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Second Extinction

It may have an Early Access label on it, but Second Extinction’s 3vDinos co-op action is already plenty of fun and full of intense moments.
Second Extinction Game Cover
61%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
stability, grinding
57% User Score Based on 3,627 reviews
Critic Score 73%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCEpic GamesCloudXbox OneXboxWindows
Second Extinction Game Cover

About

Second Extinction is a single player and multiplayer shooter game. It was developed by Systemic Reaction™ and was released on October 13, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

Gather your crew and get ready to reclaim Earth. Choose between a roster of specialized resistance fighters who each have a unique set of skills, a preferred range of weapons, and a rich and bloody past with the mutated monstrosities. Find the perfect combinations and synergies with the rest of your team, and watch as your enemies get decimated in an explosive symphony.

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57%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,627 reviews
story90 positive mentions
stability144 negative mentions

  • The game has a fun and engaging gameplay loop, especially when played with friends.
  • Graphics and sound design are impressive, creating an immersive experience.
  • The variety of dinosaurs and their unique abilities add excitement to the gameplay.
  • The game has been abandoned by the developers, with no updates or communication for over a year.
  • It will be unplayable once the servers are shut down, as there is no offline mode available.
  • The gameplay can become repetitive quickly, with limited content and missions.
  • story
    853 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is minimal, primarily serving as a backdrop for the action, where players are part of a squad sent by an organization to reclaim the planet from aggressive dinosaurs. While the main missions and optional objectives provide a variety of gameplay experiences, they often feel repetitive, with players expressing a desire for more diverse mission types and a deeper narrative. The game is still in early access, and many players hope for future updates to expand the story and mission content.

    • “The story reveals that an organization called ERA is fighting to reclaim the planet from these hyper-evolved reptiles, sending players as part of specialized squads to clear out enemy nests, eliminate powerful dinosaur mutations, and gather resources.”
    • “While the plot itself is somewhat minimal, it effectively provides a backdrop for the missions and environments, helping to immerse players in the game’s brutal world.”
    • “The missions give you a mini-story each time.”
    • “The current tundra campaign has a handful of missions that are relatively redundant and not particularly enjoyable.”
    • “The lack of mission variety and optional objective variety will soon become tedious, I'm sure.”
    • “The game needs new enemies and mission types because I can see it getting repetitive for most players.”
  • gameplay
    380 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in "Second Extinction" is characterized by fast-paced, cooperative gunplay with a variety of weapons and hero augmentations that enhance combat dynamics. While many players enjoy the engaging mechanics and the thrill of battling dinosaurs, the experience is often marred by bugs, crashes, and a repetitive gameplay loop that can lead to monotony. Despite these issues, the core mechanics are solid, and the game shows potential for improvement with future updates and content additions.

    • “Pistols, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, and launchers all have different mechanics and their own flow to the action, with equipment choices allowing for a multitude of variations depending on the player's taste and style.”
    • “The core gameplay in 'Second Extinction' revolves around intense, cooperative gunplay and teamwork.”
    • “The gameplay is intense and fast-paced, with waves of dinosaurs coming at you from all directions.”
    • “However, the gameplay is constantly disrupted by bugs, glitches, and crashes, making it difficult to fully enjoy.”
    • “The gameplay gets boring and repetitive very fast.”
    • “The gameplay is boring and stale and they didn't even bother implementing scaling based on player count.”
  • graphics
    226 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "Second Extinction" are widely praised for their stunning detail and atmospheric environments, showcasing a blend of realism and sci-fi aesthetics. Many players highlight the impressive design of dinosaurs and the overall visual fidelity, particularly on higher settings, although some express concerns about optimization and repetitive aesthetics in certain areas. Overall, the game is noted for its high-quality graphics that enhance the immersive experience, despite some technical issues reported by users.

    • “The graphics are stunning - the dinosaurs are incredibly detailed and realistic, and the environments are beautifully rendered.”
    • “Visually, 'Second Extinction' stands out with detailed, atmospheric environments and a distinctive art style that balances realism with sci-fi aesthetics.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous, the sounds mixed with the music really give you this feeling of being stalked most of the time by a pack of hungry raptors.”
    • “Second Extinction is one of those games where the developers seem to have prioritized graphics and aesthetics over gameplay and optimization.”
    • “Graphics aren't that good, and it's honestly just a game to play with your friends when you're bored of everything.”
    • “Game ran like 10 fps even on the poorest graphics settings, I even had to scale resolution down. I ran games with better graphics like Horizon Zero Dawn, still bad at a point my screen just stayed white like I was flashbanged with no end.”
  • stability
    155 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that hinder gameplay. While some find the humorous aspects of these issues enjoyable, many others describe the experience as frustrating and unplayable at times. Overall, the game is still in early access, and while it shows potential, it requires substantial improvements in stability before it can be fully recommended.

    • “Runs great on my old piece of crap PC too but looks gorgeous!”
    • “As it's in early access, it's expected that there will be issues, but so far after well over 100 hours of gameplay I've only ever had a few server blips, where we've dropped out of the server and lost our progress. The actual game has so far been bug-free for me.”
    • “Other than that it runs great on my old laptop, smooth and no lag so far, can't wait to see where this game goes.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game became a buggy mess that crashes constantly before you can finish a mission, ruining all the enjoyment and fun that it used to create.”
    • “The combat is fun and the game has potential, but it's buggy to the point of being unplayable.”
    • “The amount of times the game crashes and glitches makes this game not worth your money yet.”
  • optimization
    77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its technical performance, achieving high frame rates even on high settings, while others report significant performance issues, bugs, and inconsistent frame rates that detract from the overall experience. Many users noted that while the game looks great, it often prioritizes graphics over gameplay optimization, leading to frustrating performance drops and unresponsive controls. Overall, while some players find it well-optimized for certain systems, others experience severe optimization problems that hinder playability.

    • “Wonderfully optimized and incredibly fun.”
    • “Very well optimized for the Steam Deck with constant 60fps on high settings.”
    • “The performance issues are mostly fixed; I can now run this game maxed and get 90+fps on a 1070+7700k, not bad really, just minor flickering here and there.”
    • “Bugs, performance issues, and a somewhat limited variety of maps and mission types are noticeable, especially in longer play sessions.”
    • “The game optimization is terrible; I am getting 30 fps at ultra settings and 50-60 fps at low settings (comparing to Killing Floor 2). I tried to make the game borderless and turned off the V-Sync, but there wasn't much difference.”
    • “Good god... poorly optimized... unbelievable... I'm getting a steady 22 fps... and then it went to 60 fps for about 10 seconds... then went back down to 22 fps.”
  • grinding
    47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews indicate that the game features a significant amount of grinding, which can be both enjoyable and tedious depending on the player's perspective. While some players appreciate the challenge and variety it brings, many express frustration over the repetitive nature of grinding for resources, especially when compounded by technical issues like crashes that result in lost progress. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as a double-edged sword, offering potential fun but also leading to a lack of content and excitement in the current state of the game.

    • “Pretty much 9 hours in, you can unlock every weapon. To give you an idea, it's not really grindy at all; it's more about going through the ringer and getting rewards as you progress.”
    • “I also don't like experience/level up mechanics in a PvE game that is just grinding for the sake of grinding; it adds nothing to the game, no accomplishment, no excitement, nothing.”
    • “The grinding for parts is frustrating because there is no way to farm specific materials that I can tell.”
    • “The game is actually really fun, but several times my game has crashed during long runs and I have missed out on a ton of XP. It's becoming very annoying doing a lot of grinding and getting no reward.”
  • monetization
    46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has been overwhelmingly criticized by users, who describe it as a blatant cash grab with little intention of delivering a complete product. Many reviewers express frustration over the lack of updates, communication, and the feeling that the developers are prioritizing profit over player experience, leading to a sense of abandonment and disappointment. Overall, the sentiment is that the game exploits early access for financial gain rather than genuine development.

    • “- No microtransactions”
    • “This game was amazing, it truly was, lazy devs, (maybe) lazy parent company reducing funding or pulling members away for other projects. This could have been an amazing game unlike most I have seen in the past few years. They should have sold it on or made it open source in a way. If the devs actually wanted this game to keep existing, they would. It was a cash grab fueled by their inability to correctly budget other projects. My bet is that most of the income from this went right into making the let down that is Ravenbound, an infinitely worse game than this was/ever been.”
    • “I didn't notice too many bugs and I had a decent time playing with friends, but apparently the devs wanted a cash grab and they were mad that the game flopped, so they said 'fuck you' and yanked the game, deleted everything, wiped the slate clean, and took everyone's money.”
    • “Expect that any product from them is a cash grab with zero intentions of following up on any claims or promises.”
  • humor
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it initially hilarious due to over-the-top scenarios, such as dinosaurs flying into space and absurd ragdoll physics. However, some humor becomes repetitive and grating over time, and while the dialogue can be funny, it often clashes with the game's more serious elements. Overall, the comedic moments, especially when playing with friends, contribute to a fun experience, despite the presence of bugs and crashes that can detract from gameplay.

    • “Even if there are some small problems, bugs, crashes, and glitches, it still makes you come back and watch T-Rex corpses fly into space like Apollo 13, making it way too hilarious for its own good.”
    • “The game becomes incredibly funny when you are playing with friends.”
    • “Everything is tuned to be 'over-the-top,' which makes it extremely hilarious to play, especially with friends!”
  • replayability
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players enjoying the potential for future updates and varied gameplay, while others find it currently limited due to a lack of content and repetitive missions. Many suggest that adding features like offline capabilities, prestige systems, or randomizers could enhance replay value significantly. Overall, while there are enjoyable aspects, the game may not justify its price for those seeking extensive replayability at this stage.

    • “I also truly hope this game continues to be a labor of love for the devs, and they keep adding more to it, because this game can have a lot of potential and replayability to it.”
    • “Great replay value, tons of activities to do and all the extraction points offer unique challenges.”
    • “Second Extinction offers a large amount of content, replayability, progression & difficulty.”
    • “The game is pretty barebones at the moment and doesn't have much replayability value, which is why it isn't worth its full price point.”
    • “After doing the 'campaign' missions, you'll notice something once you try to go for the free roam: the game has absolutely no replay value as of now.”
    • “Limited replay value for those not interested in beating their personal bests.”
  • music
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many players praising its quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. Reviewers noted that the soundtrack is catchy and immersive, effectively complementing the game's graphics and sound design. However, some players found certain music elements, particularly during combat, to be repetitive or distracting.

    • “The graphics are amazing, the gameplay feels smooth and exciting, the dinosaurs sound amazing, the sound design is phenomenal, the music is quickly becoming some of my favorite music to date and I am just in love with almost every single aspect of the game <3”
    • “The music is top notch, and really keeps you going.”
    • “The atmosphere really makes it feel like a deserted world, the music and voice acting is superb, and it doesn't feel cheesy when things get intense.”
    • “The music that plays when you get into a combat situation, I have ended up disabling it as it would not stop playing even after you killed everything and just ended up being a nuisance rather than the helpful tool it was supposed to be.”
    • “Guns don't have any umph to them; music and dino noises are incredibly generic.”
    • “Music is decent and catchy.”
  • atmosphere
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in "Second Extinction" is widely praised for its detailed environments, distinctive art style, and immersive sound design, creating a sense of tension and danger reminiscent of classic sci-fi experiences. However, some players feel that the large open map and sparse indoor areas detract from the overall atmosphere, making traversal feel tedious and less engaging. While the game excels in creating a thrilling atmosphere, opinions vary on whether it effectively balances comedic, serious, or scary elements.

    • “Visually, 'Second Extinction' stands out with detailed, atmospheric environments and a distinctive art style that balances realism with sci-fi aesthetics.”
    • “Fantastic game atmosphere and cool reptile designs.”
    • “The first thing you'll notice is the stunning atmosphere.”
    • “To make matters worse, I'm not sure whether the atmosphere in the game is supposed to be comedic, serious, or scary.”
    • “The atmosphere is further thinned out by a large open map (yes, one map!) that is a chore to traverse.”
    • “There's no atmosphere and the mission objectives are too far apart considering that there aren't any vehicles in the game.”
  • character development
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is noted as lacking, with reviewers highlighting a deficiency in world-building and depth. While the character and weapon designs are generally well-received, there is a consensus that more missions and opportunities for character growth could enhance the overall experience.

    • “Gunplay and character design mechanics are actually pretty good.”
    • “Weapon design and character design are cool too.”
    • “No real world building or character development.”
    • “The character designs are just okay.”
    • “More missions, more contracts, character development; yes, it has potential.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers find the emotional impact of the game diminished by its small, sparsely populated island setting, which feels disheartening due to the random placement of locations. Additionally, they note that the animations could be improved to enhance the overall emotional experience.

    • “The fact that it's all on one rather small island, with locations randomly placed in an otherwise empty map, is heartbreaking.”
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8h Median play time
18h Average play time
4-18h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 46 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Second Extinction is a shooter game.

Second Extinction is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Xbox One, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 18 hours playing Second Extinction.

Second Extinction was released on October 13, 2020.

Second Extinction was developed by Systemic Reaction™.

Second Extinction has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Second Extinction is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Killsquad, Minimum, No More Room in Hell 2, Boundary, Starship Troopers: Extermination and others.