For decades, Jurassic Park has terrified audiences with the idea of humans becoming prey to genetically engineered prehistoric predators. Now, Universal and Saber Interactive are ensuring fans can finally experience that same fear without going to the movie theater or visiting one of Universal Studios' theme park resorts.
Though it might have been obvious the moment the upcoming first-person action-adventure video game “Jurassic Park: Survival” was revealed back in December 2023, a brand-new behind-the-scenes featurette confirms that players will indeed experience being eaten by dinosaurs. Watch the video below:
The game's lead is Dr. Maya Joshi, who is revealed in the BTS video to be played via performance capture by British actor Payal Mistry.
An abandoned InGen scientist, Joshi will be our eyes and ears into the world of Jurassic Park, as seen in the original 1993 film, in a first-person where fans can explore “a fully realized Isla Nublar”. However, one wrong step is all it will take to meet your maker, as a sequence in the new video shows Joshi's death by the jaws of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
It’s an unmistakable signal that, unlike many other games, there will be no convenient fade-to-black when players fail. Death in “Survival” looks visceral, cinematic, and in line with Jurassic, while echoing the 2014 first-person survival horror game “Alien: Isolation,” where players frequently experience being attacked by an AI-driven Xenomorph.
“Jurassic Park: Survival” Setting
The game takes place just one day after the events of the original 1993 film, with Isla Nublar left in ruins but still crawling with prehistoric predators.
In the video, the developers stress the importance of authenticity — from the Visitor Center to familiar enclosures and new areas never depicted on-screen.
But authenticity also means facing the same threats Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) once did. A wrong move in the jungle could mean ending up in a Velociraptor’s claws or between the jaws of T-Rex.
Players Can Carve Out a New Character Legacy
Mistry explains how Dr. Joshi fits into the Jurassic Park timeline and describes her as someone who's willing to take risks. “The actual journey, the arc of Maya, it’s incredible,” she says. “She was personally recruited by Dr. Henry Wu to become an InGen scientist, to work at the park. [At] the start of Maya’s journey, she’s unable to escape Isla Nublar.”
“I really relate to Maya in lots of different ways. She’s incredibly passionate and adventurous. I think she takes risks, she steps outside of her comfort zone,” she adds. “I feel like I’m learning a lot about myself, to be honest. She’s very inspiring, and she has a lot of admirable traits. I think I’m standing on the shoulders of some of the coolest female characters in cinema history. It’s incredible.”
In short, “Jurassic Park: Survival” isn’t only about exploring and surviving Isla Nublar — it’s also about failing spectacularly and discovering what it really feels like to be on the wrong end of the food chain. While that might sound a little morbid, let's not pretend that one of the biggest reasons we've been “flocking” to movie theaters to see the Jurassic movies over the decades is to watch characters end up as dinosaur food. Now, it's almost our turn to find out what that feels like — from the safety of our own couch, of course.
Are you looking forward to experiencing Jurassic Park in its original setting with “Survival”? Let us know in the comments down below!
