Happiness is a dinosaur-themed rhythm game

The main “Like a Dino!” dinosaur listening to music.

Ever since my middle school days, this charming dinosaur game has brought me joy.

Around the summer of 2021, I found myself in an airport. As I shuffled through cramped airport security, minutes passed as the line barely budged. Staring down at my phone, I found that I was interested in none of the games I had downloaded, so I continued to the App Store and was greeted by the savior for my boredom. “Like a Dino!” the screen read. The charming graphics, cozy music and mellow coloring immediately caught my attention.

I played the game throughout the plane ride — it doesn’t require internet — and it instantly made me happy. How satisfying was it to play a low-stress video game that, despite being simple, was stimulating and entertaining? By the end of my 5-hour flight, I had already unlocked all the songs and half the skins.

“Like a Dino!” is a simple music rhythm game that was released by super_toki in October 2020. The player plays as a dinosaur and tries to make its neck grow by hitting the right notes. After the song plays through one time, the same tune is played again at a higher tempo and pitch. The game currently has 11 songs, and the dinosaur has 13 different skins.

I especially enjoy the game’s plot. Though not explicitly stated, it’s clear through the song titles and costumes that the game follows the story of two dinosaur lovers and their lives together. For example, the song “Marriage Proposal” referenced the dinosaurs finally getting married.

In an update, the developers released wedding skins for the dinos. I found this storyline very cute, and it added a lot of depth to the otherwise simple game. Most of the songs also involved an encouraging message: For example, “It’s OK not to be OK.”

When I lose all my three lives, the game doesn’t make me feel frustrated. Of course, it’s annoying when I’m aiming for the next high score, but since the songs are short and pleasant, it’s easy to replay the song up to where I left off.

I don’t play the game as intensely as I did when I first started, but I still remember the pure joy of playing as a dino brought me.