Playing Turok: Origins Feels Like Playing Doom With Aliens and Dinosaurs

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I’ve been hoping for a new Turok game for ages. I didn’t ever read the original comics, but I really enjoyed the game on the Nintendo 64 and played most of the sequels until the series was rebooted in 2008. It makes sense why – dinosaurs are a blast, and you don’t see them in video games very often, especially since the popularity of Jurassic Park in the 90s. That’s why it was surprising when the Turok franchise faded away, and it’s equally surprising to see it make a comeback now after all this time.

Saber Interactive is creating and releasing a brand new Turok game called Turok: Origins. This isn’t a sequel or continuation of past Turok games – it’s a fresh start designed to appeal to both longtime fans and newcomers. After playing the game twice at Summer Game Fest – once on PC with an Xbox controller and again on the Nintendo Switch 2 (in both docked and handheld modes) – I found that Turok: Origins generally achieves its goals, though it’s not without flaws.

I had the chance to try both the single-player and cooperative modes of Turok: Origins, as it supports up to three players. For the PC/Xbox version, I teamed up with two other players, and we each picked a different class. The demo featured three classes: the Bison (a tank character), the Cougar (focused on strength), and the Raven (a ranged attacker). It wasn’t clear if more classes would be added later, but each of these three had distinct abilities, weapons, and skill trees that could be improved as we played.

Each character type is designed to get players to cooperate and achieve a common goal. For instance, one player might protect the team while others focus on attacking. The good news is you’re not locked into a single character – you can switch whenever you like! Because each class feels quite different, I suggest trying them all out before settling on your favorite.

After a brief introduction lasting around 15-20 minutes, the game becomes quite straightforward. Turok is designed to be similar in feel to Doom, but with the added excitement of dinosaurs and aliens, and Turok: Origins stays true to that original formula. However, this new installment also updates the gameplay with some modern features: you can switch between first-person and third-person views whenever you like, scan enemies to find their weaknesses, and restore health or collect ammunition by interacting with special plants found on each map.

Honestly, the gameplay felt really solid. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it fit the game perfectly – fast-paced shooting, taking on huge dinosaurs, and just letting loose. I especially had a blast fighting the T-rex boss. There were a couple of times I thought I was going down, but thankfully, the game always gave me enough health and ammo to pull through and take the dino down.

Overall, Turok: Origins is shaping up to be a good reboot of the classic Turok shooter series. However, if you’re considering buying it for the Switch 2, you should be cautious. Based on the versions I’ve played, the game’s performance at 30 frames per second on that system is problematic. It makes controlling your character and tracking enemies and objectives quite difficult. While performance updates are possible, the current Switch 2 version isn’t ideal.

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2026-06-10 22:13