This Playstation-inspired dino-slaying FPS is straight outta 1998

News
By published

Death finds a way.

Hungry dinosaurs
(Image credit: Austin Schaeffer / Cyrus Byrd / Pete Goodfellow)

Announced on Twitter by developer Austin Schaeffer, Compound Fracture is an upcoming FPS where you battle low-poly dinosaurs. It's part of a new wave of indie games inspired by the distinctive aesthetic and rendering techniques of the original PlayStation, even down to having a square 4:3 aspect ratio—although there will be an option to disable this.

"Compound Fracture is an action survival horror game," reads the game's Steam page. "Fast reflexes are required to neutralize prehistoric threats waiting around every corner. Set aside your fear, gather your supplies, and get to work." The blurb also promises distinct enemy types, oppressive environments, and a variety of weapons and upgrades to help you fight the dinos.

Dino Crisis immediately springs to mind, but this early footage also reminds me of Argonaut's Alien: Resurrection, a great horror FPS (based on a terrible film) that was released for the PlayStation back in 2000. A lot of games shoot for the PSX aesthetic, but don't quite get there. Compound Fracture, on the other hand, absolutely nails it, beyond just texture warping and dithering. The environments look like Capcom could have built them in the late '90s.

There's no release date for Compound Fracture yet. 'Coming soon' is as much as the developer will say at the moment. But you can wishlist it on Steam if you like the look of it, and follow Schaeffer on Twitter if you want updates on its development. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.

Andy Kelly
Andy Kelly

If it’s set in space, Andy will probably write about it. He loves sci-fi, adventure games, taking screenshots, Twin Peaks, weird sims, Alien: Isolation, and anything with a good story.