I don’t know what else we can say about Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse. This entertainment universe constantly offers fans truly terrible products that sell like hot cakes because we see some of the most iconic and compelling monsters fight and wreak havoc on the human world at the same time. Since the kaiju madness began again with 2014’s Godzilla, it’s only gotten worse, with the highlight reel being Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and 2024’s Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire as the previous low point. At least in the world of cinema. In the video game space, we’ve seen some atrocious games that used these characters, including 2023’s Skull Island: Rise of Kong, which was laughably bad, and now developer 7Levels is here to try and right the ship.
That effort comes in the form of Kong: Survivor Instinct. First, let me state some facts. Firstly, this game has no relation to last year’s title. Secondly, unlike the Skull Island game, this is an official Monsterverse game, telling a story set between the events of 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong and this year’s film The New Empire. Thirdly, it is characterized by a human and down-to-earth approach, in which you take on the role of Alex, who travels to an area devastated by Kong to find his daughter. The problem is, in typical Monsterverse fashion, this story soon spirals out of control as Alex learns more about who her daughter really is and her connections to shady organizations and the Titans. With these three elements in mind, Kong: Survivor Instinct offers a 2.5D platforming adventure in which you will encounter not only the legendary ape, but also other notable titans such as Abaddon, Scylla, Tiamat and other monsters such as skull crawlers and spiders . in addition to human threats.
As soon as you start Kong: Survivor Instinct, the game’s production quality becomes apparent. This is 7Levels’ biggest game to date, but they’re still a small studio, meaning we’re getting a mechanically limited title full of frustrating quirks and with voice acting and a story that isn’t particularly exciting. The environmental graphics are usually pretty good when you’re wandering around and exploring, but when Kong appears or the game zooms in and focuses on key moments, the limited graphical offerings catch the eye and make you cringe a little. It’s certainly not wonderful.
Despite these issues, the Metroidvania-like structure and progression works quite well. It’s limited and simple and doesn’t have the depth of, say, Metroid Dread, but the exploration is fluid and works, constantly rewarding you with upgrades like a gun and a sledgehammer that also give you access to previously inaccessible areas, for example in hidden ones Corners where you can find items that improve Alex’s health and the size of his weapon’s magazine. All of this and beyond, you’ll find plenty of Monsterverse information and lore along the way. As far as a platform adventure experience goes, Kong: Survivor Instinct works, however there are some key elements that really don’t work.
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The combat is just bad. There’s a very simple melee, block and parry system that involves you overcoming human threats besieging you from both the left and right. There are gunmen, armored men, shield bearers and more that increase the difficulty, but the main problem is that this system is slow and shallow, leaving you audibly sighing every time you’re forced to beat an enemy to death with it or putting a bullet in his forehead, only for Alex to declare, “That’s enough violence for one life,” and proceed to shoot someone two minutes later.
The platformer is also plagued with tasks and environmental challenges that are overly repetitive and, frankly, uninspired. You better get used to pushing a box to reach new heights or shaking a barred door to break it open, as these are just two of the tasks that 7Levels will give you throughout the course. Admittedly, these are minor issues when combined with the escape sequences when a Titan attacks, as these moments are some of the most frustrating and stressful in the entire story. Essentially, there will be times when you need to dodge, say, a rampaging Kong or an attacking Abaddon, and in those moments you’ll just move as usual, but at a much faster pace than usual. The main problem is that these sequences use an instantaneous error. If you go somewhere you shouldn’t, if you get too close to a titan’s body part, if you miss a jump, etc., you start the encounter over. The planned grandiose design of these moments is drowned out by frustrating and annoying game design.
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Kong: Survivor Instinct isn’t a great video game, but it’s not a disaster either. There are elements and moments where you get quite caught up in the story and fall into the rhythm of the platforming, and this is reinforced by the fact that it’s a fairly tight and agile experience, lasting around four or five hours when trying to find it all. You don’t play this game and feel insulted and betrayed like you did last year with Skull Island or even sometimes with the recent film The New Empire, but at the same time there isn’t much here that stands out and really impresses. It’s a simple, low-cost offering based on one of the entertainment industry’s most expensive and lucrative franchises, and that’s it. Other than providing a little more story for fans of the Monsterverse, there isn’t much else worth paying attention to.
