Back in 2022, there was a licensing expo that Legendary Entertainment attended and there were a few stuff that was announced. One of them was a Monsterverse console game being developed by a small indie studio called 7Levels. At the time, there was hardly information on the game other than it is going to take place after Godzilla vs Kong. Now, we have more information about what this game is and how it plays.
In Kong: Survivor Instinct, you play as a father who is looking for his missing daughter while also trying to avoid getting killed by Titans such as Abaddon and Tiamat or by human assailants.
It is a very basic 2.5D “metroidvania” side-scroller with more interesting cinematic scenes happening in the background as seen in the other games made by 7Levels. As you venture through a destroyed city, the monsters in the background could affect the level’s environment, but they can only be influenced by a new piece of Monarch tech called the ORCA Sigma.
Alan Jonah and his crew of eco-terrorists called Hyenas return in Kong: Survival Instinct. His role is unclear nor is it clear just yet why they seek to stop the main character from finding his daughter. Could he be after the ORCA that your character possess to start the Titan Awakening again? Or is there something more to the main character’s story we are not aware of yet?
Kong: Survivor Instinct will release on Steam, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 this Fall.
To be honest, I am not all that excited for this game. Granted, it looks visually better than the previous King Kong game that was released last year, but gameplay wise I would rather play as Kong or at least had segments where you can play as Kong. I know that in the video game version of Peter Jackson's King Kong there were segments where you played as Jack Driscoll and segments where you played as King Kong. This game could have done something similar to that, but it does not look like there are any moments in the game where you can play as Kong. He just seems like he is stuck in the background. When it comes to a game about giant monsters, the giant monsters should be the highlight of the game that you play as.
Speaking of Kong, why is Kong the main focus in this game and not Godzilla? From my understanding, Godzilla is the one that is in charge of protecting the surface while Kong stayed in the Hollow Earth after the events of Godzilla vs Kong. Also, Kong has been the main focus in Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and will be playing a big part in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2. While Godzilla also played a big part in the first season of Monarch, he pretty much stayed on the sidelines in both movies and has not had a game of his own since Godzilla: The Game for the PlayStation 4. Better yet, why not make this game have both Godzilla AND Kong in the game? Part of the story could have it be about Kong chasing Abaddon from the Hollow Earth while Godzilla was hunting down Tiamat and both of them just happen to arrive in the same area and the two monsters have to choose to either fight each other or team up. Right now, it just seems as though Godzilla is being under utilized or outshone by Kong. I just want to see Godzilla have more involvement in the Monsterverse.
Lastly, I have to talk about the design for Abaddon because it looks lazy. Gee, another giant spider. How original. I know this game is being developed by a small indie studio, but I think they could have done something original with the monster. They had an opportunity to come up with an original design for Abaddon and a spider is all they can come up with? An original idea that I thought of is to have the monster be a swarm of giant locusts that acts like one single monster. In mythology, Abaddon is a demon that is described as king of an army locusts or one that leads an army of locusts. So 7Levels could have done a design around that and what they decided to go with is very disappointing.
While it sounds like it is only just my opinion, reactions from Monsterverse fans towards the game has been fairly mixed. While some are still willing to play the game, others are feeling the Monsterverse is becoming too much of a "Kongverse" and Godzilla is being phased out little by little with the movies, the Monarch TV show, and now this new game.
On the same day Kong: Survivor Instinct was revealed, Legendary Entertainment has also revealed to Variety a Pacific Rim TV series is in development. A deal was made with Eric Heisserer, founder of the production company Chronology, and Carmen Lewis to develop an origin story series. That is right. This TV series is going to be a PREQUEL to Pacific Rim. For now, we don't have enough information to know if this will be on one of the many streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Paramount +, HBO Max, etc.) or if this will be on regular television.
Heisserer is also a film and TV writer. He is known for writing film screenplays such as Arrival, Bird Box, Lights Out, Hours, Bloodshot, and the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. As for television, he wrote the Netflix series version of Shadow and Bone.
Ever since Pacific Rim: The Black finished the two seasons on Netflix in 2022, there were questions surrounding whether Legendary Entertainment would return to this series. A few weeks ago, Legendary Comics revealed a three part graphic novel called Pacific Rim: Final Breach on Kickstarter claiming to be the third official sequel to Pacific Rim and Pacific Rim: Uprising. The graphic novel will see returning characters Jake Pentecost (originally played by John Boyega), Hermann Gottlieb (originally played by Burn Gorman), Newton Geiszler (originally played by Charlie Day), and Raleigh Becket (originally played by Charlie Hunnam) as they take the last standing Jaeger, Gypsy Destroyer, to the Anteverse and end the kaiju invasion permanently. Just based on that, it sounded like the graphic novel would be the end for the Pacific Rim series.
While the main story will be over and done with, it seems like Legendary Entertainment is not quite done with the franchise just yet. However, we will need to wait and see what is going to happen with this new show and if it will do well enough to continue the franchise. Could we see more Pacific Rim content in the future or will this show be the final nail in the coffin?
I want to know what your thoughts are on the reveals. Will you be playing Kong: Survivor Instinct when it releases this Fall? Do you think this show will be the end of Pacific Rim? Leave a comment in the comments section of your thoughts on these. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.
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