Watch mutant dinosaurs get blown up real good in this Second Extinction gameplay video

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Second Extinction is a co-op shooter about humanity's struggle to retake Earth from the dinosaurs, who for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me have come back and reasserted themselves as the true rulers of the planet. If you think that sounds intriguing, but also a little confusing, developer Systemic Reaction is here to help with a 15-minute gameplay trailer demonstrating a start-to-finish "research and rescue" mission.

Of course, the reality of research and rescue in a videogame context is that it's mainly gunfire and explosions, but there are plenty of other things to do while the bullets are flying, like scanning sectors, calling in resources, reviving allies, and fixing broken stuff. It looks like a lot to keep track of, although I get the feeling that a "shoot now, ask questions later" approach will probably get the job done.

Along with the trailer, Systemic Reaction also posted a roadmap laying out its plans for developing during the Early Access period. It's vague, but says that new enemy mutations (the dinosaurs are all mutants, you see, which is presumably part of why they're so difficult to deal with), mission difficulty settings, a new "emergence event," weapons, equipment, a Horde Mode, and more.

The Steam page gives no indication as to how long the developers expect Second Extinction will remain in Early Access, saying only that "it comes down to your feedback," but the process will begin on October 13. While you wait for that you can get a more hands-on look at the game courtesy of our preview from earlier this month, and if your curiosity still isn't satisfied you can find out more about what's going on at secondextinctiongame.com.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.