Last Updated on Jul 23, 2026 @ 12:48:59 PM.
The Soulslike genre has become one of the biggest and most sought after in recent years, with the previously niche area becoming much bigger and played by many more wanting the challenge. Before now though, we’ve yet to see something like Dinoblade. Have you ever played a game as a dinosaur? More than that, have you ever played a game as a dinosaur with a huge sword in his mouth, on an adventure to stop a catastrophe all the while getting battered by other dinosaurs with bigger swords? No? Well now you can.
We were lucky enough to have a quick chat with Jean Nguyen, the creator of Dinoblade, and Senior Animator at Sucker Punch Productions, ahead of the release of his first solo game. He explains what made him develop the game, how he balances it with his full time job, and how he once had lightsabers involved.
Firstly, thanks so much for your time. For those unaware, would you mind telling us a little about yourself and how you got to this point in your career, with Dinoblade?
I’m Jean Nguyen and currently I’m a Senior Animator at Sucker Punch Productions. Before that, I was at another company and I felt like it was time for me to move on and look for a new studio to work at. At that time, my demo reel was outdated so I needed to create new animation shots to update it. I enjoy animating Combat and Creature, so one day I decided to add a Giant Sword into the jaws of a Spinosaurus Walk Cycle for fun and post it on Twitter. It got some attention and made me think, what if it can do combos with it?!
That’s how the viral meme Spinosaurus wielding a giant Buster Sword doing crazy combo came to be. I had many many comments asking for a game and I thought, no way I can make a game on my own. I kept making more Dinosaur combos while wielding a weapon and after a year of uploading those clips and comments asking for a game, I decided to give it a shot. I watched Youtube tutorials on Unreal Engine for a whole month and found Combat Fury, a solid combat system in the Unreal Fab store that I can build Dinoblade off of. October 2023 was when I officially started Dinoblade development.
Dinoblade is so ridiculously unique. How did you come up with the concept? And if you had to compare it to another game or genre, what would that be, and why?
I would say Dinoblade is closer to Sekiro and Black Myth Wukong even though many people compare it to DarkSouls which was also a major inspiration since I grew up playing that series.
Dinoblade is incredibly different to what you’d be working on at SuckerPunch. Does this help or hinder the creativity, and how do you ensure you don’t get burnout?
At SuckerPunch, I work with combat animation so that ties together with Dinoblade, making combat feel really good. By working on Dinoblade during my free time, I actually gain even more experience on making combat feel good so it helps out both projects. I don’t get burnout because making games is more like a hobby to me, I enjoy it and it’s sometimes relaxing. I also handkey creatures in Dinoblade fully versus working with Mocap more at SuckerPunch so it’s a different type of workflow.
How does it compare to working on something like this, a solo-indie, as opposed to something huge under SP’s umbrella?
With Dinoblade, I have the freedom to do whatever I want with the game versus working with a team to make sure our vision all aligns together.
As gamers we feel like we’ve seen everything, but a dinosaur Soulslike is definitely new. How does making the animations and movesets of the dinosaurs compare to that of a human character? How do you make sure they look natural and not clunky?
Since I do a lot of mocap acting, especially combat mocap, I found myself understanding body mechanics really well from studying movements so closely. From that experience working with mocap for several years, I applied momentum and body mechanics onto Dinosaurs.
Is there any dialogue at all? If not, how have you gone about telling the story of Dinoblade?
There is dialogue but it’s very light. I want to have enough dialogues that can spark the player’s imagination but not tell the whole story.
How long is the game?
On average, based on around 30 play testers, I would say it’s around 7 hours depending on the player’s experience with Souls Like games.
What does it offer in ways of completionist runs?
Player’s will want to defeat all the mini bosses and main bosses in the game to unlock skills. Player’s can start a new game to max out different skills since you won’t be able to max out all the skills in a single game. There are also achievements to unlock and a boss rush mode that can be played after beating the game.
Are there multiple weapons, skills, armor etc, as you’d expect in a Soulslike, available in the game?
There are multiple Greatswords, each with its own unique passive. Players will also be able to summon each boss that they’ve defeated. Each Summon has its own unique passive as well.
How many bosses can players expect to encounter?
There are 16 total bosses players can encounter.
Can you play as more than just a Spinosaurus?
You can only play as the Spinosaurus but there may be plans to add more playables as free updates post launch.
And how do the different dinosaurs present different challenges to the player?
Each Bosses have their own strength and combat style. There are also spells in this game which can help push each combat to feel unique as well. The main bosses are all very different, from Tanky AOE damage fights to Fast Speedy Attacks and bosses with unique abilities. I’ve seen many playtesters adjust their Sword and Summon choices based on the Bosses and even mid fight, players have kept switching back and forth as a strategy.
What developmental difficulties have you encountered during your time with Dinoblade?
The main difficulty was finding time to work on the project. I go out less with friends now, and I barely play any games. I put my hobby time into Dinoblade which is basically a hobby as well. I’m also a father now so trying to spend time with my son while finding time to make Dinoblade. I’m lucky to have a supportive wife and her family to help take care of my son.
On a scale of easy to difficult, 1-10, where are you putting the difficulty of the game?
I would put Dinoblade at 8 for difficulty. There’s no difficulty option in the game so the first level starts off easy and it ramps up. I made it so that farming is very easy and players who may get stuck, can go farm the smaller enemies to grow their attributes before fighting the bosses again. The later bosses may be extremely hard but also fun and fair.
AI is an incredibly contentious subject in game development right now, some for, some against the use of it. Has AI been used in Dinoblade?
I don’t have any AI art in Dinoblade because I like supporting artists since I’m an artist myself. I have paid artists for Music, Character Designs, Models, Rigging, Texturing etc. I do use Google Gemini to ask questions to help fix bugs or build new mechanics for the game if I can’t find tutorials on Youtube.
It has stormed up the wishlist charts, with, at the time of writing this, over 600k, which is incredible. How many sales have you had so far, and what does this mean for you to have a successful game all of your own making?
At this time of answering the question, 0 sales since the game isn’t live yet but I hope I get enough sales to take care of my family future. I also am more eager at the ratings because a high rating will mean people are enjoying the game. The whole point of working in the game industry to me is to make games that can give people a good time, create laughs and excitement, escape reality, make new friends and so forth so I’m really looking forward to seeing people have fun with Dinoblade.
Assuming Dinoblade is as successful as it is tracking to be, how would it change your life, and career?
If Dinoblade becomes successful, I will be able to make life easier for my family. I however still plan to keep making games since it’s my hobby. With enough money, I’ll be able to make an even better game after Dinoblade.
Post-release of the game, what’s next for you?
I’d like to spend more time with my family but still work on updates to the game such as more playable dinosaurs. Potentially down the line, another new game with a higher budget.
And what’s next for the game? Sequel, DLC? Bringing it to consoles? Any chance of a co-op mode?
I’m looking into all those options but first off, I’d like to port the game for consoles so that more players can have the opportunity to play the game but only if the game does well enough on Steam.
Is there anything else you don’t normally get to share, but would like to, about the game?
I originally had Light Sabers on the Spinosaurs jaw but it didn’t look as appealing so I switched it to the giant Buster Sword.
Dinoblade is available on Steam today, and as above, may well launch on consoles in the future.
Have you, like us, been keeping an eye on Dinoblade? Will you be picking it up when it releases? What do you make of the ability to summon past-defeated bosses to help you? Let us know in the comments below!
For your next read, check out the new demo from The Guild – Europa 1410, or the latest update from Phasmophobia.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
