Extended Deathground gameplay footage shows Alien Isolation-inspired survival horror

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This demo suggests that the skin-crawling co-op horror title probably won’t be a Jurassic lark

(Image credit: Jaw Drop Games)

During today’s Future Games Show, developer Jaw Drop Games offered fans a tantalising new glimpse of gameplay from its much-anticipated dino survival horror - Deathground. Causing a bit of a stir during the first Future Games Show, this dinosaur-studded action title seemed set to fill that Dino Crisis-shaped hole in players’ hearts. Yet after taking an extended look at Deathground in action, it appears that it actually has far more in common with the slow-burning horror of Alien Isolation.

With our mystery protagonist clutching an incredibly familiar-looking motion scanner, this tense gameplay slice shows a mix of stealth, timed objectives and – unsurprisingly – some pretty hungry-looking dinos.

While he’s quick to stress that this is only a pre-alpha build, studio head Dan Da Rocha gives us some insight into what kind of gameplay we can expect from this tense dino ‘em up. Promising “a deadly battle of survival against unpredictable AI dinosaurs”, special character classes for players to choose from, heavy replayability and team-based objective mechanics, this co-op creeper looks like Left 4 Dead meets SEGA’s aforementioned classic.

Despite Deathground’s co-op elements, however, Da Rocha is keen to stress that the entire game can also be played solo. When it was first revealed, the dinosaur destroying simulator was only been confirmed for PC, now, however Da Rocha teases that more information on console support will be revealed in the future.

Still, don’t get your hopes up about playing the finished product anytime soon - as Deathground won’t be leaving Steam Early Access until 2022. The question on everyone’s lips, then, is will we be able to shoot down a pterodactyl? Frustratingly, at this point that answer also remains shrouded in secrecy. Well played Da Rocha, you master of mystery.

Tom Regan
Tom Regan
Freelance Writer

Tom is a freelance journalist and former PR with over five years worth of experience across copy-writing, on-camera presenting, and journalism.

Named one of the UK games industry’s rising stars by Gamesindustry.biz, Tom has been published by world-leading outlets such as: Fandom, The Guardian, NME, Ars Technica, GamesRadar, Engadget, IGN, Techradar, Red Bull, and EDGE.