You play as one dinosaur from a roster of species on an open island in The Isle, a dinosaur survival game for PC. You might be a tiny plant-eater like Dryosaurus or a giant like T. Rex or Allosaurus, and you share the world with other players and AI-controlled creatures. Survival is the main mode, where a single mistake can be fatal. The current version, Evrima, is still in Early Access and is the one that receives updates.
Every dinosaur starts as a small, fragile juvenile with low health, low stamina, and weak attacks, so your first goal is to stay alive. Keeping fed and watered comes right after, since going without either one slowly wears you down. Plant-eaters graze, while meat-eaters hunt or feed on carcasses, so what you can eat depends on the species you play. Resting helps you recover health and stamina, which you'll need when something comes after you.
The reason to survive is to grow. Each life stage makes your dinosaur bigger and stronger, and growing older unlocks new abilities such as nesting. Mutations, which you choose as you grow, can change how your dinosaur plays. Once you're stable, the game opens up to group play, where you can form herds or packs with trusted players of your own species and hold territory. Servers can hold more than 100 players at once.
- Developer
- Afterthought LLC
- Publisher
- Afterthought LLC
- Release
- Steam Early Access: 2015-12-01
- Platforms
- Windows
Game data
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs are the core of The Isle Evrima, and each species falls into one of three diet groups: carnivores, herbivores or omnivores. What a dinosaur eats builds up the nutrients that drive its growth from juvenile to adult, and a balanced diet grows it fastest. Each species differs in size, speed and fighting style, so its own entry is the best place to compare them.
Mutations
Mutations are traits your dinosaur picks up as it grows in The Isle Evrima. They change things like healing, thirst, stamina, vision and combat. Universal mutations are open to most dinosaurs, while herbivore, carnivore and unlockable mutations depend on diet or a task you complete in the game. Mutations carry through entombing at full growth, so they can be built up over several lives.
The Isle Controls
| Action | Desktop |
|---|---|
| Move | W, A, S, D |
| Sprint | Left Shift |
| Jump | Space |
| Crouch | Left Ctrl |
| Rest | H |
| Scent | Q |
| Night vision | N |
| Eat, drink or interact | E |
| Status panel | Tab |
| Primary attack | Left Mouse Button |
| Secondary attack | Right Mouse Button |
| Broadcast call | 1 |
| Friendly call | 2 |
| Threat call | 3 |
| Help call | 4 |
| Vocalize | F |
The Isle gameplay tips
- Switch to the EVRIMA Public Branch before you start. In Steam, open The Isle's Properties, go to Betas, and pick the EVRIMA Public Branch. A fresh install opens the older Legacy version, which hasn't been updated since February 2022, while Evrima adds features like nutrient-based growth and bleeding.
- Stay out of sight while you're a juvenile. Juveniles are fragile, so avoiding fights matters more than winning them. Calls carry far and can draw big predators toward you, so save them for trusted players you group with.
- Find water soon after you spawn, and drink from the shallow edges. Deep open water can hide ambush predators such as Deinosuchus. Note where the water is so you can come back.
- If you're bleeding, wallow in mud and then rest. Bleeding keeps draining you even while you stand still, and moving speeds it up. Mud clots wounds and hides your scent and blood trail, and resting with H heals the bleeding over time.