We’re still waiting on Saber Interactive to update us on Jurassic Park: Survival, but now that game has some company, thanks to Annapurna Interactive and developer Great Ape Games’ The Lost Wild, which debuted during the Sony State of Play. In addition to the PlayStation 5 next year, the game will also be coming to Steam.
Touting itself as a “cinematic evasion-based survival horror experience,” players will need to withstand the slow-burning tension of being hunted by intelligent dinosaurs, and use their wits and the environment in order to survive. Players take on the role of Saskia as they explore a mysterious island where you’re considered prey by the deadliest creatures of all-time. Keep your head down, stay alert, and evade these prehistoric predators. If all else fails, run or try to buy time using non-lethal tools, in intense cat and mouse style gameplay.
Per Game Director Gary Napper on PlayStation Blog, the team emphasizes tension through vulnerability in The Lost Wild. You’re not equipped to kill these dinosaurs. The game also avoids gamified or arcade-like systems that would undermine the tension. Instead, your survival depends on observation, learning, and reaction. When encounters happen, you’ll need to be quick, use whatever means to distract, and use the environment to escape.
Storytelling in game is designed to be discovered, rather than force-fed to the player. The narrative is “grounded and personal,” unfolding through exploration, interaction, and observation. You’ll uncover traces of what happened on the island as you explore it—and discover why it was abandoned. Not everything is explained outright. “We believe there is power in leaving gaps, in allowing players to interpret and question what they find,” says Napper. “This approach creates a deeper, more lasting engagement with the story.”