Gigantosaurus: The Game review for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC

I?ve got to admit that I?m not at all familiar with Gigantosaurus. The only kids in my life are a niece who?s into Paw Patrol and Disney Princesses, and a nephew who?s too young to care all that much about TV, so I don?t know anything about (re-checks Wikipedia) Mazu, Tiny, Bill and Rocky.

So I can?t tell you how faithfully Gigantosaurus: The Game is to the series? lore. I can, however, say that if you do have a young one who?s into the series — or even a young one who?s just getting into video games — then it seems like this might be a good fit. It?s a 3D platformer with a little bit of kart racer mixed in, and, for the most part, it?s easy enough that even the youngest aspiring gamers should be able to get the hang of it without too much difficulty.

That?s not to say they won?t be challenged at all. There are enemies to be found here, whether we?re talking about aggressive bees, scary (but not too scary!)-looking raptors, and other baddies that mean there?s the gentlest difficulty curve possible. Every level is built around recovering dino eggs, and they?re scattered enough that there?s lots of game here to play, but also plentiful enough (and helpfully marked on your map) that you won?t be spending hours fruitlessly searching for invisible eggs. Moving around is a breeze, for the most part (with one exception I?ll get to shortly), which is nice, because the map is actually surprisingly large.

There?s not too much to say about the karting side. You race between levels, and, as near as I can tell, they don?t seem to have anything to do with the rest of the game. They?re there, and they?re okay. As is the case with the platforming, the karts control pretty solidly, and the levels are forgiving without being too easy.

The bad news about Gigantosaurus: The Game is two-fold. First, even if it?s better than your typical licensed shovelware, there are parts where it seems like the game isn?t even trying. Scenery will pop in and out of existence right in front of you, which makes it a pain when you?re trying to move around and you can?t because an invisible tree is in your way. It?s a common enough problem that I noticed it, but not so big a problem that it actively ruined my enjoyment of the game (and, for what it?s worth, I mostly enjoyed it).

The bigger problem with Gigantosaurus: The Game is more of an existential one. It?s fine for what it is — but, if you?re looking for a good kart racer or 3D platformer, there are better options out there. On the Switch alone, there?s Super Mario Odyssey, of course, but also plenty of other decent games of this ilk. Even if you?re thinking strictly in terms of PS4 or Xbox (and I kind of am, since I liked this game enough that I want to pick it up for my niece to follow up on my Paw Patrol and kids? PS4 controller at Christmas), there are still games like Yooka-Laylee or Tearaway that are higher quality.

But that doesn?t mean you shouldn?t get your kids Gigantosaurus: The Game ever, only that there are other games you should get for them before this one. It?s hardly a must-play, but if you?re looking for ways to get your kids hooked on gaming at a young age, this one might be the way to start.

Outright Games provided us with a Gigantosaurus: The Game Switch code for review purposes.