While Resident Evil receives constant love, remakes, remasters, and re-releases, Capcom’s other premier horror franchise has been left to gather dust. I am of course talking about the legendary Dino Crisis, by far one of the best games I have ever played. However, the wait for a modern way to play the classics is finally over. In a surprise move, Capcom has officially brought the original Dino Crisis and its action-heavy sequel, Dino Crisis 2, to Steam. However, rather than full-blown remakes, these are faithful ports of the PC versions originally released in the late 90s and early 2000s. They follow the trend of recent “Master Collection” style re-releases, ensuring that these titles are compatible with modern operating systems and hardware without the need for community patches or emulators. I’d love a full remake, but honestly, being able to revisit the originals will do just fine!
Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2
The two games represent a fascinating era of Capcom’s history. The first title, often dubbed “Resident Evil with Dinosaurs,” focuses on the T-energy incident and the survival of Regina as she navigates a facility overrun by prehistoric threats. The sequel took a hard turn into arcade-style action, introducing a points system and much faster-paced combat, but it’s still a great game.
Key features of the Steam releases:
- Modern Compatibility – Both titles are optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11.
- Controller Support – Full support for modern gamepads, including Xbox and PlayStation controllers.
- Resolution Scaling – While the original assets remain intact, the games support modern display resolutions.
- Steam Integration – Includes Steam Cloud saves and a full set of Steam Achievements for both titles.
- Original Soundtracks – The high-quality original audio and FMV sequences have been preserved.
Tell me more
The arrival of these titles on Steam is significant because Dino Crisis has been notoriously difficult to play legally on modern hardware. While the first game recently appeared on the PlayStation Plus Classics catalogue, PC players have had to rely on physical discs from decades ago or less-than-official means. Personally, I had to use a PS1 emulator the last time I played it.
These versions appear to be based on the SourceNext ports, which were historically the most stable versions of the games on PC. Capcom has tidied up the menus and ensured that the “Tank Controls” of the first game and the pre-rendered backgrounds of the second function correctly on high-refresh-rate monitors. It is worth noting that these are not “Remastered” in the sense of new textures; they are the original aesthetic, which will please the purists, but may feel pretty rough by modern standards. Regardless, this is a pretty awesome shadow drop from Capcom.
Where to buy
Both Dino Crisis (here) and Dino Crisis 2 (here) are available right now on the Steam store. They can be purchased individually for £8.39 / $9.99 each, or as part of a “Dino Crisis Bundle” which offers a slight discount for buying both together. However, they’re both 50% off right now, so grab them while they’re hot!
