14 DAY TRIAL // Exoprimal is not really news since CAPCOM’s hybrid PvEvP game has been announced last year, and some players have been fortunate enough to get access to it before the first open beta went live in 2023.
My first impressions after watching the trailers weren’t too favorable. The idea of having to battle hordes of dinosaurs pouring from the sky seemed a bit cringe to me. However, after spending some time with the Exoprimal playing both solo and multiplayer games, I realize that even a game where you must kill hordes of dinosaurs spawned by an AI can be fun.
Exoprimal has a very deep tutorial where you learn about the so-called Exosuits, which are basically the game’s main classes: tank, support, healer and damage dealer. Switching from suit to suit feels very smooth and quite epic I might add, thanks to the over-the-top animations.
What really surprised me at Exoprimal is that the entire tutorial is smartly implemented into the story. What wasn’t really a surprise was the myriad of customization options that you can use when you create your character. CAPCOM made itself a name for its deep character customization options, and Exoprimal is no exception. You can create extremely weird-looking characters using the in-game tool, if that’s what you want.
The character progression system doesn’t go too deep, yet it’s solid and quite straightforward. Every time you level up, you’ll receive crates that usually contain cosmetics and perks that can be attached to Exosuits and abilities.
As far as combat goes, PvP missions are by far the most interesting. Exoprimal is a squad-based shooter, so it’s here where the game really shines. I think it’s safe to say that this is CAPCOM’s own Overwatch, but with a lot of PvE content. During PvP missions, complementing each other’s powers can mean the difference between a loss and a win.
There are multiple types of PvP missions that pit two squads against each other. Some are more dynamic, while others have objectives that take a bit too long to achieve, which might lead to fatigue. The PvEvP missions are quite fun at the beginning, but they become boring.
Two teams in parallel must kill a certain number of dinosaurs in a limited time. The last part of the mission involves data payloads that must be escorted to their destination. Everything culminates in a PvP fight after all PvP objectives have been completed. This is also the most interesting part of the mission and makes the previous objectives rather useless since the winner of the PvP part takes it all.
For the most part, fights are confusing. Dinos are flying all over the place and while they don’t really pose much of a threat, it’s pretty hard to see anything when everything is covered in … dinos. There are the occasional objectives where you must kill high value targets like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but these “bosses” telegraph their attacks, so they’re not that hard to kill.
The shooting mechanics are solid and smooth, while the Exosuits feel very different. These are probably Exoprimal’s main strong points, although I did enjoy some of the story too.
Despite the fact that it’s a multiplayer game, Exoprimal has its own campaign driven by so-called “wargames” organized by an AI construct known as Leviathan, who went rogue. Winning these “wargames,” which are basically PvEvP missions, will advance the story. Overall, I think this is an interesting concept that works pretty well.
Conclusion
The story felt unusually appealing though, and the main hook, at least for me. As far as character progression goes, the first several levels won’t have too much impact on how powerful your character is, but there seem to be some interesting perks to work with later on.
Overall, I enjoyed this slice of Exoprimal, although I hope that mission maps and objectives will be reworked to make them more fun.
Preview key was provided by the developer.
