Long before Goldeneye dominated our lives on the Nintendo 64, we had Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Acclaim and Iguana Entertainment’s surprisingly stacked first-person shooter. Featuring a massive open-world environment and lots of action to partake in, Turok was a game changer at the time. This excitement led into the following sequel Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. Past that though, Turok began to wear out its welcome. Yet, we certainly cannot forget its humble beginnings as a title worth checking out today.
After making a presence for itself with a remastered edition on PC and Xbox One, Turok returns to Nintendo territory as Nightdive Studios has launched the game on Switch. While Turok on Switch lacks any additional frills to keep players around for the long haul, there’s more than enough nostalgia to justify the price, especially if one grew up with the N64.
The game puts the player in the shoes of a mighty warrior as he grasps a variety of weapons and mows down humans and dinosaur enemies alike, all in the hopes of bringing peace to the land. As he progresses, he unlocks new paths and picks up new goods, including a sweet Gatling gun that can mow through foes like grass and that’s just the tip of the bloody iceberg.
Nightdive Studios didn’t mess with the original Iguana code that much, making Turok a particularly nostalgic treat. Playing the game feels like second nature, just as it did on the Nintendo 64. While it does take a bit of time to get to certain areas, it’s fun to explore and find special objects or take down an opponent that can unexpectedly drop out of the sky.
The team did incorporate some awesome visual effects, making the game feel more like what young players might have imagined it to look like rather than sticking to the limitations found on the N64. The game runs at a beautiful clip, for the most part, on both the handheld and docked front. There are times that the visuals do look dated, mainly in regards to enemy animations, but again it stays true to the code and adds a bit of flourish, which is a nice touch. The sound is equally impressive, with the classic music being perfectly intact along with a few enemy voices shrieking in terror from the powerful weaponry at the player’s disposal.
Turok still takes a good amount of time to get through, making the $20 asking price feel worth it. However, it’s low on extras, since Nightdive simply wanted to bring over just the classic experience. That means no real multiplayer action; that’s for later Turok games. Although, players can activate cheats and all the classic N64 ones work here like a charm.
One other pleasant surprise is that the game doesn’t take up much space on the system at all. The base download sits at just under 200MB. Now, Seeds of Evil will probably be slightly bigger once it arrives on the Switch later this year but it’s great that such a detailed game doesn’t require an incredible amount of memory card space. Even the most fickle of gamers should be able to find room for it.
While Turok: Dinosaur Hunter doesn’t have long-term value like, say Anthem or The Division 2, it’s a fun throwback that will remind people of the classic days of gaming. It still plays like a champ and is a lot of fun to play. The visuals and sound, while on the retro side, deliver on the Switch in both formats. The cheats make for a good time as well, especially when more than one is activated.
We’ll see how Nightdive’s seemingly upward trend continues as they start bringing other Acclaim classics to the system but for now, we’re perfectly content with enjoying what Turok has to offer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need more Tek arrows…
For more information on Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, check out the official listing from Nintendo. A digital copy of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was provided for the purpose of review.
For more reviews, check out my review of Devil May Cry 5 or the one I did for RemiLore: Lost Girl in the Lands of Lore.
