Looking for a list of the most popular dinosaur PC games of 2022? Whether you want to hunt Mesozoic monsters or trample and devour humans while playing as dinosaurs, the appeal of dinosaurs in video games is limitless.
The number of dinosaur game that successfully realize this fantasy, however, is limited. Let's be honest: until recently, fans of dinosaurs and large firearms have not exactly trodden the path of virtue, even on PC. It's been a long, arduous journey, marked by velociraptors that resemble lumpy dogs, rifles that feel as satisfying as firing a bullet by hand, and jeeps that seem to roll themselves into a nearby ditch regardless of what keys you press.
Still, the irresistible appeal of blasting a T-Rex in the face with a grenade launcher continues to resonate with a large portion of the gaming public, and despite the fact that few triple-A developers have produced quality dinosaur games, there are a few ambitious indie dinosaur games that fill the market gap. If dinosaur thrills are what you seek, here are the top PC dinosaur games.
Ark: Survival Evolved
As its subtitle implies, Ark is a dinosaur survival game, which means that killing dinosaurs cannot begin until you've crafted your own spear to hurl at those pesky raptors. The shooting isn't particularly precise, and there are still plenty of bugs years after Ark's initial release, but the sheer variety of creatures to fight, hunt, and tame will keep you exploring the game's many biomes for countless hours.
After learning their quirks, you can ride and tame Ark dinosaurs and use them to help you survive in the world, whether as simple mounts to help you traverse the world more quickly, or as resource-gatherers, freight carriers, or loyal foot soldiers. In addition, there are numerous mods available for Ark: Survival Evolved.
Jurassic World Evolution 2
In contrast to the majority of PC dinosaur games that involve dinosaur hunting, Frontier Developments' Jurassic World Evolution games focus on dinosaur ranching. Instead of killing rare creatures with a minigun, you attempt to construct a Jurassic Park that doesn't collapse on the first day. Obviously, the entire enterprise is susceptible to a variety of catastrophes.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 adds a multitude of new dinosaurs with more complex behaviors and needs, as well as a multitude of new management tools. In Chaos Theory mode, you'll be able to test your crisis-management skills in situations directly inspired by the films, as you'll be given control of parks on the verge of disaster. Read Rich's review of Jurassic World: Evolution 2 for a complete report from corporate.
Lego Jurassic World
Lego Jurassic World adheres to the Jurassic Park franchise by combining the gameplay of action-adventure games expert TT Games with the storylines of the Jurassic Park trilogy and the first Jurassic World film. This is essentially a greatest hits compilation of the series, featuring an excessive amount of blocky Jeff Goldblum.
The real treat here is that Lego games are among the best available co-op games, making this a fantastic dinosaur game to play with friends and family. Aside from the setting, there's not much that distinguishes this Lego game from others, but it's a lot of fun to play as so many different dinosaurs.
The Isle
The Isle is a multiplayer dinosaur survival simulation game that is still in Steam's Early Access phase, but it is unique among PC games. You load into a server full of dinosaurs that are all being played by other people, and then you attempt to survive in the world by preying on smaller dinosaurs and avoiding larger predators.
When players begin forming packs and groups on a server, however, The Isle becomes truly engaging, resulting in player-controlled herds, nests for expanding your group, and inevitably massive dinosaur battles.
