Look, dinosaurs are objectively cool. I don’t make the rules. When four-year-old me got a dinosaur cast, everyone was jealous. Why couldn’t they have a cool dinosaur-patterned arm, like me, the brave little girl who courageously tripped over playground equipment so ferociously my arm snapped in two places? Case in point: Turok has dinosaurs, so Turok must also objectively be cool, right? At least I thought so when I played Turok: Evolution back in 2002, and it’s also the impression I got when I had the opportunity to play Saber Interactive’s Turok: Origins at Summer Game Fest’s Play Days on the Nintendo Switch 2.
This idea–dinosaurs are rad–is one of the main reasons why Saber Interactive decided to pick up the Turok IP. “I mean, everyone enjoys dinosaurs. That’s the truth,” said Alberto San Josè Tabares, senior game producer at Saber Interactive, when I asked why they chose to make Turok: Origins.
Turok: Origins has dinosaurs, a lush setting, tons of different weapons, and plenty of bloody spectacles – partially facilitated by the return of the nasty Cerebral Bore, a weapon with a homing projectile that locks onto an enemy’s head, drills into its brain, and explodes. Basically, a lot of elements fans of the series will already be familiar with, but there are quite a few new additions and changes–many of them appealing to me, at least.
The most apparent addition, third-person perspective, we’ve known about since Turok: Origins was first announced at the end of 2024, and I say addition because you can still switch freely between the classic first-person and new third-person views. “Originally, we wanted to show, for example, everything related to the outfits, as it’s a big part of the game,” Tabares explained. “You’re going to be able to upgrade [and change] your outfits and weapons… and these kinds of things are not shown in first person mode.” However, Saber Interactive decided to still include first-person mode as well because of feedback from players.
Some of the aesthetics of the playable characters in Turok: Origins are related to the three “Primal Forms” you can choose from: Cougar, Bison, and Raven, which are essentially archetypes that each have their own playstyle and skins. It appears to me that these were included to make the co-op play more interesting and, more matter-of-factly, to encourage synergistic cooperation between players. For example, Tabares explained one player can put up a wall that blocks enemy projectiles, while their teammates could then shoot while using that barrier as cover. The entire story campaign can be played in co-op with three people, and it sounds like an especially fun way to experience it. I played solo during my 20-minute demo, and a friend would have been welcomed, especially when I felt chaotically outnumbered.
These Primal Forms can also be swapped between freely, and each has their own skill trees and progression. This sounds especially nice for people who want to play solo rather than teaming up, which Saber Interactive made sure is still doable to provide a more traditional single-player experience the first Turoks were known for.
It looks like there’s no shortage of customization available in Turok: Origins. There are aesthetic customizations, but there are also mods that can greatly change a weapon, and there are up to nine different ones for each, Tabares said. For example, you can mod the Cerebral Bore to go after three targets instead of just the usual one, or make an automatic weapon into a semi-automatic weapon, and more.
The most surprising addition to Origins are EchoSyncs, which are basically unique abilities unlocked primarily by defeating bosses. In-game, they’re described as upgrades for your biomorphic suit called a mantle, earned by extracting DNA from dinosaurs and the environment. The one I had equipped in my playthrough gave me some Fus Ro Dah action: a powerful soundwave roar attack!
So, yes, Turok: Origins is still absolutely a shooter, but with a lot of elements more commonly found in primarily action games as well. Combat is fast-paced, and with as many options as you have to deal with threats, there seems to be a pretty decent ceiling for skill expression. I’m sure my gameplay as a new player who isn’t an FPS expert looked much different than someone who’s learned the game and has a naturally high headshot percentage.
During my demo, I fought a few raptor-type dinos before heading further into the jungle, needing to jump over obstacles and destroy blockades in my way to proceed. I ended up in a more open area where I had to face a few waves of Xenia, aka reptilian humanoids bent on my destruction, while destroying points of interest. I wish I had seen more dinos, but the final wave of Xenia included some pretty cool stealth-forward, teleporting enemies that switched things up enough to be interesting. They easily overwhelmed me as a solo player, but I got the hang of things soon enough – learning different colored glowing plants around would restore shields or ammo, that I had a melee attack, and that once an enemy was below a certain health threshold, I could finish them off with a specially animated, often gruesome, attack.
Eventually, I made it to what I assume would be the level’s boss, a huge mech T-rex with a body shape reminiscent of Monster Hunter’s Deviljho. You can’t argue with me that mech-modified dinos aren’t cool, and I love spectacle boss fights, so this was definitely the highlight of what I played.
The mecha dinosaur not only attacked with expected close-range tail swipes and chomps, but it also shot lasers out of its eyes, sent homing-missiles from its back, and produced shockwaves from its angry stomps. It even sent debris flying by knocking over structures in the environment.
dodge rolls in Turok: Origins have invincibility frames — so I felt right at home perfectly dodging incoming attacks
One thing I finally realized during this fight is that your dodge rolls in Turok: Origins have invincibility frames — so I felt right at home perfectly dodging incoming attacks, a much more engaging way to avoid damage than simple strafing and seeking cover. This one ability is enabled much more naturally while in a third-person view, and it made this boss fight much more satisfying than it would have been without it.
Clearly, there’s a lot going on in Turok: Origins. It’s a level-based co-op action shooter with plenty of customization options and unique enemy types. You’ll naturally unlock new weapons and EchoSyncs just by progressing, but Tabares said there are more things to unlock and secrets to find in each level, giving it a natural replayability that rewards you for doing so. “At the end, we’re guiding the player to test different builds, different combinations, to find their own way to play.”
Turok: Origins is coming out sometime this fall on Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. It ran great and felt good to play solo on the Nintendo Switch 2 (with a controller), so I can optimistically imagine this new, admirably weird dino-shooter will run well elsewhere, too.
Casey DeFreitas is IGN’s Deputy Editor of Guides. Catch her slaying (and catching) monsters on socials @ShinyCaseyD.
