Primal Carnage Review

Primal Carnage is a simple asymmetrical multiplayer game that relies on the chaos produced when Dinosaurs and Humans clash. Asymmetrical multiplayer is hard to perfect by the best development teams. A new independent team, Lukewarm media, have decided to find out the hard way. Primal Carnage pits different classes of humans against different dinosaur types in standard deathmatch mode. The result, clearly inspired by Jurassic Park, lacks the tension and precision the setting might thrive on. Instead, Primal Carnage is very much about fun mayhem when Dinosaurs are tasked with eating humans.

Five human classes have different skills to complement each other and are all played in a first person perspective. The trapper can unleash a net to incapacitate small dinosaurs and then finish them off with pistols or knife. The Pyro can burn everything down at close range or use a grenade. The Hunter uses a large spread, high damage shotgun while throwing flares to blind dinosaurs. The Scientist is a long range sniper that has a tranquilizer to disorientate Dinosaurs. The traditional Commando carries a rifle and a grenade launcher. Each class has a limited toolset but the correct mix of classes allows humans to deal with all Dinosaur encounters.

Dinosaurs are controlled via third person and the different types produce the respective classes for the prehistoric team. The dilophosaurus can blind humans from range so is often a support role. Raptors can pounce and kill if they are left uninterrupted, and this is similar in design to the human trapper with his net. The Pteranodon is a beautifully controlled flying class and it can grab humans and drop them to their deaths. The T-Rex is restricted based on player numbers but is very powerful. He is a high health unit that can chomp humans in one bite or trample them if they get in the way. The T-Rex cannot access all areas, presents a big target and makes the ground shake annoyingly so humans know he’s around. Although there are some camera issues with dinosaurs, they are mostly satisfying to control.

The setup of multiplayer matches comes down to a coalescence of humans and quick dinosaur attacks en masse. Dinosaurs are more suited to attacks and retreats due to their speed and skills. Humans can heal and resupply from carefully placed boxes often found in the central areas of maps. Dinosaurs heal by eating deceased dinosaurs located usually near the outer edges of maps. It’s a shame these resupply stations require precise positioning before they actually work. The slow moving humans stick to open, protected areas away from foliage. They can also find places that make it tricky for dinosaurs to attack. The map design ensures that no spot is ever truly safe for long. A lone human is extremely vulnerable and a single dinosaur is usually ineffective against calm humans.

There is a lot of bedlam when 30 or 40 players are involved. With so many players, and their rapid deaths, there can be a break down in structure. The speed of dinosaurs, the prevalence of foliage and some skills results in unpredictable encounters. It’s not uncommon to be circle strafing as one or more dinosaurs steer their body to try and attack you. You could use a friend as bait as you try to draw out a raptor that is vulnerable after he pounces. Some easy kills are found at human health stations, provided nobody is covering the injured player. Respawns are quick but may place you far away from your team. As a human, it is tense to make your way back to the group without being killed. When you come back to the action, the insanity continues.

With all the action on screen it’s often hard to get a good feel for the battle before you. A lot of kills feel more like luck than skill. Half the time it’s unclear whether shots fired by humans are hitting or doing significant damage. Likewise, pouncing with the raptor sometimes resulted in unexpected takedowns or misses. Even the T-Rex bite can miss when humans are standing right under his jaws. The Dilophosaurous blinding spit seems erratic in deployment. Probably most noticeable was with the Pteranodon; after he swoops to pick up humans you’ll soar into the air with nothing. Many of the human weapons lack precision and the shooting mechanics are rudimentary. The imprecise nature of many attacks and abilities makes the action feel too random.

Matches with smaller players are tense and produce more deliberate teamwork. Humans will watch for movement in the foliage and Dinosaurs will wait patiently for their window to attack. While playing as a Dinosaur, stalking just a handful of humans felt more appropriate for the setting. Unfortunately the lower player count leads to other problems. The biggest concern is actually finding the battle, especially at the start of rounds. Maps are clearly designed for large groups and the visibility is limited at the best of times. Usually the teams silently agree to host the action in specific areas so it’s not a game of hide and seek. This is better than matches with admin dedicated safe zones. The game is fun with fewer players but not really designed for it.

Primal Carnage is designed for quick mayhem and isn’t too concerned about realism. Fast respawn times encourages immediate attacks and large matches will have you back in the heat of battle within seconds. Raptors can slash humans multiple times without scoring a kill. Humans can and will chase down injured Dinosaurs should they retreat into the jungle after taking damage. Some may even camp around the dinosaurs health stations. The circular type rock-paper-scissors balancing ensures all classes can get kills when the opportunity arises. You just have to use your strengths and be aware of your weaknesses. If the opponents have a heavy Raptor count, then maybe your team could use more Trappers. If the humans are holding their ground on a narrow bridge, then a Carnotaurus charge will knock some sense into them. The speed of the action is certainly an appealing quality

The setting is good despite the limited number of maps and solitary deathmatch mode. Dinosaurs have excellent animations, yet they frequently clip through objects. The T-Rex can eat people through walls and the humans can shoot its head when it tries. Some of the maps are actually quite good looking with many Jurassic Park inspirations. All maps have dense foliage, which is a necessity for many of the attacking Dinosaurs. There is something quite neat about seeing the trees move and hearing the call of a Novaraptor as you try to make your way back to the group. It’s a pity this atmosphere element wasn’t explored further in smaller, objective based modes.

Primal Carnage is easy to play pandemonium. A balanced spread classes facilitates an even distribution of kills. Deathmatch is simple to play and the game mechanics are straightforward. If you’ve seen the movie Jurassic Park, Primal Carnage is not often like the tension experienced by Dr Sattler as she is being hunted by Raptors. It’s frequently like the scene where Dr Malcolm lights a flare and the T-Rex eats the lawyer who is sitting on the toilet. Just replace the toilet with a health station. Player numbers are usually below a few hundred during primetime, with most located in the larger player servers. Limited player numbers, a handful of maps and a single deathmatch mode will struggle to keep gamers entertained for a long time. Even with these problems, Primal Carnage is a decent choice for some crazy Dinosaur fun.