Turok: Origins Preview: A Legend Reborn

While the Nintendo 64 hasn’t aged well there are some games that were released on it that well and truly stand the test of time.

I’d argue one of those games is Turok, a revolutionary first-person shooter series that’s been left in the past for too long, until now.

During last year’s Game Awards Turok: Origins was announced to the world and I was very excited. I had my doubts about the game being multiplayer-focused but I withheld judgment until I could hands-on with the game, and after playing a few missions at Gamescom I’m more or less satisfied.

For those unaware Turok is a series about shooting dinosaurs and aliens, sometimes at the same time, and it’s as cool as it sounds.

Turok: Origins does things a little differently though, as instead of playing as the dinosaur hunter Turok, you instead play as…Turok, a team of dinosaur hunters. Your mission should you choose to accept it is to fend off the alien invasion using an arsenal of high-tech gadgets and gizmos, all of course inspired by the old-school weapons the original Turok used in his games.

You’ve got bows, rifles, shotguns and more, but futuristic versions of them that fire bolts of energy rather than bullets. You’ve also got an advanced, layered power suit that shields you from incoming damage and gives you access to powerful abilities.

Saber Interactive

My demo with two other players had us securing objectives, fending off waves of enemies and even going head-to-head with a triceratops, all of which was more engaging than I’d initially expected. Turok: Origins isn’t a looter-shooter, and it doesn’t feel like an extraction shooter either, something else I was worried about when I learned it was a multiplayer game.

What I really appreciated was how well it captured the essence of Turok. Sure the series has come a long way since the Nintendo 64 era and I wasn’t expecting a 1:1 recreation of the first game at all, you need to modernise it for a new audience, but despite the flashy new additions it still felt like a Turok game. You could feel the love the team had for the OG Turok games in the level-design and the combat, so much so that it already feels like an evolution rather than a reboot. There's a natural progression here that should cater to the old fans just as much as the new ones, at least in my opinion.

The weapon sandbox was great fun too. You can't go wrong with the bow but with three loadouts to choose from I couldn’t help but try them all, and player abilities did a good job of breaking up the combat and saving your skin when things got too hectic.

I’m definitely keen to play more, and think it’ll make for a great game to play with friends. I’m particularly eager to see what other bosses you’ll encounter, as the triceratops made for an awesome action set-piece that’ll be hard to beat in my eyes.

Turok: Origins doesn’t currently have a release date, but in the meantime I’d urge you to check out the other Turok games, which can be played of modern platforms via a remastered collection.