Review – Kong: Survivor Instinct

Developer – 7Levels

Publisher – 7Levels, 4Divinity

Platforms –  PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Reviewed)

Review copy given by Publisher

Kong: Survivor Instinct by 7Levels is a 2.5D action-adventure game that immediately gave me major Shadow Complex vibes from the Xbox 360 era. It blends the Kaiju theme with classic Metroidvania-style gameplay, bringing us a fresh take on the Monsterverse. After the disappointment of Skull Island: The Rise of Kong, I get why people are eager for a good Kong game. But will Kong: Survivor Instinct deliver what we’re craving? Not quite, though it does feel like a step in the right direction! Now, that’s not to say it’s a bad game—far from it—but it’s probably not what most people were hoping for in a Kaiju experience.

The story in Kong picks up after the defeat of Mechagodzilla, with Godzilla and Kong going their separate ways. Apex has been taken down, and Monarch is now focused on exploring the Hollow Earth. But the peace doesn’t last long—Kong returns to the surface, causing massive destruction. The game kicks off with a news report covering Kong’s rampage, as a man named Davis watches, desperately trying to reach his daughter, Stacy, by phone. When he can’t get through, he fears the worst and heads straight into the chaos to find her and bring her to safety. Naturally, Davis crashes his car along the way, forcing him to continue on foot. As you navigate the city, you’ll need to use your tools and weapons to get through different areas, dodge dangerous Kaiju, and uncover what happened to Stacy.

After a quick tutorial that teaches you the basics—like how to jump, crawl, and interact with the environment—the game kicks off pretty fast. As with most Metroidvanias, you’ll encounter areas that are initially out of reach, but as you progress, you’ll unlock new tools that let you backtrack briefly and push forward with your new gear. Throughout the journey, Davis meets a few characters who add depth to the story, but most of your time will be spent exploring various locations like city streets, skyscrapers, hospitals, and underground facilities in search of clues. Eventually, Davis finds a device that lets him collect bits of recordings from different Kaiju sounds. Once you’ve gathered all the sounds needed to complete a famous Kaiju’s roar, you can summon them to clear the path to the next part of the city.

Throughout the game, you’ll come across some simple, straightforward puzzles—things like shooting locks off doors, shaking down bars, breaking through boarded-up entrances, and moving boxes to reach higher areas. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking here, but the game accomplishes what it sets out to do. Make sure you explore every corner of the map, though, because you’ll find useful items like medkits to heal, water bottles that boost your max health, ammo for your pistol, and extra magazines to increase your gun’s capacity without reloading. I actually enjoyed tracking down all the hidden clues and upgrades—it made the exploration feel rewarding.

Outside of platforming and basic puzzle solving, there is a combat system as well to battle smaller monsters, mercenaries, and soldiers. The combat system is very straight forward, you can do a quick attack, a heavy attack, block, and counterattack. These battles are spread through out the game and can sometimes be difficult but nothing too challenging. I did die a few times at certain sections, but the combat system, while clunky, is serviceable. David is by no means John Wick. Making your way through the city is what fills most of your time with the game but these breaks keep the game engaging. The most challenging part of the game however are the Kaiju chasing portions. Every so often, one of the Kaiju will notice you and begin to hunt you down. Of course with them being the size of skyscrapers, it typically boils down to running through a partially destroyed building while their claws and fists are busting through the walls trying to get you. These chases are somewhat intense but also a bit cheap because it requires pretty precise timing in your actions so I expect most people to die in these sections. Dying isn’t too bad as you typically respawn right at the start and just continue the escape.

While the game is definitely a step in the right direction, I feel like the Kaiju element was somewhat lacking. Yes, there are several moments where you will see different Kaiju walking around in the background and they are always around either through story telling or the chases, but it just felt like something was missing to really bring it all together. I think I can speak for the majority of gamers that are also Kaiju fans, we want to play as them. The entirety of Kong: Survivor Instinct, we never get to BE Kong. We see him quite often but it just lacks that special moment that really gives us that “wow” moment when we get to destroy some buildings or even fight another Kaiju. We are just running around doing our thing while all the cool stuff is just happening around us. It really is a shame that there wasn’t a least one moment as a payoff where we got to play as Kong and get to fight Tiamat or Abaddon to protect David. There are several opportunities where something like this could have been added to really give meaning to the Kong title. Like Shadow Complex, Kong: Survivor Instinct is a bit on the short side. My playthrough which was a 98% completion took about 6 hours to finish.

7Levels has done a commendable job with Kong. It’s not just a mediocre game; it has potential but falls short in key areas that would allow it to truly shine. Kaiju fans will certainly enjoy seeing their favorite characters make an appearance, but many will feel disappointed that they can’t play as them, even for a brief time. This presents a double-edged sword: if you’re looking for a Metroidvania-lite experience, have a genuine interest in Kaiju, and want to support developers working within the Monsterverse, then Kong: Survivor Instinct has undeniable value.