A spread-shot cover of Kong: Survivor Instinct, showcasing the titular King Kong behind a logo, while the games protagonist, David, looks up towards him.

Kong: Survivor Instinct Review - Showing Teeth

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Published: October 22, 2024 10:00 AM

There’s a somewhat humorous precedent set with this Monsterverse malarkey. Here we are, a universe with giant sprawling kaiju that simply cannot stand each other, and in the middle of it? Terry Terranceson, 43, is on his way to a 9-5 so he can make ends meet, but Abbadon’s turned his place of work into a ground for spider spawn, and insurance might not cover it. It’s something Kong: Survivor Instinct touches upon if nothing else.

This is the latest release from the Poland-based 7Levels, a publisher and developer of several small, kitschy titles like Railbound and Inbento. When compared to their past catalog, Kong: Survivor Instinct is arguably their most ambitious title to date, with explicit tie-ins to the Legendary Pictures Monsterverse movies. With that much riding on it, you’d be sure of an intense adventure.

You play as David, an oil rig worker who is alerted of a Titan attack involving Kong happening in the city. Concerned for the safety of his daughter Stacy, he makes his way towards the inner city, crashing his car and ending up in between Kong and Co. smashing the place up. After butting heads with a rogue organization known as Hyenas, led by Alan Jonah from the Monsterverse films, David attempts to avoid both him and Kong in a race to save his daughter.

An in-game screenshot of Kong: Survivor Instinct, showcasing the player character David traversing a ruined city with Kong in the background.

This may all sound terribly exciting to you, the reader, but Survivor Instinct is heading towards a more somber, deeper route. Whenever you start the game up, it warns the player that the narrative will deal with serious themes, such as “DISASTERS” and “DEATH”. The rather inexplicable description of these themes made me think the game was to take a much more stern tone, and the gameplay certainly expanded that belief.

It’s a 2.5D realistic platformer, by way of your Flashback’s or Deadlight’s, with Metroidvania-esque level design, and some ruff-n-tuff combat that felt reminiscent of something like Ubisoft’s I Am Alive. It’s the combat that’ll get the most focus throughout, as from near the start of the game up until the end, you will be dealing with several Hyena forces, and constantly learning how to effectively work the combat mechanics.

Truth be told, it’s all quite intuitive and balanced to a point. There’s a good mix of techniques to use in order to keep the enemy second-guessing, both melee and ranged combat have their benefits, and certain arenas provide environmental traps. It’s when the option to parry arrives, which is where the game falls apart, difficulty-wise, as nothing stops you from simply spamming the button and getting enough hits in to not worry.

An in-game screenshot of Kong: Survivor Instinct, showcasing the player character David fighting several enemies amidst a ruined building.

Enemies can also respawn in areas previously visited, a rare occurrence not just through spawn chance, but also because this is the most linear Metroidvania you’ll ever play. It’s more like microcosms of the experience as levels, so… yeah, just linear. It’s hard to explain, but there’s never an instance where you feel Survivor Instinct BEING a Metroidvania elevated the quality of the gameplay.

Progression is a double-edged sword here. On the one hand, the actual growth David has mechanically, against both the forces of Hyena, and the titans duking it out around him, is pitch-perfect. Character upgrades, while tied to story progression, are placed appropriately, tools get switched out with other, better solutions, and the level design does well to implement all of them.

On the other hand, points of no return plague Survivor Instinct right to the very end, to the point where the definition of a Metroidvania is stretched to the point of tearing apart. Almost everything you can acquire in an area is grabbed then and there, there is no desire to return to find more because it’s already been found, or it's tied to a narrative beat nearby.

An in-game screenshot of Kong: Survivor Instinct, showcasing the player character David underneath the titans Kong and Abbadon as they prepare to battle.

Still, Survivor Instinct has other ways of providing excitement, like the actual implementation of Kong and his Monsterverse buddies. Every once in a while, David will be forced to escape the gargantuan force of his undefeatable foes, which results in some fairly intense and engaging chase sequences. The levels crumble around you, the scale is recognized, and they vary how you can outsmart and outrun them.

They’re sprinkled all throughout the main story and are indeed one of the few things you’ll look forward to as you progress through the story of Survivor Instinct. I won’t explicitly spoil the story, but it’s a rare case of watching a completely static chain of events play out, one that refuses to move forward or backward, and disregards characterization, motivation, and theming, all for the sake of previously-established LORE.

It’s to the point where I personally feel its dedication to the Legendary Pictures Monsterverse hurts it.

What do I mean? Well, picture it like this. Imagine if, say, Alfred Hitchcock’s version of Psycho stopped at the shower scene, with Marion Crane on the floor. It zooms into the newspaper and fades to black. However, when you search it up, it turns out that Hitchcock had to stop it there, because the original writer, Robert Bloch, had yet to write how Marion’s sister Lila would be involved with the story.

An in-game screenshot of Kong: Survivor Instinct, showcasing the player character David walking through a webbed building, with a car stuck in the air.

All of this wouldn’t be so bad if David wasn’t such a sack of wet gravel, characteristically. The delivery of his lines is so stilted and awkward against the general tone of the story and always feels like he just stumbled across the narrative by accident. His reasoning or desires never really come to fruition, by will of the writing or otherwise, and Kong’s presence isn’t felt properly.

Kong: Survivor Instinct Review | Final Verdict

There are some elements Survivor Instinct gets right. Its touting as a realistic platformer is felt, but the Metroidvania elements are underbaked and compromise the whole package. Kong’s presence, and his rivals, are roaring and appropriately scaled, but not nearly utilized enough throughout the story. Whether it’s through the powers that be or otherwise, you have a game that’s primarily fighting against its own legacy to speak out or make a mark, and it barely succeeds at either.


Kong: Survivor Instinct was reviewed on Xbox Series S with a copy provided by the developer over the course of 12 hours of gameplay - all screenshots were taken during the process of review.

Review Summary

5
A rugged platformer, but a dire Metroidvania, struggling to truly feel like a part of its namesakes legacy.
(Review Policy)

Pros

  • Platforming is engaging and well-designed
  • Chase scenes are intense and thorough
  • Despite being easy to manipulate, combat retains vigor throughout

Cons

  • Story is a black hole of creativity
  • Metroidvania aspect is poorly tacked-on
  • Character motivations and moments are awful

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| Staff Writer

Blair is a trans writer who got their start in 2016 by writing too many words about Tom Clancy’s The Division. What follows until now is a journey spent… More about Blair