Extinction asks you to fight giants. That is its entire premise, and it is a premise that sounds better on paper than it plays in practice. Iron Galaxy Studios built a game about a lone warrior named Avil who battles armies of ogres standing 150 feet tall, and the result is a title that is frequently thrilling to watch and rarely satisfying to play.
The game was released in 2018 for PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One. It was developed by Iron Galaxy Studios and published by Modus Games. It draws on similar mechanics to Shadow of the Colossus and borrows visual DNA from the anime series Attack on Titan. The goal is simple: defend humanity from an encroaching horde of monsters that threaten to wipe out civilization entirely.
Trailer, via Extinction MG.
The Warrior Named Avil
Avil is the world’s last Sentinel, a soldier trained in the ways of an ancient order. He fights with a sword and a shield, and he moves through a sprawling countryside that includes cities and open fields. The premise is classic fantasy fare: a lone hero standing against an overwhelming force. What makes Extinction different is the scale of its enemies.
The Ravenii are described as “encroaching armies of bloodthirsty monsters” that once threatened to destroy humankind. They are towering beasts, and the game repeatedly emphasizes their height, noting that they stand 150 feet tall. The comparison to Attack on Titan is apt visually, with Avil scaling over massive creatures and cutting through their flesh.
The game’s central conflict is framed as an existential threat. The Ravenii are not raiders or bandits. They are armies. The narrative describes a world where humans have been fighting each other for generations while the real enemy waited in the distance. Now that enemy has returned, and only those trained in the ancient order can defeat it. Avil is one of the world’s last defenders, equipped with the skill, speed, and strength to oppose the endless wave of Ravenii.
The Combat System
The core of Extinction is a skill-based combat system that rewards disarming and dismembering enemies. Players can tactically disarm foes and cut off body parts to go in for the kill. This is a clever idea, and it works best in the game’s boss encounters. When you face a giant creature, the system lets you target weak points, slice off limbs, and exploit openings. It feels powerful when it lands.
But the system falls apart during regular combat. The game throws hordes at you from the ground and air, and the dynamic nature of the fights is meant to keep you moving. In practice, this means you spend a lot of time dodging and retreating, and less time executing your carefully planned tactics. The skill-based approach is there, but it is buried under a constant stream of enemies that feel more like obstacles than challenges.
The game is partly inspired by Attack on Titan, and that influence shows in the way Avil scales and climbs across the bodies of his enemies. The comparison holds up visually, but the gameplay is not as fluid. Where Attack on Titan lets players move freely across walls and ceilings, Extinction locks you into a more rigid path. The difference is noticeable, and it shapes how you approach each encounter.
Defending Cities and Rescuing Refugees
The campaign is structured around defending cities and rescuing refugees torn from their homes. This adds a layer of context to the fighting, but it also slows the pacing. The game spends time on cutscenes and story beats that explain why the Ravenii are attacking, and why Avil is the only one who can stop them. These moments are well-written, but they break the flow of combat.
The game’s world is a countryside, and it is large enough to explore. There are cities to protect, villages to clear, and open fields where enemies spawn. The variety is welcome, but the game does not fully capitalize on it. Levels often feel similar, and the enemy waves repeat patterns that become predictable after a few hours.
The theme of the game is annihilation. It is not a war. It is an extinction event, and the stakes are high. The narrative pushes this message through its descriptions of the Ravenii and the threat they pose. The game wants you to feel that humanity is at the edge of destruction, and it succeeds in creating that tension. But the tension is undermined by the repetition of the combat.
Difficulty and Replay Value
Extinction is not an easy game. The difficulty curve is steep, especially in the later stages. Bosses require precise timing and careful positioning, and the game does not hold your hand. It expects you to learn enemy patterns and react quickly.
That difficulty is both a strength and a weakness. When the game is working, the boss fights are tense and rewarding. You feel the satisfaction of a well-executed combo or a well-timed dodge. But when the game is not working, the difficulty becomes frustrating. The enemy waves are relentless, and the game does not provide much feedback beyond telling you to try again.
The presentation is polished, and it is one of the game’s strengths. The game looks good, sounds good, and runs well on all three platforms. There is no performance issue that drags down the experience. The game is technically competent, even if it is not always engaging.
Visuals and Sound
The visuals in Extinction are strong. The Ravenii are massive, and the game renders them with detail. Their movements are animated well, and the environments are varied enough to keep the screen interesting. The game is not pushing technical boundaries, but it does not need to. The scale of the enemies is enough to sell the experience.
The sound design is solid. The game uses a mix of orchestral music and electronic elements, and the score shifts between tense and epic depending on the scene. The sound effects are punchy, and the sword swings land with weight. The audio does a good job of supporting the visuals, even when the gameplay falters.
Where It Falls Short
The biggest problem with Extinction is the pacing. The game is slow to start, and the early hours are filled with tutorials and repeated enemy waves. The middle section improves, but the final stretch drags. The game’s length is a concern, though the review does not specify how long it runs.
The game also suffers from a lack of variety. The combat system is fun in isolated moments, but it does not evolve over time. You learn the basics early and you play them for the rest of the game. There is no upgrade system, no new weapons, and no changing objectives. The game is consistent, but it is not diverse.
The game’s reliance on a single type of encounter means that the novelty wears off quickly. The game is at its best when you are facing a giant creature and the skill-based system is firing on all cylinders. It is at its worst when you are dodging waves of smaller enemies and the game feels like a grind. The balance between these two modes is uneven, and it shows.
A Mixed Legacy
Extinction is a game that had ambition but did not fully deliver on it. The game’s premise is compelling, and the execution falls short. It is a game that is best remembered for its ideas rather than its final product.
The game’s influence is visible in the genre it represents. The hack-and-slash adventure style, combined with the giant monster battles, has become a staple of action games. Extinction is part of that lineage, and it contributed to the direction the genre took. Its failure, however, is a reminder that ideas are not enough. A great concept requires great execution, and Extinction does not always achieve that.
The game’s legacy is modest. It is a footnote in the history of the genre, a title that tried something ambitious and fell short. It is not a failure in the sense of being a bad game, but it is a failure in the sense of being a missed opportunity. The game had everything it needed to succeed, and it still fell short.
Our Verdict
Extinction is a game that is better to watch than to play. The boss fights are tense and rewarding, and the visuals are impressive. But the regular combat is repetitive, and the game’s length works against it. The game is a mixed bag, and it is a mixed bag that leans toward disappointment.
We score Extinction 5 out of 10. The game is not a failure, but it is not a success either. It is a game that captures a moment, but it does not sustain it. The ideas are there, but the execution is not. The game is worth playing for a few hours, but it is not worth finishing.
Here is how we rank the game’s components:
- Boss fights — the strongest element, tense and rewarding
- Visuals — polished and detailed, a standout
- Story — well-written, but slow to develop
- Regular combat — repetitive and frustrating
- Replay value — limited, though the review does not confirm this
The game is a mixed bag, and it is a mixed bag that leans toward disappointment. It is a game that is better to watch than to play, and that is a problem for a game that is supposed to be played. The game is a footnote in the history of the genre, a title that tried something ambitious and fell short. It is not a failure, but it is not a success either.
Extinction is a game that is worth remembering for its ideas, but not for its final product. The game is a reminder that ambition is not enough. A great concept requires great execution, and Extinction does not always achieve that. The game is a game that is better to watch than to play, and that is a problem for a game that is supposed to be played.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
