Who needs words? That’s among the primary questions posed by Theropods, a new adventure game from developer Lost Token that our review found to be charming title despite it ending a little more quickly than we were hoping it would.
The Good:
- A charming adventure experience that stands out with its non-verbal delivery
- Great music and some lush pixel art
- Most puzzles are well-designed
The Bad:
- It’s a very short experience
- Pixel art quality is inconsistent, sometimes affecting legibility
Review Details:
- Reviewed on: PC
- Platforms available: PC
- Official release date: August 20, 2026
Visiting an old genre and a prehistoric time
Lost Token is the latest indie developer to find success in bringing back concepts from the early adventure game genre, once among the dominant styles of game design on the PC before it went nearly extinct. Appropriately, it’s the extinct dinosaurs of prehistory who provide the backdrop for Theropods.
Players primarily control two main characters. One is an ancient human who is living happily among her tribe at the game’s outset, while the other is a mysterious arrival from outer space. The two characters quickly find themselves facing their own challenges that soon intersect, and their stories weave together from there.
As an adventure game, Theropods plays pretty much as one would expect it to. The player is tasked with pointing and clicking their way through a variety of screens and scenarios, combining objects together and directing their character to interact with the right thing at the right time.
Most of the game’s scenarios are essentially sequencing puzzles, through which players have to ferret out the right order in which to do several things towards accomplishing a broader task.
For example, encouraging a triceratops protecting its offspring to knock over some bamboo may first require flushing stinging bugs out of a nearby log. These activities may not have any obvious connection to one another, but accomplishing one can open up new interactive opportunities that will help in accomplishing the other.
Unlike most adventure games, Theropods doesn’t really see players carry items through vast stretches of the game until it’s finally time to use them. There are a small number of specific items that do make multiple appearances, but the game prefers to keep its varied scenarios contained within themselves. When you reach a new puzzle encounter, you’ll typically need to think about it on its own terms, not while using a vast collection of items and devices you’ve already assembled.
It’s worth noting here that Theropods is an entirely non-verbal game. That fact is central to its core design. Everything in the game, including its interface and menu, is communicated to the player without a single word being spoken or written.
It’s a fun idea, one that requires a lot of clear visual explanation. Theropods typically is successful in this, but not always. And this leads us directly into an evaluation of the game’s graphics and general art style.
Not quite pixel perfect
Theropods uses a pixel-art style, and while it does lead to some gorgeous scenery, our review also found some times in which it was actually an obstacle to be overcome. There were multiple instances in which we discovered key items necessary for our progression through the game, but we weren’t initially sure what the item even was because its pixel art was overly vague.
Some of the art here is so blocky that it has an almost sludgy quality to it. Thankfully, this is more the exception than the rule. The game’s backgrounds in particular tend to be of great quality. But there are also some creature designs that seem like they would’ve benefited from a little more detail.
Theropods does include a toggle option that places an indicator around anything that can be interacted with. This is helpful in preventing players from getting stuck, a fate that will at least temporarily befall most who seek to challenge themselves with adventure game.
When the game’s visuals were at their most unclear, this feature was almost necessary, as mashing an unclear item against multiple potential prompts was the best way to make some sense of it.
While speaking to the production side, we have to note that the game has an outstanding musical score. It’s capably composed and always appropriate to the energy of a given scene. Some tunes are jaunty and fun, while others are darker and more urgent. In either case, it really does stand out.
The characters and narrative are generally a plus. There’s absolutely a lot of charm in this game, but Theropods is so short that it doesn’t really have much time to develop as one might ideally like. The principal characters are bonded in almost no time at all, a necessity given the game’s quick pace. Most players should expect to see the ending after no more than about three hours of play.
At its budget price, that’s not untenable. But Theropods does feel like it could have been more of a sprawling epic that was instead crunched into its short running time.
Despite our quibbles with some of the game’s visual design and its short length, Theropods was still a pleasant experience all the way through. Its non-verbal approach is unique, and it does a good job of evoking its prehistoric theme. Fans of adventure games will almost certainly enjoy their time with this title.
The Bottom Line: Theropods is fun adventure game with great music, attractive but inconsistent art, and a notably short run time.
Score: 7.5/10
