Soon, Jurassic Park fans will be able to explore Isla Nublar like never before.
While the long-running Jurassic Park franchise has given us many ways to experience the world seen on screen in Steven Spielberg’s ground-breaking 1993 classic of the same name, from Universal Studios’ popular theme park attractions to the park management simulation video game series “Jurassic World Evolution”, we’ve never been able to freely roam the dinosaur-inhabited Costa Rican jungle island resort ourselves.
But that’s set to change with “Jurassic Park: Survival”. Some will likely roll their eyes at the mention of a video game title, but unlike any other entry in this franchise, the upcoming first-person action-adventure breaks new ground by allowing fans to explore both familiar locations and areas only hinted at in previous material, such as the 1993 film and the 1990 best-seller of the same name by Michael Crichton.
These locations include, but are not limited to, the dinosaur enclosures, the main road, the park gates, maintenance tunnels, the docks, the jungle, and, of course, Isla Nublar’s iconic hub, the Visitor Center. But not just as it’s seen in the 1993 film — it also includes other areas inside that we’ve only dreamed of stepping foot inside for the last 32 years.
The trailer for “Jurassic Park: Survival”, which premiered at the Game Awards in December 2023, already teased some indoor spots such as the stainless steel kitchen where Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joe Mazzello) face two raptors in the film, and the atrium that was wrecked by the T-Rex.
But a behind-the-scenes featurette recently shared by Universal and Saber Interactive confirms even more Visitor Center locales, including the rotating movie theater where Alan (Sam Neill), Ellie (Laura Dern), and Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) watch Mr. DNA’s short animated film, and the lab that houses the incubators.
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In the featurette, Jurassic World Project Executive Lisa St. Amand explains how no stone is being left unturned when it comes to re-creating the world as it’s seen in the beloved 1993 film. “It’s really exciting to be able to translate this incredible film into a video game because you really have the opportunity to go much deeper into the film,” she says.
“We worked really closely with our partners and with Amblin and our filmmakers to make sure that we’re capturing the island and all the dinosaurs in really great detail.”
Executive Producer at Universal Products & Experiences John Melchior explains how the teams have painstakingly scoured through all the material available to re-create the film. “We go through room by room in the game, level by level,” he says. “We look at every possible resource from archives from the film, from production stills, from production blueprints, to make sure every prop is in the same place.”
“There’s lots of facilities, there’s lots of buildings, there’s lots of attractions that are under construction, there’s a hotel under construction,” he continues. “So fans are going to see things and landmarks that they only wish they saw; some elements from the film that were talked about but were never actually conceived in the film.”
St. Amand also reveals how Universal and Saber visited some sets from the film that are still standing, such as the incubator from the lab: “We really took an up-close look at some of the props from the film. We went to the actual incubator and saw the eggs. Just that level of authenticity was just amazing and it really brought the teams together.”
Watch the video for yourself below:
“Jurassic Park: Survival” will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. There’s no release date for the game. Visit the official website for more information.
Which Isla Nublar area are you most excited to explore in the upcoming Jurassic Park video game? Let us know in the comments down below!
