Through several open betas and a consistent marketing campaign, Capcom’s Exoprimal might have enough word of mouth to find success. Following Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6, Capcom’s new IP has some exciting ideas and fantastic multiplayer matches. Don’t expect a single-player campaign, as Exoprimal focuses on playing with others while including elements of a single-player game-like progression.
Exoprimal is set in the not-so-distant future, in the year 2043, in a reality where humanity has been almost extinguished after a cataclysmic event opened rifts in space and time, culminating in an invasion of thousands of Dinosaurs. To face this threat, Aibius, a leading company in exploiting fossil fuels, decides to run a program where you meet others in combat.
Exoprimal is a full-on Dino Crisis
Our protagonist Ace is a member of the Hammerheads, a group of soldiers assigned to stop the portals from dropping Dinosaurs on humanity. During one of his missions to investigate an incident on Bikitoa Island, the team’s ship suffers an accident and is mysteriously transported three years into the past by an advanced artificial intelligence called Leviathan. This AI recruits ex-soldiers from all over the world to participate in war game simulations, to gather information that can improve the efficiency of exosuits for use in the future.
Throughout their forced stay on the Island, the team gathers evidence proving that a more significant purpose may lie behind the war games. After all, what caused the 2040 event? What could be the secret of this Island? And what is Leviathan’s true motive for holding his war games, constantly repeating the same day in the past?
These questions will be answered through a story mode that, in Exoprimal, works slightly differently than the traditional single-player. The entirety of the story is revealed as you play multiplayer matches. With several predetermined games completed, you can access new cutscenes and field information through audio and text files.
There are also triggers in your progression that unlock special missions within the multiplayer mode, which is an interesting idea but doesn’t work well in practice because Exoprimal’s biggest problem lies in its content limitation.
Each match lasts 15-20 minutes and comprises two phases. The only available mode, Dino Survival, becomes a race for survival against the enemy team. The game opens with a greeting from Leviathan, where your team of five can scout the enemy. Shortly after, you’re transported to the beginnings of a dinosaur invasion on the Island. In one of five different objectives (essentially modes), the first stage compares your pace relative to the enemy team, occasionally giving you a glimpse of holographic likenesses of your adversaries competing against the same challenges you face.
Phase One objectives include Dinosaur Cull, where you eliminate a specific number and type of dinosaurs across multiple locations on the map; an Escort mission, where you protect an NPC character conducting recon across the map, Area Defense requires you to defend various facilities in a designated area until the pointer is filled, Vtol Defense alternates facilities for aircraft protection, and last but not least Vortex Sabotage, where you again destroy a dinosaur-inducing facility.
The second phase of each game is called the Final Mission, where you may or may not also directly encounter the enemy team. Here you’ll come across missions such as Data Key Security, where you’re typically already pushing a cart across the map to your destination, Uplink Control, in which you’re racing to maintain control of three points, Omega Charge, in which you kill dinosaurs by charging a large hammer, which you then use to destroy targets, and the final mission, Energy Taker, where you collect energy scattered across the map or steal it from enemies.
What combination of the two phases you get is entirely random, but as you progress through the story, certain things are guaranteed to happen and change simultaneously. Of note is a large-scale mission in the middle of the story, in which cooperation with the enemy team is required to defeat a massive horde of dinosaurs and one boss.
Extinction is a game
However, it’s not to be forgotten that Leviathan ranks you throughout the game, collecting data and analyzing combat strategies (though these are probably flat-out catchphrases). On several occasions, however, he will try to even the score between teams by, for example, unlocking the so-called Dominator, a giant dinosaur that players can control for a short period (until killed by the enemy team). His goal is to quickly and aggressively inflict extensive damage on enemies with his relatively limited arsenal, which he and his team can then catch up with.
At first, the game may seem decidedly too repetitive, but as you fight through the opening hours, you’ll notice some amazing things. Leviathan’s catchphrases will begin to change; you’ll see new dinosaur types, you’ll get to explore new maps, dinosaurs will gradually mutate, and you’ll even get to play some utterly unique game modes. The likelihood of some changes is relatively small, but it makes the game all the more exciting if you come across a difference you haven’t seen before…
Suits are classically divided into three classes —Assault: Deadeye, Zephyr, Barrage, Vigilan; Tank: Roadblock, Krieger, Murasanme; and Support: Witchdoctor, Skywawe, and Nimbus. Each suit has its own five abilities, one of which acts as a basic attack, another as a unique, progressively-charged ultimate ability, two additional actions, and the last is an armament kit, where the player inserts one of the six available modules. For example, the armament kit can be a short shield, a powerful laser cannon, or a personal health replenishing field. In addition to the abilities, you can assign three different modules to each suit, enhancing some general traits or, after levelling up the exo-suit, some of its arsenal-enhancing modules.
Assault suits have a futuristic submachine gun, a sniper rifle, a crossbow with grenades, or two tonfas. They are usually quite mobile and adequately armed, and their main goal is to eliminate dinosaurs as efficiently as possible. On the other hand, Tanks are more powerful suits with more lives; one even has an energy shield, another a katana, and a machine gun. Support lasts the least in a fight but, in turn, can keep distance from enemies and, of course, keep the team alive.
Since Exoprimal is a live-service game, there are naturally a lot of elements to customize for each suit, but fortunately, all microtransactions are purely cosmetic. That said, it’s worth levelling up if you’re really into any of the exoskeletons. So, consider some of those Premium Survival Pass purchasable add-ons once you’ve unlocked all the free progression. That way, there’s no shortage of skins, emoticons, stickers and pendants for your suit or other in-game communication signs. At the same time, I’d also like to highlight the possibility of collecting production objects from fallen dinosaurs, which transform into a defensive force field wall, a levitating platform for strategic battlefield surveillance, or a defensive, rhythmically firing cannon.
Each suit has many elements to customize, but fortunately, all microtransactions are purely cosmetic. That said, it’s worth levelling up if you’re really into any of the exoskeletons. So, consider some of those add-ons with the Premium Survival Pass purchase options once you’ve unlocked all the free progression. That way, there’s no shortage of skins, emoticons, stickers and pendants for your suit or other in-game communication signs. At the same time, I’d also like to highlight the possibility of collecting production objects from fallen dinosaurs, which transform into a defensive force field wall, a levitating platform for strategic battlefield surveillance, or a defensive, rhythmically firing cannon.
Verdict
Capcom’s had a solid year with some incredible titles, and while Exoprimal isn’t the most significant launch, it is one you can bet will keep you entertained. It’s a perfect game you can pick up when unsure what to play. The future has several exciting crossovers in the works, and there’s enough content available at launch to keep players busy; it’s the long game I’m curious about. Exoprimal’s filled with intense moments as you experience its story, with exciting gameplay built on a solid, impressive foundation for the future.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
