Instinction: Everything We Know

Hashbane Interactive’s Instinction is the ideal love letter to Capcom’s Dino Crisis, a standalone IP that, quite frankly, never received the tender loving care it so rightfully deserved. It’s a good thing, then, that the proposed upcoming open-world horror will cement that very gap and bring the long-awaited spiritual successor to light.

It’s still a fair ways off yet, no thanks to Hashbane Interactive nudging the initial September 2022 launch window back to an undisclosed date, but there are still plenty of details on the game’s premise, gameplay, and platforms. So, if you’re keen to learn more about what’s to come in the evidently promising survival-horror chapter, then be sure to read on for the full scoop.

What Is Instinction?

Instinction is an upcoming first-person action-adventure game by Hashbane Interactive, an independent studio that, prior to receiving a sizeable investment from New Zealand-based Hillfarrance, scheduled to launch the game in September 2022. Due to the investment, Hashbane made the decision to double its efforts and recruit a larger team for the development phase. In a bid to fully realize its vision, the team will now be bringing the game out at a later date; the exact window has yet to be announced.

Story

Set in a cordoned off section of the world—a private isle in which prehistoric life exists and the consequences of coexisting alongside them poses a real-life threat—you will learn to tackle the flesh-eating dinosaurs as they come. Equipped with a fully loaded arsenal of weapons, you will need to branch out and complete missions, solve puzzles, and fight to survive another day as the prehistoric land engulfs you in everlasting danger.

From the horse’s mouth: “Experience a cinematic story based action adventure with combat, exploration and puzzles, where the environments can be as treacherous and beautiful as the creatures you encounter,” the Steam listing reads in part. “Environmental puzzles will have you completing quests and searching for ancient artefacts left by an unknown civilisation long since gone, or so it seems, while navigating stunning locations and embark on an unforgettable journey.”

Gameplay

At its heart, Instinction is a first-person horror game, and one that leans heavily into its prehistoric roots through the power of well-versed paleontological intelligence. According to the guys over at Hashbane Interactive, the gameplay will involve “vehicle mechanics, swimming, climbing, [and] crouching.” Although not quite the true spiritual successor to Dino Crisis as far as the top-down perspective goes, the game will, at least from what we’ve seen, adopt a structure similar to the ever-evolving one seen in games like Resident Evil and Fobia. 

There will be a great deal of customization, too. Unfortunately, it has yet to be cleared up just how much you will be able to customize outside of the standard weapon skins, attachments, and their respective HUDs. Apparently, though, players will also be able to customize the protagonist, both in the single-player campaign and in its online co-op counterpart. And yes, just to confirm, there will be a multiplayer mode, which means you’ll either be able to run the story with a friend, or go toe-to-toe in a versus mode of some sort. This is all a bit foggy at the moment, so we’ll have to hang fire and wait for Hashbane to shed a little extra light on it.

Development

After a strange turn of events that led Hashbane Interactive to receive a sizeable investment from Hillfarrance, Instinction underwent a slight change in direction, thus becoming a bigger, bolder, and more comprehensive project. Due to the studio wanting to create a more accurate dinosaur video game with twice the attention to detail, the initial September 2022 launch moved to an undisclosed date. As it currently stands, Instinction doesn’t have a release date locked in, though rumors do seem to suggest it could be at some stage in either late 2024 or early 2025.

Trailer

Curious to know whether or not a trailer has virtually dropped yet? Good news, as Hashbane Interactive did, in fact, release a relatively short but insightful preview back in 2021. That said, the trailer in question was actually released before the investment, which means what you see here could very well evolve into something else entirely. After all, with Hashbane seeking a more “accurate” representation of dinosaurs since expanding its goal, it’s likely we’ll have something even more realistic come launch day. As it stands, though, this is the best look we’re going to get. You can see it for yourself in the embed above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Instinction will be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam. Unfortunately, that’s about as much as we know about the current launch platforms, meaning, a Switch port is still very much in the realm of possibility at this point in time. As it stands, though, you can only Wishlist the game over on Steam, which you can do here.

As it is still early days, there hasn’t been any official updates regarding the special or deluxe editions yet. This is subject to change as the months draw on, however it is worth pointing out that revised editions aren’t usually announced this early on in development.

For more information on the Instinction launch, you can follow the official social handle here. We’ll be sure to spill all the latest details should anything new come to light.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Instinction when it eventually releases? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.