Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports is a party game that was published by Outright Games, who almost exclusively release titles directed at kids. This includes classics like Jumanji: The Video Game, which I awarded a 3 out of 10 score when I reviewed it. In this dinosaur-themed collection of mini-games, players compete in the Olympics-style “Giganto Games”, showcasing their athletic prowess through calculated button presses and high-speed tapping. When offered at a mid-tier price point, mini-game collections can be fun, but they usually require some substance to avoid growing stale. Has Outright Games improved the quality of their publications since Jumanji: The Video Game, or is this another painfully bad cash-in? Take a wild guess.
Gigantically Boring and Brief
In Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports, there is one main mode, Giganto Games. Playable either solo against bots or with a group of up to four players, this pre-set story follows a group of dinosaur athletes as they compete in a set of games to win glory, fame, and a fruit. Guided through the experience by a pair of obnoxious commentators, you try your hand at classic track and field contests like the “Raptor Triathlon”, childhood games like “Stop & Go”, and more. Out of the 8 included mini-games, the most entertaining of the bunch are cheap knock-offs of better games, like the Dance Dance Revolution-style “Jump Dive” or the incredibly brief on-rails shooter, “Dino Fruit Blast”.
After 20 or 30 minutes of playtime, the Giganto Games are done, the winner is declared, and that’s it. You’re free to play again, but the cutscenes remain as uninteresting as ever and there’s no change in the mini-games. Apart from the “Kids” or “Grown Ups” difficulty toggle, Giganto Games is the same experience every single time you play it. Unlike Mario Party, Jack Box Party Pack, or any reasonably fun party game, there’s no strategy to be had or elements of randomization to shake things up. It’s just the same thing every single time.
That said, you are free to create your own set of mini-games with Custom mode. Here, you can choose up to 10 mini-games to play in a row. Just like in Giganto Games, you play the mini-games back-to-back, and whoever has the best placements at the end wins. Do you want to play “Hang Gliding” 10 times in a row? Go for it. Only want to play 1 match of “Stunt Surf”? Cool, go wild. Overall, none of the mini-games are all that fun, nor do they require any skill to master.
Playtime Padding and Other “Extras”
As if the game wasn’t overflowing with content already, there are a few bonus modes to check out. Since the base mini-games lack any real difficulty, there is a set of 27 single-player challenges designed to test your skills. Apart from one special mini-game where you play as a rampaging T-Rex, the challenges are just as unremarkable as the base game. These are simply glorified time trials or score chases which require very little effort to complete. If you want to obtain all 27 gold medals, it should take you roughly an hour or two, depending on your mini-game skill.
Finally, there are the puzzles. Tucked away in the Extras menu, where you can also watch cutscenes by themselves (why?), you can also access 12 virtual jigsaw puzzles. None of these puzzles are tough, even for children, and can be completed in less than a minute or two per puzzle. There’s nothing remarkable about the design of the puzzles or the execution of this quirky extra; they are extremely basic puzzles featuring dinosaurs. Somehow, the puzzles are the best part of the entire game.
The Bottom Line on Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports
Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports is one of those rare games that genuinely feels like an overall waste of time. There are some fleeting moments of enjoyment to be had, like 60 seconds of on-rails shooter action or a few virtual jigsaw puzzles, but the majority of the experience is worthless. Most of the mini-games feel uninspired, hollow, and simply not fun to play.
After obtaining gold medals on every challenge, completing all of the puzzles, and playing multiple rounds of the Giganto Games, I spent approximately 3 hours in the world of Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports. I can never get those 3 hours back. I don’t recommend that you buy this crap for your kids. At $40, it’s a vastly overpriced insult to your wallet and the intelligence of those who play it. However, I kind of enjoyed it more than Jumanji: The Video Game, but that’s probably because Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports has jigsaw puzzles and Jumanji does not. Oh well.
SCORE: 3.5 out of 10
