Prehistoric Dude Review

"Going Way Back"

Campaign

August 12, 2020 at 10:40pm
By Jason Stettner

This is a very simple platformer that follows a friendly caveman. Apparently this individual enjoys ham. That thrilling narrative point aside, you’ll explore three different scenarios while looking for the guy’s lunch. As mentioned, this is a platformer game. It does have some interesting mechanics to it in terms of having open areas to explore as you work towards an ending boss battle.

You’ll need keys, and you’ll find those by venturing around in the area that consists of many sections. It’s essentially a small slice of a Metroidvania game. There are some secrets to discover, these will grant you boosts. You might get a new tool or even a health and stamina boosting if you get to the right spot to grab that special collectible.

There are also some chests to open if you obtain enough fruits. The fruits are obtained by just walking around through grass, or by bashing various enemies that you might encounter while exploring. As mentioned prior, there are boss battles to tackle, these are fairly simplistic in terms of their style yet neat at the same time.

Gameplay

It’s a simple sort of platforming experience, but there is an edge of difficulty to it as well. This mostly comes in the form of hit detection being a tad awkward during any combative sequences. That’s also sort of present when trying to move through the areas platforming wise. I think this one leans well into the aspect of being good for the younger audience, at the same time some minor frustration could appear.

I still think it would hit that audience decently enough though, perhaps slightly older but in that realm of skill level if you get what I mean. I liked the visuals here. They were simple, yet vibrant with colors and presented the various aspects of the environment in a pleasing way. There were a decent selection of creatures to deal with, and variety in the terribly simplistic bosses. I wouldn’t expect to have a very long experience with this game however, it’s very short to go through. Mileage will vary to some degree, but it does not take long to work through.

With that you get a weaker dynamic of some issues, and length for this maybe not being the best offering. It did have some really neat ideas however. Also, the music was alright though somewhat repetitive since it was limited in terms of song options. I will note, and while this doesn’t at all factor into the score. That you can get an easy Xbox Achievement or Playstation Trophy completion within, I thought that might be worth mentioning for those interested in that aspect.

The Conclusion

Prehistoric Dude isn’t the best of platforming options, despite having some interesting concepts being presented here. I liked what they were going with in terms of the gameplay style, but the execution feels minimal and perhaps not fully realized.

It might be decent for the younger ones, at the same time it does have some frustrating elements when it comes to hit detection or certain traversal of some room areas. It’s neat, I found the visuals to be fun and it has its moments. At the same time, I definitely felt that there wasn’t a whole lot to this one, and expect more out of it. I can see this being enjoyed by some, but for a very short time span.

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Prehistoric Dude Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by Ratalaika Games

Rating Overall: 4.2