Dinoblade puts you in control of a young Spinosaurus that grips a colossal greatsword in its jaws and fights through a world where every dinosaur has been armed with a blade. It is a soulslike action RPG built around timing, deflection, and posture, released in 2026 for PC on Steam. The joke framing of “dinosaurs with swords” is real, but the game underneath is a focused, Sekiro-style combat system.
Quick answer: Dinoblade is a single-player dinosaur soulslike on Steam (Windows), out now for $19.99, where you play a greatsword-wielding Spinosaurus and win fights by parrying enemies until their resolve breaks.
What Dinoblade is and how the core loop works
You move through canyons, jungles, swamps, and frozen peaks as a Spinosaurus, clearing rival dinosaurs and story bosses along the way. The central goal is to survive a cataclysm that turned every creature into a bladed fighter, and to stop the extinction that follows.
Progression is layered on top of the fights. Defeating a boss lets you summon it later, you earn Boss SP to spend on abilities called Soul Arts, and you can hunt down legendary weapons to change how your Spinosaurus plays. Leveling is partly automatic, which keeps the focus on combat rather than grinding.
The name itself started as a running gag. In its trailer the title flips through several joke versions before settling on the final one.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Developer | Team Spino LLC (solo dev Jean Nguyen) |
| Publisher | Team Spino LLC, Boltray Games |
| Platform | PC (Steam / Windows) |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Genre | Action / Indie / RPG (Soulslike) |
| Mode | Single-player |
| Achievements | 29 (Boss Rush unlocks after the final boss) |
| Release date | July 23, 2026 |
Combat: parries, resolve, and the Instinct Counter
Fights are built on posture and deflection rather than raw damage. Every enemy has a resolve bar, and your job is to fill it with well-timed parries. When you deflect an attack at the right moment, you regain stamina and push the enemy closer to breaking. Once their resolve is full, you land a heavy finishing blow called an Instinct Counter.
The moment-to-moment toolkit includes blocking, parrying, dodge rolling, and lock-on targeting with a scroll wheel to switch between enemies. Holding block and releasing it right before an incoming strike triggers the parry. You can also charge a heavy attack to release a fire projectile, useful against enemies wielding scythes, tridents, and other reach weapons.
Bosses follow the same posture-parry logic, with phase transitions and higher resolve pools. The named encounters include Kira the Exile and the paired fight against Axe and Kasei the Tyrant. Clearing the final boss opens a Boss Rush mode.
Note: Dinoblade is often described as a “Soulslite.” The parry system is pure Sekiro DNA, but the game is more forgiving than a traditional soulslike. You do not drop your currency when you die, and part of your leveling happens automatically.
Platforms, price, and the free demo
Dinoblade is a PC exclusive on Steam for Windows. There is no PS5, Xbox, Switch, or mobile version, and Team Spino has not announced any console ports. Any future release on other platforms would be a separate announcement, and nothing is dated right now.
The full game launched on July 23, 2026 at $19.99 and topped Steam’s Popular Releases chart on day one. A 10% launch discount brought it to $17.99, and that promotion ran through July 30, 2026. A free one-hour demo is also available, covering the Dry Canyons route through Kira, Axe, and Kasei. That demo helped the game pass 500,000 Steam wishlists before release.
Who made Dinoblade
Dinoblade is the work of solo developer Jean Nguyen, a senior gameplay animator at Sucker Punch, working under the studio name Team Spino LLC. The project grew out of a viral clip of a Spinosaurus swinging a sword, which built enough momentum to carry the game to launch. Boltray Games is credited alongside Team Spino as a publisher.
If you want to try before buying, the free demo is the fastest way to feel out the parry system, since it lets you clear the opening canyon route and its first bosses. That first hour is the clearest test of whether the deflection-heavy combat clicks for you before you commit to the full run.
