A new Turok game has appeared on Steam and it isn't at all what you would expect. The series has evidently abandoned its shooter roots in favor of an isometric perspective and, well, it's adorable.
The new game, titled Turok: Escape From Lost Valley, was discovered on Steam yesterday and as of yet there has been no formal announcement from either the developer Pillow Pig Games or Universal, who is publishing the game. Strange, because according to Steam, it is set to release July 25, 2019.
On the Steam page, there is a short trailer, which gives a taste of the Hyper Light Drifter-esque gameplay and cute, chibi-style characters juxtaposed with an energetic percussion track. There are a few screen shots, and this description:
In Turok: Escape from Lost Valley, you wake from a long sleep as Turok and adventure alongside Andar through the dangerous world of the Lost Valley as you seek to find a path home.
Encounter iconic creatures from the Turok comic series with a cute but dangerous twist. Master the art of the knife and the bow as you encounter adorable but deadly enemies, discover a path through unique environments, and choose the best weapon for the enemy in front of you.
Live the adventure! Confront your foes, assist primordial natives, and keep Andar and yourself alive as you Escape from Lost Valley!
The game is actually the product of a competition hosted by Universal at last years Game Developers Conference. Universal challenged indie developers to take their IPs and turn them on their heads, thus Turok: Escape From Lost Valley was born.
Interestingly, Pillow Pig Games didn't actually win the competition, that honor went to developer Gbanga and their upcoming one-on-one real time strategy game, Voltron: Cube of Olkarion, also releasing July 25. They won the grand prize of $150,000, but we're getting both games all the same.
The Turok video game series is based on a comic book first published by Western Publishing in 1954. The original series ran for over 30 years before Valiant picked up the rights and rebooted the series into the sci-fi mish-mash that fans of the video game series would recognize.
This game, however, is based on that original version of Turok from 1954: it is the story of pre-columbian Native Americans Turok and his brother Andar attempting to escape a mysterious valley of dinosaurs. There is no Cerebral Bore with which to decapitate space-dinos with, which might immediately come as a disappointment to long-time fans, but give it a chance: there's something exceptionally charming about this new take on the old series.
Turok: Escape From Lost Valley and Voltron: Cube of Olkarion both release on Steam July 25. If they are successful, there's a chance Universal will repeat the contest at this years GDC. What properties could we expect to see reinvention this time? I'm holding out for a Seussian Battle Royale based on The Grinch.