Dinoblade — How an Absurd Animation Became a Hardcore Soulslike

On July 23, 2026, a game called Dinoblade launched on Steam. Its cover art shows a Spinosaurus with a greatsword longer than its own body clenched in its jaws, facing off against equally armed dinosaur opponents.

That image alone is enough to make the game stand out. You’d be hard-pressed to find another game on Steam that fits the description of “dinosaur with a sword in its mouth, Soulslike combat.” But what’s even more surprising is where it came from: the project began as a test animation posted on social media in 2022. In that clip, a Spinosaurus swinging a greatsword racked up over 300,000 likes, and the comments were almost unanimous—”make this into a full game.”

Nearly four years later, it actually happened. The lead developer, Jean Nguyen, is a senior animator at Sucker Punch Productions who worked on Ghost of Yōtei and previously on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. In his spare time, he turned an internet meme into a complete third-person Soulslike action RPG.

A Sword-Wielding Spinosaurus and a World Rewritten by Cataclysm

Dinoblade takes place in a prehistoric world transformed by a catastrophic event. Dinosaurs no longer rely solely on claws, teeth, and size—they’ve started using weapons and waging war on each other. You play as a young Spinosaurus wielding a colossal greatsword, setting out on a journey to prevent an impending extinction.

The game uses a region-based progression structure. Each region is guarded by a powerful “Alpha” apex predator, and you must defeat it to move forward. After beating the final boss, a separate Boss Rush mode unlocks. The environments range from dry canyons to dense, mist-shrouded jungles, with noticeable visual variety. Jean Nguyen’s animation background really shows in the dinosaur movement—the stride of a Spinosaurus running with a sword in its mouth, the momentum of a head swing when blocking, the tail movements during combat—all carry a liveliness that feels like it was pulled straight out of an animated short.

A Soulslike Skeleton with a Dinosaur Skin

The combat system uses familiar Soulslike staples: stamina management, rolling, dodging, and parrying. But the premise of “fighting with a sword clenched in your jaws” ensures it can’t be a carbon copy of any existing Soulslike. Your attacks involve neck swings, and your blocking stance is completely different from a human character holding a shield. Each dinosaur boss has its own attack patterns and combat style, forcing players to adapt their timing and approach to each opponent rather than relying on a fixed combo.

Progression revolves around stat upgrades, new skills, and the ability to summon bosses you’ve defeated. Defeating bosses unlocks powerful skills that can be summoned in combat. For weapons, players can find new ones with different passive effects during exploration, though the selection isn’t huge. After clearing the game, Boss Rush mode unlocks for players who enjoy repeated challenges.

An Indie Game That’s “Rough” in a Very Distinctive Way

As of this writing, the game remains “Very Positive” on Steam, with around 90% of reviews being positive. But reading through individual reviews reveals a split: some are willing to forgive the roughness to enjoy the concept, while others feel the roughness has affected the core combat.

Many positive reviews credit the core appeal to “dinosaurs fighting with greatswords” itself, along with the satisfaction of boss animations and action choreography. The developer’s animation background is also widely praised, especially the boss fight presentation and dinosaur movement details.

Negative reviews tend to focus on combat hit detection and parry timing, map guidance, UI, enemy AI, camera issues, sound design, and late-game boss difficulty. One player even compared the sound effects to hitting a cardboard box and the combat feel to chopping one. The game is relatively short, although playtime varies. The developer estimated an average of around seven hours during testing, while experienced Soulslike players may finish the main story much faster. Boss Rush is available afterward for repeat challenges.

These criticisms aren’t surprising. As an individual developer whose core expertise is animation, Jean Nguyen clearly excels at dinosaur movement and boss presentation, but the game still shows the limitations of a solo indie project in map design, UI, collision detection, and system balancing.

The Point Isn’t the Playtime

Dinoblade is priced at $19.99 on Steam, with a 10% launch discount during its first week. Its content volume is small; the real question isn’t how long you can play, but whether you genuinely like the concept of “dinosaurs fighting with greatswords in a Soulslike.”

If the concept of “dinosaurs with greatswords in a Soulslike” sounds fun to you—it’s worth a try. It’s not polished, but the combination is genuinely rare. The boss presentation and dinosaur animations clearly show a professional animator’s touch.

If you have high standards for Soulslike combat feel, map design, and system depth—be aware that the game is rough in those areas. It feels more like “a Soulslike experiment made by an animator in his spare time” than a polished commercial product.

If you’re just curious what “dinosaur with a sword” actually looks like—there’s a free demo on Steam, averaging about one hour, covering up to the first main boss of the first region. Trying the demo first to see if you can tolerate the controls and overall roughness before buying is the safer choice.

Copyright Notice: All game screenshots, character images, and related assets used in this article are the property of Jean Nguyen and the publisher and their respective rights holders. This article is intended solely for informational, review, and commentary purposes.