Thank you Outright Games for sending us a physical copy to review!

In 2020, we reviewed Gigantosaurus The Game which has the characters from the popular TV show that was inspired by John Duddle’s book, Gigantosaurus. Kart races were used as a mechanism to get to different areas and this feature was available from the game’s menu. It certainly was a highlight and it’s nice to see that they made a full-fledged game out of it!

Upon launching the Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart, you’ll be encouraged to play through the tutorial which will show you the controls and how to use skills like autopilot. What’s the fun in autopilot? Maybe toddlers who want to join in can benefit from that.

From the main menu, you can start a quick race, play with up to four friends, complete the adventure mode, or view your collection of unlocked skins. The collection area will also show you various stats like how many times you’ve been on the winner’s podium, how many kilometers you’ve driven, as well as your preferred character and race track. The adventure mode will have you play though multiple grand prix’ to unlock all of the tracks and available characters. In total, there are fifteen tracks. Many of the tracks have alternate routes to discover and utilize! Daytime and nighttime races offer more variety.

Compared to other popular go-kart games, Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart is geared towards a younger audience who won’t bother mastering drifting mechanisms. There’s a mini skill game that will give you a starting boost if you press the button while moving speedometer arrow is in a green window of opportunity.

Like most go-kart games, you’ll find speed ramps on the track to give you a temporary boost. You’ll also find bubbles containing a random Mazu Pack (power-up) that can protect you from an enemy attack or provide you with a weapon to thwart your foes. You can acquire a boost on demand, vacuum suction, the ability to launch a rock, or a slippery trap. If an enemy falls victim to your trap you’ll see their avatar and hear them groan.

Races typically last three laps. If you find that the competition isn’t very challenging, you may want to increase the difficulty. There are three levels: easy, normal, and hard. There are three characters and multiple tracks to unlock. In order to unlock everything, you’ll have to complete the competitions in the adventure mode. I was able to unlock all of the tracks and characters in my hour-long stream. After unlocking all of the characters and track, you can focus on acquiring more skins to change the appearance of your prehistoric racers.

Visually, this game is very colorful and the tracks are nicely detailed with water, dirt, and multiple environments and day/night racing times. I’m not sure how well the Switch can run this title, but my Xbox Series X|S ran it just fine.

The upbeat Caribbean music is fitting and sets a calming atmosphere. I’m assuming that the TV show voice actors are used, but either way, the voice acting is pretty good. The sound effects are fitting too.

Outside of cartoon violence, Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart is family-friendly and younger games are bound to enjoy this one. More experienced gamers won’t find much of a challenge here though. I think the asking price of $39.99 is a bit steep but I have seen it discounted on Amazon between 25-50% off depending on the console version.