Kong: Survivor Instinct

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 120 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Kong: Survivor Instinct Game Cover
Kong: Survivor Instinct is a big surprise, bringing some great level design and stunning visuals to the genre, featuring some tight gameplay.
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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.

  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 120 reviews
story17 positive mentions
replayability2 negative mentions
  • The game features solid level design and enjoyable platforming mechanics, making exploration fun.
  • The visuals are impressive, with good graphics that enhance the overall experience.
  • The combat system, while not perfect, offers a decent mix of melee and ranged options, allowing for some engaging encounters.
  • The voice acting is subpar, often detracting from the story and character immersion.
  • The combat can feel repetitive and janky, especially when facing multiple enemies or during chase sequences.
  • The story lacks depth and fails to fully utilize the Monsterverse elements, leaving players wanting more interaction with the Titans.
  • story66 mentions

    The story of "Kong: Survivor Instinct" is generally viewed as underwhelming and predictable, with many reviewers noting its lack of depth and engaging characters. While some appreciated the environmental storytelling and occasional plot twists, the overall narrative is criticized for being thin and poorly executed, particularly in terms of voice acting and character development. Despite these shortcomings, a few players found enjoyment in the gameplay and the monster encounters, suggesting that the game relies more on its action than its story.

    • “Great game and good story.”
    • “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.”
    • “Other than that, the story is bland, the dialogue is poorly written and acted, and David is an uninteresting and annoying character.”
  • gameplay43 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising its solid mechanics, engaging puzzles, and enjoyable exploration, particularly for fans of metroidvania games. However, many players noted issues such as repetitiveness, lack of challenge in combat, and a basic gameplay loop that can feel tedious over time. While the game offers a polished experience with impressive environments, it struggles with depth and variety, leaving some players wanting more from the overall gameplay experience.

    • “The gameplay was solid and the puzzles were good.”
    • “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-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).”
  • graphics32 mentions

    Overall, the graphics in the game are well-received, with many users praising the vibrant visuals, detailed environments, and impressive character designs. While some critiques mention that the graphics are not groundbreaking and can clash with the animation, the overall aesthetic is considered solid for a 2.5D title, delivering an engaging and immersive experience. Many players express a desire for more games to achieve a similar level of visual quality, highlighting the game's graphics as one of its standout features.

    • “Fantastic graphics and atmosphere.”
    • “An engaging adventure with impressive visuals, immersive atmosphere, and thrilling encounters with giant monsters.”
    • “- 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.”
    • “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.”
  • atmosphere7 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its fantastic graphics and immersive environments, creating an engaging adventure filled with thrilling encounters. However, the music has received criticism for being generic and intrusive, detracting from the overall experience for some players. While the gameplay has its challenges, the atmospheric elements, particularly the visuals, are highlighted as standout features.

    • “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 combat is interesting for a 2.5D game and is pretty balanced personally speaking.”
    • “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.”
  • music7 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it well-crafted and immersive, enhancing the apocalyptic atmosphere, others criticize it as generic and intrusive, preferring to play with the music off. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as decent, with ratings averaging around 4/5 or 7/10.

    • “Nearly forgot to mention, but the music is really well done, helping to immerse me into the game's apocalyptic world.”
    • “The soundtrack amplifies the experience, keeping you hooked as you explore the world.”
    • “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.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game's optimization is mixed; while it performs well on the Steam Deck with a polished experience, some users report needing to lower settings in certain scenes for smoother gameplay. Overall, the optimization is generally satisfactory, but there are areas where performance could be improved, particularly regarding character performance.

    • “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; had to lower the settings for one of the scenes to actually pass it.”
  • stability2 mentions

    The game is praised for its stability, with users noting that it runs smoothly without any bugs, and features responsive controls and decent graphics. This reliability stands out, especially in contrast to the common issues found in many other games.

    • “It's not buggy, controls are responsive, and the game actually looks decent.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The game lacks emotional depth, with gameplay overshadowing the story, which diminishes the weight of significant moments and their potential emotional impact.

  • replayability2 mentions

    Many users feel that the game offers limited replayability, with some expressing that the price of $25 is steep for just over eight hours of gameplay. Overall, the consensus suggests that players are unlikely to return to the game after their initial playthrough.

    • “$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.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be repetitive, often involving solving puzzles, defeating enemies, and exploring new areas, which can become tedious over time. However, unlike some other metroidvanias that can feel overwhelming, this game offers a more streamlined experience by guiding players and facilitating easier navigation through its world.

    • “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.”
    • “Whereas some metroidvanias can be daunting and even tedious to navigate due to the sheer size of their worlds, Survivor Instinct is a much gentler experience in that it constantly nudges you in the right direction and frequently loops you back around to previous areas rather than forcing you to backtrack long distances.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism for its misleading advertising, particularly regarding the character Abaddon, who was promoted as a key antagonist but ultimately played a minimal role, reflecting a broader trend of underutilized characters in the game.

    • “My main gripe with this game is its monetization strategy, which feels overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
    • “The in-game purchases are way too expensive, making it difficult to enjoy the game without spending a fortune.”
    • “I feel like the game is designed to push players towards spending money rather than rewarding them for their time and effort.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

65% average critic score

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Play time

4hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
4-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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