Dinocop is an indie detective adventure game that puts players in the claws of a dinosaur police officer investigating crimes in a world where dinosaurs and humans coexist.
Players take on the role of the titular Dinocop, a green Tyrannosaurus Rex detective who works alongside his human partner Mark to solve various cases around the city of Monstevrath, where players must use investigation tools like magnifying glasses, enhanced dinosaur senses, and time-tracking watches to uncover clues and solve mysteries.
Currently in active development, Dinocop showcases a distinctive art style with colorful 3D environments and character models that bring both charm and personality to the prehistoric police procedural setting. The game emphasizes exploration, evidence gathering, and logical deduction while maintaining a lighthearted tone throughout its cases.
Getting Started: The Setup
Welcome to your first case as Dinocop! You and your partner, Mark, have just arrived at the Cretaceous Hotel following an anonymous tip that human meat is being served at the Dinosaur Rights Convention.
This tutorial will teach you the basic investigation mechanics you’ll need throughout the game.
Step 1: Unlocking Your First Tool
When you spawn at the scene, Mark will instruct you to interact with the car trunk to retrieve your magnifying glass – your primary investigation tool.
Step 2: Learning the Investigation Controls
Now that you have the magnifying glass, it’s time to learn how to use it:
- Press Tab to open your inventory
- Select the Magnifying Glass to equip it
- Press Spacebar to bring it up to Dinocop’s line of sight
- Hold Left Click on glowing objects to reveal clues
Practice Round: Examining Mark
To get familiar with the controls, use your magnifying glass on Mark:
- Examine Mark’s Nose: Reveals “Mark has a big nose, but that doesn’t mean he can sniff out crimes”
- Examine Mark’s Badge: Reveals “Mark’s Badge makes him feel important”
Completing both examinations will advance the tutorial.
Step 3: The First Real Clue
Mark will direct your attention to the Random Guy – an orange dinosaur in the background, eating suspicious meat that could potentially be human flesh.
Interact with the Random Guy to question him. He’ll tell you:
- He got the meat from a vending machine somewhere in the hotel
- The packaging for his current meal is in the bin outside
Step 4: Investigating the Evidence
Head to the bin near the entrance and follow these steps:
- Hold Right-Click near the bin to sniff it (using Dinocop’s enhanced dinosaur senses)
- Run into the bin to knock it over and spill its contents
- Use your magnifying glass to examine the spilled packaging and identify the meat type
Step 5: Solving the Case
Return to the Random Dinosaur with your findings. He’ll confirm that the meat matches what the packaging indicates.
Case Solved: It’s Mammoth Meat!
This means that the culprit meat could be inside the hotel, and so Dinocop will have to go in and find more clues…
Step 6: Unlocking Your Next Tool
Before the tutorial concludes, make sure to talk to Mark one final time to unlock your Watch – another essential tool for future investigations.
What’s Next?
With the tutorial complete and your basic tools unlocked, you’re ready to tackle more complex cases in the full game/later stages. Remember that Dinocop is still in development, so mechanics and content may evolve as the developers continue working on the game.
To progress the demo, enter the hotel and talk to the receptionist.
This guide will be updated as the game develops and new tutorial elements are added.
