Developer/publisher Ko-op Format PC (tested), PS4, PS5 Release Out now
The cocktail of hormones coursing through veins in teenage years means the end of secondary school feels like a cataclysmic event. It comes at a point when we’re asked to make pivotal life choices before we’re properly prepared to do so; when friendships drift apart or come to an abrupt conclusion; when ideas and future plans we thought were shared perhaps only ever belonged to us; when a chapter in our lives comes to a conclusion, whether or not we’re ready to close the book. As it explores all of these themes, Ko-op’s visual novel makes the apocalyptic metaphor literal: these anthropomorphic dinosaurs could soon be facing an extinction-level catastrophe, as newsflashes report that an asteroid is approaching. Already, it’s causing anxiety, though the sporadic blackouts caused by electrical interference are nothing compared to the spike of horror as a timely text message bounces back to its sender. If its scenario draws on the Mesozoic era, in other words, its concerns are very much pulled from the modern age.