Kong: Survivor Instinct

About

In Kong: Survivor Instinct, a Monsterverse adventure, players must navigate a war-torn city amidst Titan attacks to find their trapped daughter. This 2.5D action-adventure game features challenging combat, environmental puzzles, and the chance to face off against legendary creatures such as Kong and Abaddon. Use Monarch tech to influence Titans and turn their strength to your advantage in this thrilling quest for survival.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

77%

Audience ScoreBased on 267 reviews

story37 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features solid level design and engaging puzzles that keep players entertained.
The graphics are impressive, providing a visually appealing experience that enhances the atmosphere.
The game offers a unique perspective on the Monsterverse, allowing players to experience the chaos from a civilian's point of view.

The voice acting is subpar, often detracting from the overall immersion and emotional impact of the story.
Combat can be frustrating and repetitive, with clunky controls that hinder the gameplay experience.
The story feels thin and predictable, lacking depth and failing to fully utilize the potential of the Monsterverse.

story
145 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
64%
10%
The story of "Kong: Survivor Instinct" is generally viewed as weak and predictable, with many reviewers noting its lack of depth and emotional engagement. While some appreciated the environmental storytelling and occasional plot twists, the overall narrative is criticized for being thin, poorly executed, and featuring uninteresting characters, particularly the protagonist. Despite these shortcomings, the game is often described as enjoyable for its gameplay, suggesting that the story does not significantly detract from the overall experience.
- “Kong: Survivor Instinct suffers from poor voice acting and terrible facial animations, but it does have an interesting story, cool environments, awesome titans, and some fun platforming action.”
- “The world design and environmental storytelling are very well done, and the titan escape sequences deliver on the tension.”
- “The game is actually good, the story is nice and otherwise the experience pays off well; for a 2.5D game, it did a great job at delivering.”
- “By the end, I gave up caring how the 'story' ended; I just wanted to be done with it so that I never had to play this thing again.”
- “The story is barely there and as soon as you start, you already know how everything is going to go, paired with really subpar voice acting.”
- “The story feels almost nonexistent and it feels like a wasted opportunity.”
gameplay
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
68%
9%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising its solid mechanics, engaging puzzles, and well-designed environments, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking challenge, particularly in combat and platforming. Many players noted that the metroidvania elements are minimal, with a linear progression that diminishes the exploration aspect typical of the genre. Overall, while the game offers enjoyable moments and a polished experience, it may not satisfy those seeking depth or complexity in gameplay.
- “The gameplay is polished and fluid, offering a smooth experience without any bugs or crashes.”
- “Although some gameplay mechanics could use refining, the overall experience is memorable and worth diving into!”
- “Gameplay is good; I do not recall encountering any bugs, mechanics work well together, and it makes the flow of the game satisfying to get into.”
- “Gameplay-wise, the metroidvania elements are barely there: there is no challenge in combat nor platforming (apart from the jankiness), there are zero bosses, you fight the same enemies from start to finish and there is really no need for backtrack if you explore well on your first go around.”
- “The gameplay is pretty mundane; it's playable, but that's pretty much the nicest thing I can say about it.”
- “The not-so-good: the gameplay is somewhat repetitive, and the combat needs some work (it doesn’t have that smooth feeling and feels a bit delayed to me).”
graphics
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
26%
4%
The graphics in "Kong: Survivor Instinct" are generally praised for their quality, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning visuals, well-designed levels, and vibrant character models. While some critiques mention that the visuals may not be groundbreaking or can clash with animations, the overall consensus is that the game delivers a visually satisfying experience, especially for a title developed by a small team. The immersive atmosphere and detailed environments contribute significantly to the game's appeal.
- “Fantastic graphics and atmosphere.”
- “The visuals in this game are gorgeous; it's easily the best thing the game has to offer. The level design artists did a great job to really flesh out the different stages of the destroyed city, where each bit of a building you explore has its own detailed rooms, be it a storage inside a hospital, a car workshop, or monarch's bunkers.”
- “An engaging adventure with impressive visuals, immersive atmosphere, and thrilling encounters with giant monsters.”
- “The animation and visuals clash so hard that I don't know if I can really say the game looks good.”
- “It's not going to win any awards; the visuals are bland and dated, and the voice acting and story are laughably bad, but together it's almost like a so bad it's good film.”
- “I experimented a bit and turned up all of the graphical settings to max and still received a solid 60fps, although I could not discern any appreciable difference to the on-screen visuals, so it's best to leave them as they are and take the extra battery life.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
13%
20%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its fantastic graphics and immersive environments, creating an engaging adventure filled with thrilling encounters. However, the music is criticized as generic and intrusive, detracting from the overall experience for some players. While many appreciate the relaxing pace and visual appeal, others find the lack of character depth and poor dialogue negatively impact the atmosphere.
- “An engaging adventure with impressive visuals, immersive atmosphere, and thrilling encounters with giant monsters.”
- “Great atmosphere, cool plot, you can relax and not chase like in FPS.”
- “Game was great, loved the environment and atmosphere of the game; gameplay was okay at most, puzzles and map layout were fine.”
- “The music is pretty generic and bad; it's intrusive to the point of detracting from the game's atmosphere.”
- “He has absolutely no backstory or professional history, and they try to portray him as this man who can do anything and everything, which really takes away from the atmosphere.”
- “The dialogue and script are some of the worst I've seen; the atmosphere is abysmal, the story is dumb, and the game is generic.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise it for enhancing immersion and complementing the apocalyptic setting, others find it generic and intrusive, preferring to play with it turned off. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as decent but not the standout feature, with some players prioritizing the story over the music.
- “Nearly forgot to mention, but the music is really well done, helped immerse me into the game's apocalyptic world.”
- “The soundtrack amplifies the experience, keeping you hooked as you explore the world.”
- “Lastly there's the music which was fitting and at times good even.”
- “The music is pretty generic and bad; it's intrusive to the point of detracting from the game's atmosphere.”
- “I played most of the game with the music turned off because I found it made the game more tense and atmospheric.”
- “The music is pretty generic and bad; it's intrusive to the point of detracting from the game's atmosphere.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The game's optimization is generally considered lacking, with reports of frame rate drops in complex areas, though it performs well on the Steam Deck when settings are adjusted. While some players found it polished and playable, others noted the need for better overall performance, particularly regarding the main character's voice acting.
- “This game plays very well, it’s highly polished and well optimized for the Steam Deck.”
- “Not very well optimized, but works good on Steam Deck; I had to lower the settings for one of the scenes to actually pass it.”
- “I had some FPS drops left and right, especially in the more maze-like/condensed areas, but as a whole, I think performance was serviceable.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be repetitive and tedious, often involving a cycle of solving puzzles, defeating enemies, and exploring new areas without much variation. While some appreciate the game's gentler navigation compared to other metroidvanias, the lack of checkpoints during longer sneaking segments can lead to frustration and a sense of monotony. Overall, the gameplay feels like it could benefit from more engaging elements to break up the grind.
- “However, in between these events, it is repetitive - solve puzzles, kill the bad guys, discover new areas - rinse and repeat. After playing this game for a few hours, I found this part a bit tedious. The backgrounds look amazing, but I feel it's missing something to make the gameplay more interesting.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The sneaking parts are tedious, more because they get longer and you don’t get any checkpoints, meaning you have to replay from the start of the encounter.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is praised for its stability, with users reporting a smooth experience and responsive controls, free from bugs. This reliability stands out, especially in contrast to the common issues found in many other titles. Overall, players appreciate the game's solid performance and decent visuals.
- “It's not buggy, controls are responsive, and the game actually looks decent.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game lacks emotional depth, which detracts from the story's impact and prevents key moments from resonating with players. While the gameplay is highlighted as the main strength, the absence of emotional engagement is noted as a significant shortcoming.
- “I felt this did a disservice to the story and prevented important moments from having any real weight or emotional impact.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviewers indicate that the game offers limited replayability, with gameplay lasting just over eight hours, leading many to feel that the price of $25 is not justified. Overall, players express skepticism about returning to the game after completing it.
- “$25 is a little too much for just over eight hours of gameplay and not much replayability.”
- “Probably not going to be very replayable either.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism primarily due to misleading advertising, particularly regarding the character Abaddon, who was promoted as a key antagonist but ultimately played a minimal role, leading to feelings of wasted potential among players. This dissatisfaction reflects broader concerns about how the game markets its content versus the actual gameplay experience.