Repterra: They Are Billions with dinosaurs, and a breeding system that changes the equation

The pitch takes a second: it is They Are Billions with dinosaurs instead of zombies. The developer makes no secret of it, cites his source openly, and the inspiration shows in every mechanic.

It would be unfair to stop there, because this game adds three systems its model does not have, and they are what make it interesting.

The base: surviving the tide

You build a colony, set up production lines, establish power grids to fuel your outposts, and wait. Then the dinosaurs arrive, in their tens of thousands.

Tactical pause is here, as in its model, letting you issue orders in the middle of the chaos. Five difficulty levels span comfortable to deranged.

Two design differences deserve flagging, and they correct recurring complaints levelled at They Are Billions.

First, Ironman mode is not compulsory. It exists, it grants a final score multiplier if you choose it, but the game does not force you to play without a net. In a genre where one mistake can cost eight hours, offering the choice is an act of respect.

Second, the pressure is constant. Instead of long lulls between major waves, permanent mini-waves probe your perimeter, and they intelligently target the weak points of your base. Leave a section open and it will be found. That is exactly what the model lacked, where walls stayed decorative nine tenths of the time.

What it genuinely adds

Taming. You lure enemy dinosaurs with food, distractions or bait, and once tamed they fight alongside you. Turning the threat into a resource is the game's best idea: the horde besieging you is also your breeding stock.

Breeding. Put a pair in a breeding station and let nature work. The offspring can surprise you, and crossbreeding with genetic mutations is encouraged. So you are not merely recruiting units, you are manufacturing new ones, which gives every run a different trajectory.

Riding. You assign a human unit, soldier, engineer or tamer, to one of your dinos, and each human-dinosaur pairing unlocks its own special abilities. This is the system that provides tactical depth where the model settled for lining up turrets.

Add upgradeable hero units with active and passive abilities, respawning after death and customisable through genetic mutations.

Three factions, three ways to play

The game offers three factions with distinct units, perks and heroes, each pushing a different style: resource management and mobility, technology, taming, or raw combat power.

That is more than its model offered, and it gives a real reason to start again beyond changing the map.

The setting is enjoyable without taking itself seriously: in 1963, explorers discover an island in the Indian Ocean hidden by a magnetic anomaly and inhabited by Triassic dinosaurs. Poachers get involved, and the rest writes itself. This is Sunday evening television, with the budget the show never had.

What to know before buying

The game launched on 28 April 2026 in early access, developed by Chute Apps and published by MicroProse. Reception is Very Positive, with 64 favourable reviews out of 71, on a still small sample.

Two limits to know.

The first is the development stage. Survival mode does offer a tech tree, genetic mutations and a building upgrade hierarchy, but progress does not carry from one run to the next. Meta progression and a campaign are still under consideration, and that is what is most missing to make you stay.

The second is aesthetic and subjective: the presentation evokes Red Alert 2 as much as They Are Billions, which several players note. Depending on your taste, that is retro charm or a lack of personality.

What sets the score

It rewards three systems its inspiration lacked, taming, breeding and riding, which turn a defence game into one of military ecology. It also credits two intelligent corrections of the model: continuous pressure rather than long lulls, and Ironman made optional.

It accounts for early access still young, an absence of between-run progression that limits retention, and a visual identity that borrows heavily.

For anyone who wore out They Are Billions and wants the same tension with new ideas, it is a safe bet. For newcomers to the genre it is actually a better entry point, because it forgives more.

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