphere enhances the experience, despite some minor polish needed.
- “However, the story works, and the atmosphere is very well built in my opinion.”
- “The atmosphere, sound and enemy design are all great and there's a good selection of weapons.”
- “The Jurassic Park bunker atmosphere is great.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users praise the music for its fitting suspenseful and nostalgic 80s vibe, which enhances the spooky atmosphere and varied gameplay sections. The soundtrack is well-designed and adds humor and excitement, making the overall experience more engaging.
- “Actually, I forgot to include that I really loved the music.”
- “The soundtrack was good and I detected the famous 'Wilhelm' scream, which made me laugh.”
- “I loved everything about this: spooky setting, going through vents, great suspense soundtrack that gave off some real 80s vibes.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Replayability for this game is limited, as the main story can be completed within about two hours and lacks depth beyond achievements, which are sometimes buggy. While level design offers some multiple paths, overall the game mainly appeals to speedrunners or achievement hunters, providing minimal incentive for repeated playthroughs.
- “Level design is good with some multiple path options here and there for replay value.”
- “The whole thing will take about 2 hours on your first playthrough (yes, even on hard) and the only replay value here is tied to achievements, which also don't pop when they're supposed to (had to resort to SAM in this case).”
- “The story can be completed in 1 sitting (like I did) which is good if you're a streamer but unfortunately doesn't hold much replay value at all unless you like speedrunning.”
- “Visuals are nice enough (except for the designs) low replay value unless you're into speedrunning.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor often arises unintentionally, adding a fun and lighthearted element to its scary dinosaur theme. Players appreciate amusing moments like the inclusion of the famous "Wilhelm" scream, contributing to an overall entertaining experience.
- “Love this game for its scary style and dinosaurs, but it can be really funny by accident. I really enjoyed it, streamed 1 & 2 recently and going to stream FF3 demo. Looking forward to it; keep making dino shooters!”
- “The soundtrack was good and I detected the famous 'Wilhelm' scream, which made me laugh.”
- “Not too bad, just don't expect much, but $20 is pretty funny.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s grinding is hindered by unclear mechanics, such as backpacks that increase inventory size without clear notifications after the first acquisition, leading to a tedious and monotonous experience.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes a warm, nostalgic emotional experience by blending multiple genres and paying heartfelt homage to various classic games. This quilt of influences creates distinct, memorable moments that resonate emotionally with players.