Dinogen Online takes the familiar foundations of a top-down multiplayer shooter and gives them an unusual prehistoric twist. Developed and published by Wilkin Games, it mixes modern firearms, military equipment, vehicles, soldiers, and dinosaurs within fast-paced 2D battlefields. Instead of relying on a single mode to carry the experience, the game provides competitive matches, cooperative survival, progression, bots, character customization, and tools for creating custom scenarios. Its presentation is modest, but underneath the straightforward visuals is a surprisingly flexible shooter.
Combat is designed around accessibility and quick action. The overhead perspective provides a clear view of nearby enemies, objectives, terrain, and incoming dangers, making positioning an important part of surviving encounters. A large collection of weapons, equipment, and other unlockable items encourages experimentation with different loadouts. The gunplay does not attempt to simulate every detail of realistic combat, instead favoring responsive arcade-style action that works well with the relatively compact battlefields.
Dinosaurs provide the feature that separates the game most clearly from conventional military shooters. Players are not simply fighting prehistoric creatures because they can also take control of dinosaurs themselves. This creates battles where traditional gunfights can suddenly turn into frantic encounters involving powerful creatures charging through the battlefield. Combined with soldiers and vehicles, the mixture creates an intentionally chaotic atmosphere that suits the game's arcade-oriented design.
There is a good selection of multiplayer objectives, including recognizable modes such as Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag alongside Destruction. These modes are easy to understand and allow players to concentrate on learning weapons and movement rather than complicated rules. Online competitive and cooperative options make playing with other people an important part of the experience, but the inclusion of bots is equally valuable. Local matches against AI opponents mean that much of the core gameplay remains accessible even when an online group is unavailable.
Survival modes provide a different challenge by replacing conventional matches with increasingly dangerous waves of enemies. Players can encounter hostile soldiers, dinosaurs, helicopters, and other threats as they attempt to remain alive for as long as possible. The escalating pressure gives survival a different rhythm from competitive play. Efficient weapon use and positioning become increasingly important as the battlefield grows more crowded, making these modes particularly enjoyable for players who prefer cooperative or PvE action.
Progression provides another reason to continue playing. Weapons, equipment, dinosaurs, and additional items can be unlocked over time, while customizable appearances allow some personalization. Worldwide leaderboards and achievements provide additional goals for players interested in rankings or completion. The progression systems are not exceptionally complicated, but they complement the pick-up-and-play nature of the combat without overwhelming it with excessive management.
One of the more impressive features is the Scenario Editor. Players can modify existing environments and create custom missions, while the trigger system allows scenarios to become more elaborate than simple custom maps. Created scenarios can also be incorporated into multiplayer sessions, and Workshop integration expands the potential amount of community-made content. For creative players, this feature significantly increases replay value because the game can function as both a shooter and a lightweight mission-building sandbox.
Visually, Dinogen Online favors practicality over spectacle. Its 2D graphics are simple and readable, allowing players to understand what is happening even when battles become crowded. It will not satisfy anyone searching for detailed 3D dinosaurs or cinematic military presentation, but the graphical approach fits the gameplay and helps keep the hardware requirements manageable. Sound and visual effects similarly focus on communicating the action rather than delivering a blockbuster presentation.
The Early Access status deserves consideration. The available game already contains a substantial assortment of modes and features, but expectations should be based on its current condition rather than possible future additions. Some aspects naturally lack the refinement and presentation quality associated with larger multiplayer productions. Even so, the free-to-play model makes trying the existing content much easier to justify, especially for players attracted to unusual multiplayer shooters or dinosaur-themed action.
Steam Deck compatibility is officially categorized as Playable rather than fully Verified. Performance with the default graphics configuration is considered suitable, and the game can run successfully on SteamOS. However, handheld players should expect compromises. Some functionality is not fully accessible through the default controller configuration, touchscreen interaction or a community controller layout may occasionally be useful, and text entry can require manually opening the virtual keyboard. Some interface text may also appear small, while certain prompts can display keyboard, mouse, or non-Steam Deck controller icons. It is therefore functional on the Deck, but the experience is less seamless than a fully optimized handheld release.
Overall, Dinogen Online is an entertaining mixture of top-down shooting, dinosaur combat, multiplayer objectives, survival gameplay, progression, and user-created scenarios. Its strongest quality is variety rather than technical sophistication. Being able to move between competitive matches, battles against bots, escalating survival encounters, and custom scenarios keeps the basic shooting formula from becoming too repetitive. The dated-looking presentation and uncertain Early Access development situation hold it back, but there is still an enjoyable and unusually feature-rich shooter underneath. For anyone who likes arcade gunplay, dinosaurs, customizable loadouts, and sandbox-style content creation, it offers plenty to experiment with at no initial cost.
Rating: 7/10
