I already had a mountain of games from 2023 left to get through, and it seems another must-play for me quietly snuck out just before year's end. Dino Hazard: Chronos Blackout is a '90s-style JRPG that looks to be equal parts Undertale, Jurassic Park, and Phantasy Star, and it's almost like it was engineered to appeal to me, specifically.
Check out the trailer for Dino Hazard below and you'll get an idea of what I mean. The art style and character proportions look very much like those of Sega's classic Phantasy Star series, the dinosaur-infested island setting is straight out of Jurassic Park, and there's a promise that you "can solve conflicts with either HATE or LOVE strategies that influence the environment around you," which is about the most Undertale thing I've ever heard - plus there are those minigame-driven combat abilities.
You can check out the Steam page for more details, including some info on the wild futuristic plot involving a "malicious artificial intelligence system." Despite the outlandish sci-fi trappings, the game was "developed by a couple of paleontologists who want to share with the world their passion for science and games."
Literally, it's a "couple" of paleontologists - the husband and wife team of Tito Aureliano and Aline Ghilardi. In addition to field and academic work in Brazil, they've also spent years building Dino Hazard as a low-key multimedia franchise that includes a novel, comics, toys, and now, a video game. That's about the coolest family business I could ever imagine.
Dino Hazard had been in Early Access for years, and just went 1.0 on Steam on December 22, and it's 50% off until January 6. The trailer mentions releases for Switch, Xbox, and PS5, but there are no details on those versions just yet.
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