In every movie, be it mecha or kaiju fighting each other – there’s one thing for certain, almost the entire city gets destroyed. But have you ever wondered, what happens to the humans trying to escape the chaos caused by them – although to their eyes, they are trying to save the humans? That’s what the Kong Survival Instinct is all about. You play as the human trying to save yourself in a world where Kong is fighting the villain.
Gamescom Asia 2024 Kong Survival Instinct
What’s the Story
To keep it short and sweet, this game is set right after the Godzilla vs Kong movie, so there is a pretty good continuity to the story. And whenever these monsters fight, we know that no one is safe – so, you as the player will have to find a way to escape or perhaps survive, manipulate the Titans as you move around. Throughout the game, you will come across other issues, such as dealing with the eco-terrorist, David (which is you), trying to save his daughter and so much more.
We Tried the Demo On Ground
It’s a 2.5D Game with Metroidvania Style Gameplay
For starters, if you are a fan of the Metroidvania-style game, this is right up your alley. In fact, with our recent obsession with many indie games like OXENFREE, Carrion and Little Nightmare – I love the 2.5D game experience. If you are a handheld gamer like myself, with the SteamDeck or the ROG Ally X, you will have a much closer hands-on experience with this game than ever. It’s a perfect match made in heaven. While we didn’t get to play for long as the Gamescom Asia B2C area was open to the public, we had limited time with it.
But during the limited time, we realized how easy it is to interact with the environment, figuring out how to get around and find tools to break barriers – for you to get around. The controls were pretty good too – as we played it on the XBOX Controller, which is another testament that playing on a Controller gives you a better experience, hence why we will play the game on our Ally X more so than on our Keyboard – although you still have the option to do so.
No, we didn’t encounter Kong (More like We couldn’t)
Due to the time constraints, we did only get up to the point where David meets a kid locked behind the doors, to escape with him – however, David then says something along the lines of – the kid is smart enough to save himself and goes on. We didn’t have enough time to even encounter Kong’s first appearance, which is a shame – but I guess in some ways, it’s safe to say that – I am happy I get to have that suspense and can figure it out when I try the game or review it perhaps.
But I do want to Survive when Kong causes Chaos in the name of Saving
What got me excited about this game when we were on the Media Tour was when they told us that we wouldn’t play as Kong. I immediately knew what the plot line was – because knowing how curious I get and personally, being heavily invested in pop culture – you are bound to ask questions that would tickle your brain. This was one of them and I was excited to see what they have in store, with the game coming out in less than a day actually, which is on the 22nd of October 2024 – so, time to add it to your wishlist. But one thing I am genuinely glad about is that, given the game isn’t too demanding with graphics – it’s a nice one to play for most players who want to enjoy a story-based Metrovania game. Less demanding systems should be able to handle it quite well.
Oh and Trigger Warning: Not for the Archnophobic Gamers out there
This is a pretty important one – at least for us because we take phobias seriously – and if you are one of those players who cannot stand the sight of spiders, then we would say – either avoid it or ask a friend to complete that part of that progression and you continue with the rest. Because from what we understand is that – there is more than one titan you will go against.
Special thanks to GCL and 4Divinty for giving us the chance to check the game out at Gamescom Asia 2024.
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