Orion Prelude

Midplayz
Dec 11, 2022
5 min read

Jurassic Park Gone Wrong

ARK: Survival Evolved, The Isle, Primal Carnage, Second Extinction™; I am sure everyone is aware of at least one of these dinosaur games on Steam. You can say that they’re probably the most popular titles in the dino genre. What’s funny is that ORION: Prelude was also a popular title in the same genre but I’ve never heard of it. Why is that? It’s simply because the game is dead. It’s literally a multiplayer-centric game that came out in 2013 (but 2010 according to the developers) and couldn’t keep up with the modernization. I mean, this ORION series was initially released as a mod for Half-Life in 2000. They have come a long way. Note this though; I’ve not played the previous or the new part(s) of the ORION series, hence my review will revolve around this part alone.

About This Game

Storyline

I am not sure if the game has an actual plot that it follows since I’ve not seen any narration at all. I mean, yes, there is an announcer in-game who gives you info about the rounds, how many enemies are left, etc. but nothing related to the game’s story. I am still unsure but I’ll conclude this segment by saying that this game doesn’t come with a plot as far as I know. But I did meet some people who were roleplaying in a server lmao, I guess you can come up with your own plot in that manner. It was a truly weird yet amusing experience.

Gameplay Mechanics

When it comes to game mechanics, this game is a bit janky. I mean it’s an old game after all. It’s a bit too buggy for my taste. It reminds me of the older Halo games although I haven’t played them but I have obviously watched gameplays. I’ll try to cover as much as I can about this game.

Game Modes

So, what’s the main gameplay? Well, it depends on the game mode you choose. I will just list the game modes and not explain each of them as I am pretty sure the names are self-explanatory:

Survival (Co-Op)
Slaughter (Co-Op)
Rampage (Co-Op)
Prehistoric (Co-Op)
Conquest (Co-Op + Open World)
Vital (PvPvE)
Free-For-All (PvP)
Elimination (PvP)
King of the Hill (PvP)
Gun Game (PvP)
Instagib (PvP)
1v1 Duel (Tournament with 4 players)
FFA Duel (4 Players Free For All)
Team Duel (5v5)

Weapons & Augments

I was taken aback when I saw that this game actually had a decent selection of weapons for you to choose from. In addition to this, you have access to a huge array of augmentations that will increase your chances of survival and make you an overall stronger target. The game boasts to have over 50 weapons and gear along with 30 Augmentations.

I actually expected the game to have only 3-4 weapons, so yeah, this was surprising. But after getting spoiled by playing modern games, the gunplay in ORION: Prelude feels horrible. Some guns literally have almost no recoil. Other guns have insane firing rates. I don’t know man, they just don’t feel satisfying to use. In modern games, you can literally feel the impact of every shot you land on the opponent. In this game, just some numbers pop up and there’s no actual visual or audio cue that gives you the satisfaction of landing a shot on the enemy.

Miscellaneous

Yes, you can also play as dinosaurs in this game. The dino mechanics are very glitchy and janky. It just feels weird to play as them. Also, most of the huge dinosaurs are literal bullet sponges, kinda annoying to kill.
There are three classes you can play as namely Assault who has a jetpack, Support with a medic gun & Recon who comes with a cloaking device. In my opinion, the Assault class is a bit broken since you can camp on rocks and higher surfaces so the dinosaurs which are stuck to the ground can’t attack you while you can shoot them. I mean, ofc, you’re open to the flying ones and the ones that have ranged attacks, but still, it’s a bit broken innit.
Yes, there are drivable vehicles. There are 7 vehicles and some of them have turrets on them!
I did mention that the game is dead right? Well, you can play it offline too. The game will autofill the empty slots with bots, for both, your team and opponents only in the non-PvP modes. The AI is a bit too dumb but they are better than nothing I guess.
For some reason, the game has purchasable cosmetics. I have no clue why people will spend actual money on getting cosmetics in an old game.

Visuals & Sounds

As the game is old, it obviously has very outdated visuals. The visual style reminds me of the old Halo games and Turok. I mean, for its time, I guess these visuals were considered amazing. But it’s clearly outdated as the graphics don’t hold up nowadays. Although the character models were a bit too polygonal and the animations were horrible, I really liked the dynamic day-night cycle and the changing weather the game had. I feel that was a revolutionary feature for a game that old.

Regarding the aural aspect, I was surprised to find out that the game had an actual announcer. This was pretty cool as the announcer played a vital role during matches. The dinosaur sounds were a bit too repetitive and got very annoying the more you played. I am also not a fan of the background music.

Pros

A pretty impressive collection of weapons, gear, and augments.
You can play as a dinosaur!
The game has over 20 maps to play in.
Availability of a lot of game modes that ensure you’ll never get bored.
3 playable classes and a customizable loadout to suit your playstyle.
Purchasable Cosmetics?!?!?!

Cons

Outdated visuals.
The game is very buggy and glitchy.
The game is so old that alt+tabbing when you have the game open, is a painful task. I guess my laptop is too powerful for the game.
It’s pretty dead. I literally found only 2 other players when I tried to play.
Purchasable Cosmetics?!?!?!

Conclusion

Yeah, my conclusion will be quite obvious. I do not recommend this game if you plan on playing it with other random players. On the other hand, if you have a squad or a group of friends who are willing to play the game with you, then sure, go ahead and get it. I mean, either way, the game is dirt cheap. So yeah, buying it won’t hurt your wallet in any way.

Rating: 5/10

T-Rexes are scarily cute with those huge sharp teeth and those tiny hands.