Story, Characters & Ending
On September 19, 1992, college student Jordan’s car dies outside Dalton’s Dinos on Route 66. The park is empty, and Stella, an off-site paleontologist, asks Jordan over a headset to help find Dalton Coolidge and his son. The trail leads underground, far below the attraction. There is one ending.
The setting
Dalton Coolidge and his wife Elena found a rare “duelling dinosaurs” fossil nearby. The fame paid for Dalton’s Dinos, built near the dig site to share the find with families on Route 66, and to turn that fame into a business. The developers describe early-’90s roadside kitsch: exhibits, animatronics, a gift shop and the Paleo Pals mascots.
Below it are excavation sites, mining operations and underground facilities visitors were never meant to see. The deeper you go, the less the game is about the attraction and the more it is about what has been happening beneath it.
Characters
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Jordan | The player. A college student-athlete from Chicago heading to Los Angeles; polite, eager to help, quick with a wisecrack, and slowly cracking under the pressure. |
| Stella | Paleontologist and longtime friend and colleague of Dalton and Elena. Off-site when the park goes quiet; your voice on the headset and guide for the whole game. |
| Dalton Coolidge | Founder of Dalton’s Dinos. Always a step ahead: you follow his breadcrumbs, recordings and videos. |
| Elena Coolidge | Dalton’s wife and co-founder, a paleontologist alongside Stella. |
| DJ | The missing kid you are sent to find. You meet him in Level 4. |
How the story is told
The main story runs on its own as you play: calls with Stella, cutscenes and FMV video tapes. Notes, audio recordings and environmental details fill in the rest. You don’t need them to follow the plot, but they hold the bigger picture. See collectibles.
The ending
There is a single ending; you cannot miss a “good” one. A short, spoiler-folded version of the last sequence is on the Level 4 page. Beating it unlocks New Game Plus.
Spoiler: who knows what is going on?
Asked whether a secret government agency knows about Dalton’s Dinos, the lead developer said only that “it’ll become pretty clear who knows what’s happening as you play”.
Quick answers
When and where is Terrible Lizards set?
September 19, 1992, at Dalton’s Dinos, a dinosaur roadside attraction off Route 66 in New Mexico.
Who do you play as?
Jordan, a college student and athlete road-tripping from Chicago to Los Angeles (the two ends of Route 66) before the fall semester.
How many endings does Terrible Lizards have?
One main ending. Branching endings were planned early on and cut for scope.
Will there be a sequel or DLC?
Nothing is announced. The studio says it will patch and support the game first, and that its success will decide whether the next project is set in the same world.
What Easter eggs are there?
The developers point to references to Halo, Portal, Jurassic Park and BioShock (including a direct BioShock quote), with The Goonies, The Descent and Five Nights at Freddy’s among the inspirations.
Sources
- Developer WDR Studios: Narrative & Story, Dalton's Devlogs #5 · October 21, 2026
- Developer WDR Studios: “What is Terrible Lizards?” · October 29, 2026
- Developer WDR Studios: Developer Q&A, October 2026 · October 22, 2026
- Developer WDR Studios: “Terrible Lizards is available now!” · October 29, 2026
- Official Terrible Lizards on Steam · October 31, 2026
Community guides are player-written and not confirmed by WDR Studios. Where two of them disagree, we show both.