Ever wondered what it’d be like to live alongside colossal dinosaurs? From the thrilling chases in Jurassic Park to imagining a world where ancient beasts still roam, the allure of prehistoric creatures is undeniable. For years, dinosaurs in games were mostly our formidable foes – terrifying behemoths and agile predators that sought our demise. But now, a new breed of dinosaur games allows us to experience a more peaceful coexistence, or at least a battle where keeping our limbs is a more achievable goal! We’ve meticulously stomped through the digital jungle to bring you the definitive list of the best dinosaur games on PC, catering to every prehistoric craving.
Traditionally, we’ve encountered dinosaurs as enemies in various RPGs, action games, and practically every genre. These terrifying behemoths and agile killers usually wanted our blood and often got it. Recently, however, we’ve had the absolute pleasure of cohabiting with prehistoric creatures, a much more calming experience that typically allows us to keep our limbs attached to our bodies.
Explore the Prehistoric Playground: Top Dinosaur Games for PC
Here’s our curated selection of the finest dinosaur-themed adventures available on PC:
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- Dino D Day
- Dino Trauma
- Dino Run DX
- Paleo Pines
- Ark: Survival Evolved
- Jurassic World Evolution 2
- Lego Jurassic World
- The Isle
- Primal Carnage
- Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter Reborn
- Turok & Turok 2
- Far Cry: Primal
- Saurian
- Parkasaurus
Monster Hunter Wilds
While not strictly ‘dinosaurs,’ the creatures in Monster Hunter Wilds, like the mighty Apceros or the fearsome Anjanath, clearly draw inspiration from their prehistoric counterparts. If you’re new to the series, prepare to step into the boots of a seasoned monster hunter. Your mission? Explore a vibrant world brimming with fantastical beasts, tracking them down for exhilarating, cinematic boss encounters. Successfully felling these magnificent creatures allows you to harvest their resources, which you then use at your camp to forge powerful weapons and sturdy armor, essential for confronting even grander beasts.
Beyond the addictive cycle of gear progression, Monster Hunter Wilds offers some of the most satisfying action RPG combat available. The game features an extensive array of weapon types, from classic sword and shield combinations to more unconventional tools like the formidable gunlance. Mastering each weapon’s unique moveset presents a rewarding challenge, promising a steep but enjoyable learning curve. This title earned an incredible 9/10, a testament to its immersive world and engaging gameplay.
Dino D Day
Dino D-Day is exactly what it sounds like: D-Day, but with dinosaurs. And honestly, what more could you possibly desire? Adolf Hitler, up to his old tricks, has resurrected our favorite ‘terrible lizards’ to secure victory on the Western and Mediterranean fronts. Whether you charge into battle as a human or a dinosaur, these battlegrounds are a thrilling departure from typical Call of Duty scenarios. Stalk your enemies through war-torn streets as a velociraptor, take aim at a swooping pterosaur with your M1 Garand, or march alongside an artillery-laden thunder lizard as a German soldier.
The online multiplayer can be a bit quiet, so we recommend gathering a few friends for co-op to truly bring the chaos to life. Dino D-Day may not be the most historically accurate World War 2 game ever created, but it’s undoubtedly the most entertaining. It often sees significant price drops during sales, making it a worthy addition to your wishlist.
Dino Run DX
Most top dinosaur games lean towards action-shooters or management simulations, but Dino Run DX breaks the mold. This prehistoric endless runner plunges you into the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, all in charming sprite form. Dino Run has a long-standing reputation as a fantastic browser game, but the Steam version enhances the experience with additional levels, a free-run mode, full controller support, and an abundance of hats. Seriously, so many hats!
Dino Trauma
Dino Trauma draws inspiration from iconic ’90s dinosaur games like Dino Crisis and Turok, then infuses a dash of Doom and Quake for good measure. This indie boomer shooter transports you to a clandestine laboratory nestled deep in the wilds of Eastern Europe, where our beloved thunder lizards roam freely. Prepare for PS1-style mayhem as you amass an arsenal of shotguns, tasers, and rocket launchers for a frenetic, low-poly prehistoric hunt.
Paleo Pines
If you’ve ever imagined a delightful fusion of Stardew Valley and The Flintstones, then we have fantastic news for you! Paleo Pines places you near a charming, albeit slightly neglected, town, offering an exciting chance to restore it to its former glory. Build a flourishing farm, establish a magnificent dinosaur sanctuary, and forge friendships with the local townsfolk. It’s a sweet, relaxing life simulation, and you can even try a demo on Steam before committing to the full adventure.
Ark: Survival Evolved
As its name suggests, Ark is a survival game where the thrilling dino encounters only begin after you’ve crafted your own spear to fend off those persistent raptors. While the shooting mechanics aren’t always the smoothest and some bugs persist years after its initial release, the sheer variety of creatures to fight, hunt, and tame in Ark will keep you captivated across its many biomes for hundreds of hours.
Once you understand their unique behaviors, you can even ride and tame Ark dinosaurs, utilizing them to enhance your survival in the world. They can serve as swift mounts for faster travel, efficient resource-gatherers, reliable freight carriers, or loyal foot soldiers. Plus, there’s a vast selection of Ark: Survival Evolved mods to explore. With the release date of Ark 2 still pending, there’s ample time to fully immerse yourself in the original game.
Jurassic World Evolution 2
While many PC dinosaur games focus on hunting these ancient beasts, Frontier Developments took a different approach with the Jurassic World Evolution series: dinosaur park management. Instead of mowing down rare creatures with a minigun, your goal is to construct a thriving Jurassic Park that doesn’t collapse before its grand opening. Predictably, the entire operation is susceptible to all sorts of spectacular disasters.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 introduces many more management tools and a plethora of new dinosaurs, each with more intricate behaviors and needs. In Chaos Theory mode, you can put your crisis-handling skills to the test in scenarios directly inspired by the films, taking the reins of parks teetering on the brink of calamity. For a comprehensive report from corporate, this game comes highly recommended.
Lego Jurassic World
Staying within the Jurassic Park franchise, Lego Jurassic World perfectly blends the signature gameplay of action-adventure specialists TT Games with the iconic storylines of the original Jurassic Park trilogy and the first Jurassic World movie. This title is essentially the series’ greatest hits, featuring more blocky interpretations of beloved characters than you can handle.
The true charm here is that Lego games are renowned for being fantastic co-op experiences, making this an excellent dinosaur game to enjoy with friends and family. Aside from the unique setting, this Lego game shares much with others in the franchise, but the ability to play as various dinosaurs adds a delightful layer of fun.
The Isle
The Isle is a multiplayer dinosaur survival simulation game that, despite being in Early Access, offers an unparalleled experience on PC. The core gameplay is straightforward: you join a server populated by other player-controlled dinosaurs and strive to survive by preying on smaller creatures while constantly evading predators.
However, The Isle truly comes alive when players begin to form packs and groups within a server, leading to organized herds, nests for growing your collective, and inevitably, massive, epic dino battles.
Primal Carnage
Dinosaur-hunting games are all about the epic clash between man and beast, and that’s precisely what Primal Carnage delivers. On one side, you have sunglasses-wearing hunters armed with powerful firearms; on the other, colossal reptiles eager to engage in battle.
While some players delve into deep roleplay servers, Primal Carnage shines brightest when both factions unleash everything they have at each other, resulting in a chaotic, utterly irresistible melee. Any game that allows you to play as a pterodactyl, swoop down, snatch an unsuspecting opponent, and drop them to their doom is absolutely worth exploring. Similar to Dino D-Day, this multiplayer title might have a smaller player base, so having a few friends on hand will guarantee you a game.
Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter Reborn
If you’re seeking a triceratops-toppling experience that’s more akin to traditional hunting simulators than the frenetic action of Turok, then this is your prime choice. This remake of a cherished late-’90s series focuses on methodically tracking, hunting, and dispatching a diverse array of dinosaurs.
You’ll need to stealthily approach these colossal targets and hold your breath for accurate shots, as the size and condition of each kill dictate the rewards you receive for a clean take-down. While it might be a bit light on content, if you’re grown weary of hunting deer, boar, and other harmless woodland creatures, this could be the refreshing change of scenery you desperately need.
Turok & Turok 2
Speaking of Turok, it might be hard to fathom now, but before the one-two punch of Gears of War and Call of Duty 4 anchored blockbuster shooters to a beige reality, the genre boasted a vibrant roster of colorful contenders. The first Turok, in particular, is a relic of the Quake era, brimming with weapons that defy gravity, your dinosaur hunter’s frantic agility, and endless canyons filled with baddies to obliterate, delivering some of the finest dino-slaughter of its time.
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is a more sophisticated entry, favoring non-linear labyrinths over the traditional corridor crawls of other shooters from that period. However, it’s perhaps best remembered today for its ingeniously creative weaponry, most notably the fearsome Cerebral Bore, which executes precisely the gory deed its name implies. Overall, both these shooters are fondly recalled for good reason, and crucially, they allow you to wreak havoc on giant reptilians, making them perfect additions to this list.
Far Cry: Primal
Yes, for all you eager amateur archaeologists out there, we acknowledge that Primal is set in the Mesolithic era, millions of years after a catastrophic event wiped out the dinosaurs. However, if you’re a devoted fan of dinosaurs, then woolly rhinos, towering mammoths, and formidable cave bears represent the next best thing, and Far Cry Primal delivers them all.
Primal allows you to hunt all these magnificent creatures and even tame some of them, enabling you to send them charging into battle on your behalf. And if you ever find yourself tired of all the mammalian slaughter, this remains one of the best open-world games around, packed with numerous distractions and hidden quests to uncover along the way. While it might not be the absolute best Far Cry title, it arguably captures the essence of prehistory more effectively than most games.
Saurian
This is a dinosaur simulator with a unique twist. You begin as a tiny ‘saur hatchling and must survive into adulthood, meticulously avoiding predators and constantly scavenging for food each day. The game boasts an incredible amount of attention to detail, with great effort dedicated to ensuring Saurian’s flora and fauna are as historically and scientifically accurate as possible – and yes, that includes feathered dinosaurs.
Currently, you’re limited to playing as a Dakotaraptor with a magnificent feathery tail or the recently released Triceratops, both rendered with astonishing realism. It’s time to test your prehistoric survival skills and see if you have what it takes to navigate the many challenges of Hell Creek.
Parkasaurus
No hunting, no shooting, no wrestling with dinosaurs here! Instead, we’re going to place them in an adorable, brightly-colored theme park, adorn their scaly little heads with propeller caps and shutter shades, and watch the money pour in. Wait, what’s that? The impossibly purple T-Rex with the woolly hat has a visitor in its mouth? Oh dear. Oh, look, they’re also spontaneously combusting. Well, never mind.
Parkasaurus is a charming dinosaur park management game where your primary objective is to keep both your dinosaurs and your guests happy and free from puncture wounds. While the core concept mirrors Jurassic Park Evolution, the execution couldn’t be more distinct. The game’s vibrant, low-poly art style, intuitive interface, and array of comical hats truly distinguish it from the more realistic dinosaur games on this list. With over 24 distinct dinosaurs to discover and care for, it’s an absolute must for dino lovers seeking a relaxing game to unwind with after a long day of digital chomping and stomping through the Mesozoic era.
That concludes our roundup of the very best dinosaur games on PC. If you’re looking to unearth more classic-feeling greats, explore our selection of old games. In the meantime, discover the best PC games available to play today.